garageCube

It has become apparent that the hard drive on my MacBook Pro just isn't big enough for all my video so I am going to get an external drive.
I guess I am curious as too what speeds are needed?

Do I need a 7200 rpm drive or will 5400 suffice?

I like the LaCie rugged drive, but it only comes in 100 GB for about $200 at 7200.

With Firewire 400 and a 5400 rpm drive, ya think it spit my video out fast enough?

That would all depend on what kind of video u use. If you use highly compressed footage you don't need the fast bitrate, if you're doing HD video you probably need a faster solution.

Most of my clips these days are MJPEG A at around 75% quality, and anywhere from 10MB to 120MB in size.
Not doing any HD stuff or anything.