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External harddrive needed

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June 11, 2014 7:14:49 AM

Ok guys i have thousands of programs,films.pictures and softwares from all my work i do and im need of a large external harddrive that wont packup after 5minutes lol. Any reccomendations. I already have a 1tb harddrive which is close to filling so lol

More about : external harddrive needed

June 11, 2014 7:46:27 AM

I would get a usb3 or esata drive and what kind of capicity do you need? can you just add another internal drive? and if these files are frequently acessed a nas makes more sense
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June 11, 2014 7:50:47 AM

I wasnt sure how to actualy add an internal one you see. I did open my box but i couldnt see any spare cables for some reason or ones that match my harddrive i had spare
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June 11, 2014 8:03:50 AM

mbreslin1954 - have had nothing but issues with seagate and WD they both break after couple of months and i lose all my data lol Seems they have a ton of badfeedback to on externals

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June 11, 2014 8:17:19 AM

Waynesmith87,

Over the years, I've had a total of five external drives. Two were USB flash drives (8GB, 16GB) that I used mostly to transfer files larger than a DVD between computers- usually three systems and the other three were for backup (160GB, 320GB, and 500GB) which always included non-compressed system images for quick restore.

Of these drives, there was one dud that forever changed my attitude towards external drives, the 320GB Western Digital Passport, an SATA II, USB2/0, 2.5" drive. This drive was the most frustrating, unpredictable piece of computer hardware I've ever even heard of as it would sometimes not be recognized, sometimes display as empty, sometimes only one of the three partitions would be recognized, sometimes work on a particular USB port and then on the next use, only work on a port that had never worked. This was always carefully handled- I never move mech'l drives even slightly when they're running. If you Googlize WD Passport or search on this site, there are many, many people with similar experiences.

By contrast, the other two storage drives never, ever missed a beat- absolute reliability, and one of these is also almost seven years old the Seagate 160GB. The newest one, has also behaved perfectly,is a 500GB Seagate SATA III. The commonality of these is that they are 3.5" drives in ventilated enclosures. The 160GB Seagate was sold in the enclosure- I think it cost about $90 new, and the Seagate 500GB was the drive that arrived in my new HP z420 at the beginning of this year mounted in an enclosure. When I'd had the system for a month, I added a 250GB Samsung SSD for OS and programs and a WD Black 1TB for files. On Passmark Performance Test, the Disk score went from 732 to 2939, so the change "helped".

By the way, I think this kind of external drive is really useful in setting up a system with an SSD. this way, the OS and all the applications can be loaded, then fully fussed over and optmized- files placed, defragged, and conslidated before migrating to the SSD which are needlessly worn by defragging.

The key to the successful external drives is ventilation and - I think- the fact that only run these drives when backing up, an average of half an hour per week. They should last practically forever at that rate. SATA III Seagate 500GB is also about 4-6X faster than the old Seagate. I found what I think is a great enclosure, a StarTech Aluminum 3.5" enclosure that is USB 3.0 and most importantly has both a power switch and a switchable fan. This is made to look like a book- sits vertically, has neat blue activity lights and cost about $40 in January. The model is StarTech SAT3510 3UB, but unfortunately I can't find that model or it's exact equivalent at the moment. Suffice to say, I recommend finding an Aluminum, 3.5", SATA III enclosure with ventilation and a fan. and then fitting the 3.5" of your choice to it. If I were buying a 3.5" drive for this use, I'd probably have a 1TB WD Blue- about $50 now, but it sounds as though you may need more room.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

HP z420 (2014) > Xeon E5-1620 quad core @ 3.6 / 3.8GHz > 24GB ECC 1600 RAM > Quadro 4000 (2GB)> Samsung 840 SSD 250GB /Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > AE3000 USB WiFi > HP 2711X, 27" 1920 X 1080 > Windows 7 Ultimate 64 >[Passmark system rating = 3923, 2D= 839 / 3D=2048]

Dell Precision T5400 (2008) > 2X Xeon X5460 quad core @3.16GHz > 16GB ECC 667> Quadro FX 4800 (1.5GB) > WD RE4 500GB / Seagate Barracuda 500GB > M-Audio 2496 Sound Card / Linksys 600N WiFi > Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit >[Passmark system rating = 1859, 2D= 512 / 3D=1097]

2D, 3D CAD, Image Processing, Rendering, Text > Architecture, industrial design, graphic design, written projects













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June 11, 2014 8:29:08 AM

bambiboom said:
Waynesmith87,

Over the years, I've had a total of five external drives. Two were USB flash drives (8GB, 16GB) that I used mostly to transfer files larger than a DVD between computers- usually three systems and the other three were for backup (160GB, 320GB, and 500GB) which always included non-compressed system images for quick restore.

