I have two different virtuals on different machines and would like to consolidate this down to one external hard drive using Firewire (assuming its faster than USB 2.0 though not opposed to USB 2.0 if you've had good success) the hard drive MUST BE PORTABLE I am running Windows 7 and Visual Studio 2008 - can anyone here offer recommendations on external hard drives that they have personally used and had good success with - I assume 500GB should be the low end but 320 might be okay with a top being nothing more than $150 Iomega eGo Mac Edition 500 GB USB 2.0/FireWire 400/800 Portable External Hard Drive 34629 (Ruby Red) Although the reviews on that drive seem to suggest that the Firewire runs too hot and USB is recommended. Thanks for your help.
I am using seagate 320 gb in guest windows and running five to six applications without problem. only some time the usb drive is getting dismounted automatically and windows complains about delayed write.
I've used the OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro drives from Otherworld Computing. They are bus powered USB 2.0 and Firewire 800. They are slightly thicker and have a large heat sink underneath so you don't have to worry about overheating. I might try the Elite-AL Pro mini next because it also has eSATA which my Mac Pro can use. I think you should consider getting the cheapest $ / GB sized drive to get the most out of your money even though you might need to spend more than $150 to get that. They have benchmarks for all their drives. The 1 TB 5400 RPM drive is almost as fast as the 500 GB 7200 RPM drive for all interfaces except eSATA. USB 2.0 is the slowest interface. They also have 3.5" solutions. Although they are bigger and require a powerbrick, 3.5" drives are faster, larger capacity, and less expensive.
