For me I don't have favorites for brands for HD unless it's something like an SSD. I go for $$/GB since I don't really notice anything performance wise because it's only being used for data storage.
I can't tell you off the top of my head though but getting an HDD and then an enclosure may be cheaper than getting one that's already an external hard drive. They do the same thing except with the enclosure you'll have to put the HDD inside. $50 for a 1TB seagate at ncix if I remember correctly.
Also, I didn't know RS was CDC
