The Power of the Internet »
So I'm looking for something like the Tritton TRI-NSS160. That link is to the product at Tiger Direct. The price is $199, with a $20 rebate. Not bad. But the shipping and tax combines to push the price over $225. Meanwhile, the same product at Global costs the same, but there is no tax, so it's only $210.
Why is this interesting? Because it seems to me that both TigerDirect and Global are the same company. Maybe this is common knowledge, but I didn't know about it. The layout, the script names and locations and even the SKU numbers are the same. But because Global (apparently) doesn't have a presence in North Carolina, there is no sales tax.
In any case, NewEgg has it too, and their delivered price is just $199. So do I take this price, knowing that I hate rebates and that it probably isn't worth the hassle to potentially save an extra $10? Or do I go for the Global drive and the lowest ultimate price?
I'm leaning towards NewEgg at the moment. But I don't know just yet.
Comments (8)
The Best Buy catalog that came this morning had a Seagate USB External 160GB HD for $100 AMR (After Mail-in Rebate)
Posted by Ted | July 16, 2005 10:32 AM
Hi Ted -
That's a very decent price - but there are three problems.
One is that it's an after rebate price, which I generally don't pay much attention. The web site lists a price of $169.99 - that's a large rebate, which is good, but I don't want to risk this "good deal" on such a large rebate coming through.
Second is that I don't think the device you mention can be attached to the network - it appears to be USB only. I want one that can be attached to the network.
Third is that the Tritton device listed appears to be the Tritton 001 enclosure, packaged with a 160GB drive. If this is indeed the case, it means I can take the 160GB drive out and put another size in when I like, without having to buy a new enclosure - only a new hard drive. Doesn't appear to be the case with the Seagate solutions.
Posted by Chad Everett | July 16, 2005 3:48 PM
I have a 200GB USB HD I use to back up my server at the office. I'm thinking of doing something very similar for my home station.
One worry I have is thieves. I had a client that was broken into and they stole his brand new Dell server.
There are internet backup solutions that have a client on your local station that backs up file to the internet. I think they charge about $0.01 per MB. That's a little pricey, but you get complete off-site storage. There is virtually no disaster you couldn't recover from.
Posted by Ted | July 16, 2005 4:01 PM
Having been screwed on my last 2 rebate-required purchases, I say go with the best price that isn't dependant on the rebate.
For what it's worth.
Paul
Posted by Light and Dark | July 16, 2005 6:46 PM
Our main concern is that multiple PCs be able to be backed up to it - thus, a networked solution is better than a USB one. And I'm not too concerned about thieves. Not that they can't steal it, but if we weren't around, we would lock it in our fireproof filing cabinet.
This isn't fool-proof, as it might not be usable after being exposed to fire heat. And someone could steal it still. But those things are heavy without anything in them - not sure if someone would care to take the time to steal the thing when it's full.
We could also easily unplug the unit and take it elsewhere, giving us an effecitve off-site solution - and providing access to the data from other locales. We'll just see how it goes.
Posted by Chad Everett | July 16, 2005 10:33 PM
Couldn't you just share out an external USB hard drive to everone on your network?
Posted by Ted | July 21, 2005 1:20 PM
Perhaps - but I don't have any USB 2.0 connections on my network, meaning it's running at USB 1.0 speeds (11Mbps?), which is pretty slow, all things considered. Spending a small difference for a network-attached device, especially one that can be used for other drives if I upgrade, probably makes more sense than buying a USB 2.0 card to be able to do the same. The price premium isn't that large - especially not if I use an existing drive.
Posted by Chad Everett | July 21, 2005 6:05 PM
You're right USB 1.0 is downright lethargic. In my office I have USB 2.0 on my Dell server. My external HD backs up 22GB in about 35 minutes. That's not SCSI speed, but I don't think is too bad.
Earlier this year I finally replaced my aging NT4 server with a Dell SC420. I have two 80GB SATA drivs in a RAID 1 configuration with 2GB of RAM and I paid about $1,200. Today I could do the same server for even less.
Posted by Ted | July 21, 2005 9:45 PM