Broadly speaking there are two form factors for external USB hard drives – “bricks” typically 8″x5″x1″ or so (e.g., Lacie Quadra, Maxtor One Touch) and “pocket” drives typically 3″x5″x0.5″ (e.g., Western Digital Passport, Maxtor Mini).
I do nightly backups for my personal and business files and store them offsite. I do a complete, uncompressed backup of all data and configuration files so that in the event of a fire or theft I can attach the backup HD to any PC or laptop and have instant access to all my files without special software or hardware.
I used to use “bricks” (above) but they were too big to fit in my safe-deposit boxes and harder to carry around. So I’ve started switching to “pocket” devices (above) which work OK but take a LOT longer to backup all my data. A complete backup on a “brick” takes about 5 hours; the same data on a “pocket” drive takes 7 hours. This seems to be related to spindle speed – bricks are usually 7200, pockets are usually 5400 RPM.
Does anyone make a pocket-sized drive that’s 7200 RPM? (I don’t care if it’s bus-powered). I need about 300G, so that rules out any affordable SSD’s.
Thanks in advance.
