Honestly....
Hard Drives are a dime a dozen. Each brand has a bad batch every once in awhile.
I would got with either Maxtor, Seagate or Western Digital. Those are the top three.
I have had drives of all types last for YEARS.
As for an external, are you looking for a builtin external drive? or possibly getting a USD External Drive Case, then getting yourself a Hard Drive?
I bought a USB external drive for $20 and a 250GB WD I think for about $100 online.
Works great.