Of these drives, there was one dud that forever changed my attitude towards external drives, the 320GB Western Digital Passport, an SATA II, USB2/0, 2.5" drive. This drive was the most frustrating, unpredictable piece of computer hardware I've ever even heard of as it would sometimes not be recognized, sometimes display as empty, sometimes only one of the three partitions would be recognized, sometimes work on a particular USB port and then on the next use, only work on a port that had never worked. This was always carefully handled- I never move mech'l drives even slightly when they're running. If you Googlize WD Passport or search on this site, there are many, many people with similar experiences.

By contrast, the other two storage drives never, ever missed a beat- absolute reliability, and one of these is also almost seven years old the Seagate 160GB. The newest one, has also behaved perfectly,is a 500GB Seagate SATA III. The commonality of these is that they are 3.5" drives in ventilated enclosures. The 160GB Seagate was sold in the enclosure- I think it cost about $90 new, and the Seagate 500GB was the drive that arrived in my new HP z420 at the beginning of this year mounted in an enclosure. When I'd had the system for a month, I added a 250GB Samsung SSD for OS and programs and a WD Black 1TB for files. On Passmark Performance Test, the Disk score went from 732 to 2939, so the change "helped".

By the way, I think this kind of external drive is really useful in setting up a system with an SSD. this way, the OS and all the applications can be loaded, then fully fussed over and optmized- files placed, defragged, and conslidated before migrating to the SSD which are needlessly worn by defragging.

The key to the successful external drives is ventilation and - I think- the fact that only run these drives when backing up, an average of half an hour per week. They should last practically forever at that rate. SATA III Seagate 500GB is also about 4-6X faster than the old Seagate. I found what I think is a great enclosure, a StarTech Aluminum 3,5" enclosure that is USB 3.0 and most importantly has a switchable fan. This is made to look like a book- sits vertiacally, has neat blue activity lights and cost about $40 in January. The model is StarTech SAT3510 3UB, but unfortunately I can't find that model or it's exact equivalent at the moment. Suffice to say, I recommend finding an Aluminum, 3.5", SATA III enclosure with ventilation and a fan. and then fitting the 3.5" of your choice to it. If I were buying a 3.5" drive for this use, I'd probably have a 1TB WD Blue- about $50 now, but it sounds as though you may need more room.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

HP z420 (2014) > Xeon E5-1620 quad core @ 3.6 / 3.8GHz > 24GB ECC 1600 RAM > Quadro 4000 (2GB)> Samsung 840 SSD 250GB /Western Digital Black WD1003FZEX 1TB> M-Audio 192 sound card > AE3000 USB WiFi > HP 2711X, 27" 1920 X 1080 > Windows 7 Ultimate 64 >[Passmark system rating = 3923, 2D= 839 / 3D=2048]

Dell Precision T5400 (2008) > 2X Xeon X5460 quad core @3.16GHz > 16GB ECC 667> Quadro FX 4800 (1.5GB) > WD RE4 500GB / Seagate Barracuda 500GB > M-Audio 2496 Sound Card / Linksys 600N WiFi > Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit >[Passmark system rating = 1859, 2D= 512 / 3D=1097]

2D, 3D CAD, Image Processing, Rendering, Text > Architecture, industrial design, graphic design, written projects















That is a very informative reply thank you. Yes WD drives i have always had issues with.I noticed you said very clearly that they will last forever if you are only using them as a backup. Well I have tons of movies lol Yes piratebay haha So i watch alot of programs and films with the family which i stream to my TV. Maybe this is why my externals always brake down as i am watching 1-2films per day from the harddrive ??

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June 11, 2014 8:40:21 AM

Looking for a harddrive like 4TB or more to be honest. Already have 1-2TB of films lol
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June 11, 2014 8:53:57 AM

You have plenty of room in your case to add one or more internal hard drives, all you need are SATA data cables. Since yours is a pre-built HP, you need to be sure you have extra SATA power cables that can reach your drive cages (right next to your existing hard drive). I've found that you can almost get external HDDs as cheap as internal ones.

I've had both Seagate and Western Digital drives, and I've had both brands go bad, and I've had great ones from both brands, which is why I typically just buy on price. I have not found a difference between the brands.

