Seagate Technology 200 GB USB 2.0 and FireWire External Drive ( ST3200823A-RK )
excellent and versatile external hard drive
I decided to purchase an external hard drive primarily to serve as backup data storage for both my laptop and desktop computers.  I looked in several stores, asked questions, and read a number of reviews (including here on Amazon).  The reviews on Amazon were most helpful. <br /> <br />Costwise, this version was a better deal than the 160GB model, on a \\"dollars per GB\\" basis.  Also, 200 GB is quite a bit, and so there is plenty of extra room for files other than backups. <br /> <br />If you have USB 2 or firewire capabilities (any computer made in the last few years should have at least USB), set up is essentially plug and play.  I have Win  XP which simply recognized the drive as another hard drive, gave it a letter, and I was operational in less than a minute.  It took me longer to open the box than get the drive working. <br /> <br />Transfer rates seem quite fast with USB 2.0; I did not time it, but backing up 12 GB on my laptop took at most 10 minutes, which included the backup program's compression efforts.  When moving or accessing regular files, I cannot see any difference between this and my internal hard drives.  I suspect that USB 1.1 would be painfully slow; if you don't have USB 2 or firewire, consider getting a PCI card which supports one or both of these connections ($50 at most), for use with whatever external drive you purchase. <br /> <br />The drive is very quiet, and has its own on/off switch.  I think this feature is mandatory, especially if you are not going to use the drive all the time.  Without a separate power switch, the drive will be on and spinning, causing wear and tear, even if you aren't using it (or you will have to unplug it).  With a switch, the choice is up to you. <br /> <br />Aesthetically, I found the black and silver case subdued and appealing.  Two small blue lights are on the front, one for power and one which lights when you are accessing the drive.  Apparently, in reviews of other products, some were rather garish (not a problem here). <br /> <br />You can stack and daisy chain multiple units via the firewire outlets, and the unit comes with both a USB 2 and firewire cable. <br /> <br />I have only had this unit for about a month, but Seagate has a very good reputation for quality.  Western Digital and Maxtor have similar drives which cost somewhat less, but after reading others' reviews of them (including different sized drives), I went with this one because of Seagate's reputation, the power switch, ability to use either USB or firewire, and easy expansion/daisy chaining options. <br /> <br />We will see how it holds up over time, but for now I am quite happy.