ampguy
Veteran
Found these at my local Costco, about 10-20% less than online or Fry's:
Seagate USB 2 1TB Freeagent $99
Seagate USB 2 (upgradeable to USB 3.0) Flex 500GB $69
Of course the 1TB portables are a bit thicker (12mm vs 9.5mm for 3 platters vs 2), but they are made in Thailand with a 5 year warranty, while the newer USB 3 upgradeable ones are half the size, and only a 2 year warranty, made in China, but a tad thinner. I doubt upgrading to USB 3.0 is cost effective with these budget models, you'll need a ~$40 card minimum + cable and available PCI-express slot, or PC Express slot + AC power adapter for a notebook.
Flexibility is good though.
Seagate USB 2 1TB Freeagent $99
Seagate USB 2 (upgradeable to USB 3.0) Flex 500GB $69
Of course the 1TB portables are a bit thicker (12mm vs 9.5mm for 3 platters vs 2), but they are made in Thailand with a 5 year warranty, while the newer USB 3 upgradeable ones are half the size, and only a 2 year warranty, made in China, but a tad thinner. I doubt upgrading to USB 3.0 is cost effective with these budget models, you'll need a ~$40 card minimum + cable and available PCI-express slot, or PC Express slot + AC power adapter for a notebook.
Flexibility is good though.