If performance is an issue, and it may not necessarily be (cost may be your predominant driver), you might want to look for the Western Digital "Caviar Special Edition" drives that have an 8MB buffer, versus the otherwise typical 2MB buffer. With respect to the FireWire interface on the external peripheral, look for one that has the Oxford 911 chipset. This is a newer implementation of the FireWire to IDE interface that is made inside the external drive box. The Oxford chipset can effectively double the actual useable throughput between the external HD and the Mac.
So, look first for Oxford 911 on the interface, then look for 8MB buffer on the actual HD...my advice. Jerry ---------------------------------------------------------- <<My son would like an external hard drive: 7200 rpm, 120Gigs, Firewire. All the ones I have checked on seem to average in the $250-270 range.....but they all seem to be pretty much alike in their descriptions.... Does anyone have any advice on what brand they think would be the best buy?>> -- The iMac List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | - Epson Stylus Color 580 Printers - new at $69 | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> iMac List info: <http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/imac-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