I have built a number of external hard drives by buying internal hard drives and external enclosures, most of them had a fan built into them but I have rarely turned the fans on, I've never had a problem with drives heating up, which is why I think the fans are a waste. The enclosures I have are all well-ventilated.
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June 11, 2014 8:58:53 AM

It looks like, from your pictures, that your PC is old, at least by all the molex power plugs I see coming from your PSU. I don't see any SATA power cables, which means that if you want to install an internal drive, you'll probably have to buy a power converter cable that is molex on one end and SATA power on the other.

Here's an example:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Here's another. Pay attention to the sex of the molex if you buy one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
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June 11, 2014 9:01:29 AM

WayneSmith87 said:
Ok guys i have thousands of programs,films.pictures and softwares from all my work i do and im need of a large external harddrive that wont packup after 5minutes lol. Any reccomendations. I already have a 1tb harddrive which is close to filling so lol


I have 7 3TB seagate backup+ drives. Run cool even without a fan and quiet even when dragging a TB at at time to them. I prefer ones that shut down with an OFF button but I don't leave this type of thing connected all day. Only connected to move stuff on or off to flash etc for watching. I have multiple drives in rosewill boxes:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
2.0+esata (though I buy the 3.0+esata now, I'll link below)
I prefer these but the seagates are so cheap at costsco/amazon they are hard to pass on. I always get them for $100-119. Having said that if it was on all day I'd want the fan and just install my own internal in the rosewill boxes which I have another 6 of. Rock solid externals in my experience and I used to sell a lot of them. They are metal and conduct heat pretty well even without a fan. Worse case when that dies it is changeable or just leave it dead...LOL. The fan is not soldered or antyhing, just a pin plug so easily changed. Nice. These are my favorite external boxes for single drives. I've found nothing that is so nicely built and have never had a dead one yet, nor anyone I sold them to. I have some dating back near a decade. :) 

I know people use them on all day, but mine admittedly have less than 2000hrs on them at most. Until the seagates though, I'll note I only bought 2 platter drives PERIOD. I don't like how hot most get above that for all day use and I really don't want a drive in my PC going down with 3TB of data on it. That kind of size is tough to backup easily or cheaply. So my biggest drive inside would be a 2TB 2platter design if you get my meaning here. Currently I'm on 2x500 platters but about to dump them soon for the 2TB models. I'm always running low inside these days (and outside...LOL).

I wouldn't mind running more platters inside if I was willing to do the backups on this kind of stuff but I move most unimportant stuff off quickly (movies to me are unimportant ;) ). I can rip again. My actual data that would "change my life if lost" for lack of a better way to put it, is always backed up and covers most of the stuff inside the PC. If I rip a movie or music, it's offloaded to external almost immediately usually. Oh I have two Seagate Goflex 3TB drives (was counting them as in the 7 I mentioned) which are the same look and everything, they just came up with a new name I guess.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
USB 3.0+esata rosewill black version.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
3.0+esata silver, $30 best deal. I also like that they all have the same psu so I'm only using 2 with 8 of them on the side just waiting for the 2 to die. :)  Most of mine are the 2.0+esata version but for $3 it's better to go 3.0 now clearly. I'm not sure why they even offer 2.0 still.

I have extras because I have a few from a few of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
It's nice having all of them use the same psu. But I hate the no fan versions and stopped buying them ages ago. The fan ones are not even warm, but copy a 200GB-1TB to the non fan and lookout. I usually point a standing fan at them when doing that kind of data transfer. Call me paranoid. I accept it...ROFL. They run cool then though ;)  I might not care about the movies etc, but I don't want them dead on purpose. A fan on low at my back blowing over my shoulder at them works ok as opposed to just tossing the boxes and upgrading to the fan models. I'd rather have another 3TB external than replace 3 non fan boxes (3x$30 so I'll point a fan at them until they're dead...LOL). I also like that they have usb3 or ESATA so I can go either way (usually sata if more than one hooked up, only one will be usb3). I don't get the same speeds with say usb3 to usb3. I always buy esata boards.

I have 4 felt feet on models that don't have rubber pads built on or the ones that have them so you'd set them up vertical (I like them down flat). This is just a precaution as I find it's too easy to tip things over and they block the monitors when standing which is annoying. I need more room on the desk. :) 

