500Gb 2.5" Exturnal harddrive

[Matt Crawford]

Hi,
I'm full again... or my disks are almost, so time for more HD space. Really want a 500Gb 2.5" but I'm unsure of their reliability.. 500GB seems a lot to shove on to a small drive / platters. I have had a Hitachi 2.5" fail in the past and heard negative feedback about Western digital and Seagate drives. I will probably just get a drive and enclosure separate.
Any feedback on reliable / un reliable drives and good / bad enclosures to watch out for would be great!?

Matt