external hard drives

[hauser gabone]

i have my powerbook and im saving up (almost there) for a motu ultralite. i need an external hard drive and although it seems pretty simple i figured id ask if anyone had any recommendations. ill need 200-300 gigs. what is the difference between a USB2.0 hardrive and a 400 or 800 Firewire drive? thanks

[Jeff White]

I've been tracking with a Lacie D2 drive, the version with FW800 (2), FW400 (1), and USB2.0 (1). I have the 160gb version and I'm looking to pick up a 250gb one this fall. My brother uses a 250gb D2 for all of his graphic and print design work, and he's had his for over a year without a problem.

I've been using mine as a FW800 drive for tracking on my 15" PB 1.5ghz. I have a FW400 PCMCIA card that I run my Motu 828mkii off of. No problems, big track count, multiple takes like crazy. It helps that I submix and stem all of my Dual G5's big mixes before taking the PB out to track, but honestly, over FW800 I'm easily able to get 24 tracks+ with the D2. I'm using Digital Performer 4.61 and everything works perfectly.

Jeff

[UXB]

I've been looking at drives these days as well. It's important to note what kind of drive is in the enclosure you are buying (Seagate? WD?). I don't own one yet, but the high end offering from OWC looks great, and has many connectivity options. I suggest going with esata or FW800.

Best,
H