The above info is speaking as a reseller (and a user), so I saw quite a few never come back. The newegg reviews show the same (massive reviews ~650 etc). The fan models are loved for a reason and I have been through many others. These are really tough to beat for the price. Not sure I'd run any drive in an external without a fan all day. I guess it depends on what your needs are here (off most of the time, or on all day?). These are my answers either way you'd want to go. The seagate's are well built though, I just don't trust anything 24x7 without a fan. I like buying at costco to avoid the pounding ups etc gives them from newegg (amazon has better packing on drives IMHO and I get any bare drive there or local). Newegg has supposedly upgrading drive packing but I haven't bet on it yet ;)  My last newegg bare drive experience was 2 DOA 1TB drives, taking a 3rd to get it right (no hassle RMA's, gave them pics of the package and insides etc, but still a waste of time). I'm talking multiple holes in the corners of the static bags due to the beating they took. Unbelievable. More than you probably wanted to read. :) 
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June 11, 2014 9:08:47 AM

WayneSmith87,

You're very welcome. I appreciate a good opportunity to mention my terrible experience with the WD Passport 2.5" external drive. I don't care how clunky and dorkesque my big 3.5" enclosures might be- and I've carried these to architectural and engineering offices occasionally- that 160GB Seagate being perfectly reliable for seven years as against the WD Passport that was trouble after two months is worth it. Anyway, portability is taken care of with USB flash drives- my next one will be a 64GB, though solid state worries me a bit as the chances of any recovery from a failed one is very narrow.

I think there's a good case for an SATA III, USB 3 external drive for video playback- the transfer rates are more than adequate- and there is still some economy by running only when in use- it's not spinning around the full time the computer is on. Say for example that you have your system running 15 hours per day. If you use the external drive 3 hours per day, just basing the drive life on hours, the external drive theoretically would still last five times as long as the internal drive. I have plenty of room in my systems for extra internals drives, but I like the idea that external drives that are not constantly on, are not building up heat, and will have much better data protection by way isolation from viruses, malware, spying, power surges, and PSU failures.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

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June 11, 2014 12:41:05 PM

mbreslin1954 said:
You have plenty of room in your case to add one or more internal hard drives, all you need are SATA data cables. Since yours is a pre-built HP, you need to be sure you have extra SATA power cables that can reach your drive cages (right next to your existing hard drive). I've found that you can almost get external HDDs as cheap as internal ones.

I've had both Seagate and Western Digital drives, and I've had both brands go bad, and I've had great ones from both brands, which is why I typically just buy on price. I have not found a difference between the brands.

I have built a number of external hard drives by buying internal hard drives and external enclosures, most of them had a fan built into them but I have rarely turned the fans on, I've never had a problem with drives heating up, which is why I think the fans are a waste. The enclosures I have are all well-ventilated.


I'd say drag a TB of data to your drive and you might say otherwise about the fans. Things start to heat up with a sustained copy. I don't do that all the time but I routinely do it with 500GB and at times a TB. While not required heat is your enemy in PC's and the cooler you are the longer you live. Check the temps on your drive on anything over an hour copy with and without the fan and you'll know why I say use fans if you can ;)  The temp difference will shock you. That said I'm buying 3 platter 3TB drives myself these days but mostly due to the price of internals being basically the same as the seagate 3tb external as you noted and even when I drag a TB to those I generally point a fan at them temporarily. But yeah, the prices make it so you're getting the enclosure for almost free and I can always take them out and put them inside if desired. But I'd want a fan for all day on purposes regardless of what I was doing transfer wise. Just because you can run without doesn't mean it's a good idea.

Also in my experience WD's ran hotter in small cases. We had about 650 SFF dell's and the WD's were killing 4 per month (sometimes 4 in a week) so we went all seagate and required it from dell and that went down to 1. Just one example of heat being the enemy in a 24x7 environment even though they were fine in a larger box with adequate cooling. These also caused the PC's to stink some but because they were those plastic jobs back then until Dell switched to metal housing. I hated smelling those hot stink boxes on my desk...LOL. That was years ago now, but I've been seagate since that happened at home. After a year or two the data didn't lie and the WD's were clearly hotter back then (which reviews said also). That's 4 pissed people vs. 1 pissed person and I'll always take the 1 until proven otherwise by new data :)  I'm sure the problem went away when single platter drives came out in the sizes we were using, but we never looked back. Not sure who wins that war today (SFF I mean), but they are pretty equal in larger boxes with adequate cooling. Each side has strengths depending on data sets used.

Personally I've had one WD failure (dead I mean, nothing could be recovered though I had backups-I tried just for fun with multiple tools for future ref) and I just had my first two seagate's give warnings after 29500hrs of on time. Neither is dead yet, just smart throwing up windows warnings on the one and I fixed the other with seatools, but I swapped both out just out of fear...ROFL. I still might be able to fix the other with dos seatools but windows version didn't work (the dos one has a better shot). I expect my WD 640 to not be too far behind as all have about the same time on them (WD is 25000 I think), but I thrash the 2 seagates a lot more so not really surprised at 3.35yrs or so on and they aren't dead yet and I might have even caused it myself with a smack on the table one day with my knee on accident. That's merely a guess as the smart errors came shortly after and it hurt like hell...LOL. It would also explain seatools being able to block the bad sectors I suppose (not sure what all it fixed really, seatools isn't really good at giving info). Most of my drives are off all the time outside so not much to learn there.

