ComStar 2.5" 40GB USB2 External HDD

[EdT]

Has anyone here used or have this drive ? I was very surprised to find a a fast 5400rpm Fijitsu 2.5" HDD in it. The price was also very reasonable for $95cdn. for true USB interface. So far I cannot find any reviews on this drive, anyone know of any ?

 

[Explorer]

There are all sorts of "packaged" drives like this on the market. About alll you can do is look at reviews of drive packages where you know for a fact what drive mechanism is being used inside.

Hopefully, the reviewer will at least find out what drive mechanism is insde by probing the USB or Firewire bus to get back device data, or open the case to look (i.e. -- voiding the warranty).

One thing to remember about these sorts of products is that they may use ANY 2½ inch brand/model of ATA hard drive that meets capacity and RPM specifications -- much less a particular Fujitsu.

 

[Tannin]

I don't usually recommend buying packaged external drives. It is generally cheaper to buy a USB (or Firewire) enclosure (I pay less than AU$20 for perfectly functional 2.5 inch ones) and then fit the drive of your choice into it - 7200 RPM if that's what you want. It is also more flexible (swap drives at any time), affordable (replace either part without replacing the other part), and you get the full three year warranty on the hard drive, not some crummy 12-month thing that a lot of the packaged drives come with.

 

[Tannin]

PS: depending on if you are buying a decent brand of hard drive, of course.

 

[EdT]

I don't usually recommend buying packaged external drives. It is generally cheaper to buy a USB (or Firewire) enclosure (I pay less than AU$20 for perfectly functional 2.5 inch ones) and then fit the drive of your choice into it - 7200 RPM if that's what you want. It is also more flexible (swap drives at any time), affordable (replace either part without replacing the other part), and you get the full three year warranty on the hard drive, not some crummy 12-month thing that a lot of the packaged drives come with.

Here in Canada it doesn't pay to buy the enclosure and the drive seperately. Just the enclosure costs as much as the packaged drive and the the drive itself cost even more then the packaged drive ....go figure !