External HDD Options

[BRUTALiTY]

Am looking to purchase an external hdd soon and have a few things to ponder before I do.

I bought a Maxtor/Seagate 1TB external a while back which bricked on me (it's recognised but can't be accessed...probably salvagable but anyways...). I was curious to know as a result of this, whether I should consider 'better' brands, and what people might reccomend. For instance, should I focus on WD, are they more reliable? What are people's experience (as subjective I guess as they may be...)

Secondly, I'm unsure whether I should opt for a model with e-sata. While sometimes double the price, it would be nice to transfer files at what should theoretically be 10x the speed of usb. It's unlikely I'll be moving it around a lot so the advantage of usb allowing 'hot-swapping' isn't terribly overbearing, but will I ever reach the transfer rates of e-sata that are preached? Is it worth it?

Are there other things I should be considering?

Fairly mundane question I guess, but would appreciate any comments nonetheless

[priorax]

If you can afford to do it. I would recommend getting an enclosure and harddrive separately. This means that should you (for any reason) need to send the harddrive away for warranty purposes, you can buy a cheap drive to temporarily replace it while that disc is away.

[BRUTALiTY]

If you can afford to do it. I would recommend getting an enclosure and harddrive separately. This means that should you (for any reason) need to send the harddrive away for warranty purposes, you can buy a cheap drive to temporarily replace it while that disc is away.

are there enclosures that are particularly easy to slot in/out hdd's, is that what you were suggesting? or just generally buying separate enclosures and hdd's rather than those coupled together in somewhat inpenetratable enclosures?

how about this? http://www.citysoftware.com.au/1TB_Western...A__AST0034.aspx