I haven't had a really bad HD experience since the IBM deathstars, which I was selling some of at the time. Needless to say I went all WD/Seagate in business for customers and just as with WD later for SFF I never looked back. I haven't sold/recommended or bought an IBM (hitachi, then WD now I guess) since. I mean literal IBM/hitachi here not the REAL WD models. Until WD/Seagate really shows bad I see no point in going with something that royally pissed off some customers and me too :(  Thankfully there were articles to point to so nobody thought it was directly your fault or the machines you built. But I swapped them out for seagate/WD when they went down not another IBM...LOL. I don't think they're bad today, I just have a little old hate for them :) 
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June 11, 2014 1:30:38 PM

WayneSmith87 said:
bambiboom said:
Waynesmith87,

<snip>

The key to the successful external drives is ventilation and - I think- the fact that only run these drives when backing up, an average of half an hour per week. They should last practically forever at that rate. SATA III Seagate 500GB is also about 4-6X faster than the old Seagate. I found what I think is a great enclosure, a StarTech Aluminum 3,5" enclosure that is USB 3.0 and most importantly has a switchable fan. This is made to look like a book- sits vertiacally, has neat blue activity lights and cost about $40 in January. The model is StarTech SAT3510 3UB, but unfortunately I can't find that model or it's exact equivalent at the moment. Suffice to say, I recommend finding an Aluminum, 3.5", SATA III enclosure with ventilation and a fan. and then fitting the 3.5" of your choice to it. If I were buying a 3.5" drive for this use, I'd probably have a 1TB WD Blue- about $50 now, but it sounds as though you may need more room.

Cheers,

BambiBoom


That is a very informative reply thank you. Yes WD drives i have always had issues with.I noticed you said very clearly that they will last forever if you are only using them as a backup. Well I have tons of movies lol Yes piratebay haha So i watch alot of programs and films with the family which i stream to my TV. Maybe this is why my externals always brake down as i am watching 1-2films per day from the harddrive ??



Agree with most of what BambiBoom said (fan and off as much as possible with external more ventilation the better). Passport info is also widely known on a few models (but everyone puts out a turd occasionally). I also agree I have some drives that are 5-10yrs old that have less than 500hrs on them using them only to move to or from then shutting down. At this rate I may be dead before they hit the 29500 that my internals hit recently (power on time). That said you shouldn't die if the enclosure has a fan with vents as that is pretty much like having it inside a case with good cooling (say a 120 in front and back with one blowing straight through the drives in front). The boxes I mentioned from rosewill allow you to turn it off and you can easily see the difference in copying large data sets. For doing what you're saying (streaming movies daily) I'd definitely look for a fan model and preferably one with lots of reviews. Rosewill's are the most popular.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=E...
I don't really count the two thermaltakes as they are not really an enclosure (but people apparently like the docking stations also). Rosewill owns most of the top 10 reviewed units and the #1 reviewed fan model.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias...
Highly rated at amazon also. I'd say go with the seagates but for your use I say fan first regardless of my most recent 7 purchases and even though they are pretty cool I still point a fan at them with large data transfers (anything over 300GB at once)...LOL. But then I live in AZ and it's been over 104 for more than a week! You can only afford so much AC and the lows are 74 right now so pointless to open windows even at midnight for free air now. ;)  I expect this in July/August not early June but we're having an early heatwave it seems (another 103+ for the next 10days supposedly).

I still prefer fans today but those dang 3TB seagates are hard to pass up for the money and costco seems to always have them on sale. :)  Last one was $108 with tax and you don't have to worry about UPS beating the crap out of them. Newegg can't even beat it with no tax so costco keeps suckering me every other month. If you go the seagate route though, make sure you don't go the EXPANSION model, but instead the backup+ model. The warranty is 1yr on the expansion which is why it's less. You get double on the backup+ models. The new flat ones just came out. They seem to be ventilated a little better and I'm still trying to figure out which I like best (I have two of the new editions, which at first I didn't like due to downsizing the box). I'll have to check temps on both during some large transfers to really be sure but they seem equal and the new is easier to stack if you're laying them down (though I'm just talking storing them, not running in a stack). Costco still has the old model locally also.
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