Quote Originally Posted by Grouch View Post
are ext powered better than usb powered or are they about the same?
Ext powered have always been more reliable overall. With USB powered the interface can die before the actual HDD does...yes I do know from personal experience and it can happen with quality HDD types (pretty much all my stuff is WD but I do have a Seagate).
Honestly if you're only going to use this at home (or somewhere else with mains power) then ext powered is best also because it's slightly cheaper.