Need help selecting an external hard drive

Need some expertise in selecting a good Ext HD for mainly backing up my system. Lots to choose from out there, just don't know what brands or models to choose from. I'm no techie and I only know enough to be dangerous, so need something easy for novices. I've read some reviews on different models, but like anything they can be all over the place as far as what people think. I would like to stay in the $80-$120 range and 500GB is probably all I need at this time as I am on an older Dell Dimension 3000 with an 80GB HD. Probably will upgrade Computer before long to something bigger and faster but in the meantime...

Here is one that seems very simple to use according the the reviews and has a pretty good reputation for my price range. Western Digital - WD Elements 500GB External USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive

Any good??

Any advice appreciated.

P.S. I have seen many posts and raves about the Acronis True Image backup software here and was considering this as well. Would the true image be a good compliment to the Ext hard drive for storing my backups from true image?

Thanks in advance. Tom

 

Seagate and Western Digital are the two biggest brands to choose from. Samsung and Hitachi are next on the list.

Two other options:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148674
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148409

Yes, Acronis True Image is indeed a popular option, but you can use a backup program of your choice.