Thread: Need slimline USB DVD burner, which one

Hi quick second question? I have found a Seagate Pocket size 2 1/2 inch 250 Gig hardrive in a Cash Converters, which they are holding for me till midday today. My question is should I buy it, as it needs two USB ports, on the top end of a Y shaped cable, or should I instead purchase a new Western Didgital at dick smith for $98, or perhaps their 320 gig one at $118. the 250 gig WD has only a single USB cable. I have to carry it plus the burner when hitching with a pack, to burn DVDs to give out along the way. The DVD's will be on this hard drive. I will be running a hub of one DVD, running the burner and USb mouse [the touch pad does not work on my $50 dollar Laptop]. Thanks in advance for your reply.

Although I haven't had much to do with LG DVD burners, I have a personal dislike for the company, and as such, will not purchase any of their products. (Another story, but revolves around faulty products & lack of customer service)

As for the portable hard drive from Crime converters, I would steer clear of it. Buy a new one, or better still, depending on how much actual storage space you need, why not pick up a USB stick.

I bought another 4gb stick last week for $14. They survive better than a hard disk, and if you need more space, just buy another one.

That said, if you need the storage of a HDD, then the Y connector is only for those USB ports that dont deliver enough power to run it. I have never had to use the second connector on any of mine (4) and they all seem to run fine from the laptop.

The other thing to consider is power consumption. A USB stick will use less power from a laptop than a portable HDD, so you may need to factor this into your thoughts.

Thank you for your comment Basil. I only have a 20 gig harddrive in my Acer travelmate 230 laptop, and need much more space. Plan on carrying 40-50 DVD movies with me on the hardrive, and so need more space than a USB stick. Already have a 8 gig USB stick with a real lot of files saved on it.

If you don't need it today, try somewhere like here-
Gizmomart.com.au - Toys for grown ups

If you have the model number of the Dick Smith one, plug it into Staticice -
staticICE :: Australia's comprehensive computer hardware and gadget price comparison search engine - which should give you a better idea of the street price, rather than the premium retail.