Getting an External Hard Drive

Jineus · Oct 13, 2013

Hello,

I back-up any important files or movies from my desktop and laptop onto my External Hard Drive.

However, I am running out of space. I need to get a new External Hard Drive with about 2TB Capacity.

SSD are too expensive for me, so I'll have to buy an HDD.

I have some questions:

1. I was told that companies such as Samsung and Western Digital are more reliable than others such as Seagate. Is that true? It seems like some companies' products are cheaper than others'.

2. Since External Hard Drives fail eventually, should I get two identical External Hard Drives?

3. What is the difference between the pocket-sized HDD's and the big ones? I know that the pocket-sized HDD's do not require an outside power source, while the big ones do require a power source. But other than that, are there any other pros and cons?

4. Does 3.0 USB and 2.0 USB make a difference? How much of a difference?

5. Do you have any suggestions for a reliable HDD around 2TB?

Thank you so much!

PyjamasCat · Oct 13, 2013

1 Yes, some companies may be more reliable than others but I doubt by much. It's probably hype and "The Media's" (and general public) speculation performance that actually makes people see which companies are better than others. Seagate is fine. I have one of there 500Gb drives. It's been dropped a lot and still functions fine.

2 If you want to. To be honest, unless they are poorly treated (like mine), they should last a good few years.

3 Not entirely sure. Pocket sized are definitely more portable and convenient, but externally powered may be fractionally faster (disk speed that is).

4 Get a 3.0 if you can. It is a lot faster. I've seen movies on mine transfer at speeds of 40MB per second vs 5-10MB USB2.0 would offer.

5 Take a look at these:

This would be the most secure backup drive for your needs: http://www.amazon.com/Passport-Ultra-Portable-External-Backup/dp/B00E055H5O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381717160&sr=8-1&keywords=2tb+external+hard+drive

It automatically backs up to cloud storage (you would need to set up an account or something I think).

Otherwise this would be absolutely fine: http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Expansion-Desktop-External-STBV2000100/dp/B00834SJS0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1381717160&sr=8-3&keywords=2tb+external+hard+drive

Ordinary 2TB USB3.0 Externally powered Drive.

Just two options I would suggest, but there are tons more to look at. (The top one is more expensive because it uses USB for power, it has cloud storage/backup avaliable and it looks prettier.)

Extra about SSD's. They are unnecessary as backup devices or media storage as they are too fast/hi spec for any media playback or general storage/backup needs and therefore won't be used to full potential (even USB3.0 is not fast enough to keep up or a valid reason to use an SSD as an external storage device). I would not recommend using one for backup.

I hope this helps.

Jineus · Oct 16, 2013

PyjamasCat :

1 Yes, some companies may be more reliable than others but I doubt by much. It's probably hype and "The Media's" (and general public) speculation performance that actually makes people see which companies are better than others. Seagate is fine. I have one of there 500Gb drives. It's been dropped a lot and still functions fine.

2 If you want to. To be honest, unless they are poorly treated (like mine), they should last a good few years.

3 Not entirely sure. Pocket sized are definitely more portable and convenient, but externally powered may be fractionally faster (disk speed that is).

4 Get a 3.0 if you can. It is a lot faster. I've seen movies on mine transfer at speeds of 40MB per second vs 5-10MB USB2.0 would offer.

5 Take a look at these:

This would be the most secure backup drive for your needs: http://www.amazon.com/Passport-Ultra-Portable-External-Backup/dp/B00E055H5O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381717160&sr=8-1&keywords=2tb+external+hard+drive

It automatically backs up to cloud storage (you would need to set up an account or something I think).

Otherwise this would be absolutely fine: http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Expansion-Desktop-External-STBV2000100/dp/B00834SJS0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1381717160&sr=8-3&keywords=2tb+external+hard+drive

Ordinary 2TB USB3.0 Externally powered Drive.

Just two options I would suggest, but there are tons more to look at. (The top one is more expensive because it uses USB for power, it has cloud storage/backup avaliable and it looks prettier.)

Extra about SSD's. They are unnecessary as backup devices or media storage as they are too fast/hi spec for any media playback or general storage/backup needs and therefore won't be used to full potential (even USB3.0 is not fast enough to keep up or a valid reason to use an SSD as an external storage device). I would not recommend using one for backup.

I hope this helps.

This helped me a lot! Thank you so much!

PyjamasCat · Oct 16, 2013

Jineus :

Glad I could help

Search

Getting an External Hard Drive

Jineus

Distinguished

PyjamasCat

PyjamasCat

Honorable

Jineus

Distinguished

PyjamasCat

Honorable

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page