external drive

[Milt]

Need a new external drive but there are a lot to choose from, would like some recomendations as to dependability. Thanks.

[vdubreeze]

More info, please So much has changed over the past five years (and does every five years or so), including companies being bought up by the few remaining drive manufacturers, that it pretty much comes down to anecdotals.

I love my Samsung T5 series SSD externals, which are not their latest models but have been bulletproof, and I can't imagine caring about the performance difference, personally. A few years ago I consolidated all my old drives onto a drawerful of Western Digital Red 3 and 4 T mechanisms, with a few OWC enclosures that I pop them in and out of, plus a Nexstar Dual Drive toaster style dock. No problems.

[serr]

An external drive for a backup volume where performance is a moot point?

Or an external used for an additional system drive with the performance to use a SSD and deliver full spec? (And a valid reason to use an external for this vs an upgraded or additional internal.)

One basic rule of thumb: Avoid Seagate!
(I honestly think ALL hard drives are more robust than in the past nowadays. But their reputation still seems to follow them. Better off with something else. Just like Bose! )

[Milt]

Thanks guys, looking for a drive for file backup.

[toleolu]

I've been using a Seagate 1TB external drive for backups for a couple of years now. So far so good. When I'm not using it, it goes back in the factory packaging and gets stashed away in a desk drawer.

Just something to look out for, a lot of these external drive manufacturers put backup software and other junk on these drives. I've always found it good idea to format the external drive when you first plug it in to remove all that crap.

Unless of course you see something like that on a drive that you think will work for you.

[serr]

Yes, always format new drives yourself!
Not only weird apps and stuff but usually formatted to the lowest common denominator format.

[RJHollins]

Have always used Western Digital Black drives.

A new 4T drives goes in to system very soon ...

quiet, reliable.

[Allybye]

Interesting Serr. Why not Seagate?

There is not a lot of real choice is there?
As far as I am aware there are only two main manufacturers:Seagate and Western Digital....irrespective of the brand label.

I could well be wrong about that but what is the evidence for not buying Seagate?
I have had those and WD for a number of years without issue (old ones and new ones)....but that is not evidence, either, for any recommendation!

[ivansc]

I was 10)% WD Black untiol recently when I bought my first Samsung SSD. I generaslly go with their Eco series & frankly they are bloody excellent, but I havent owned one for long enough to know what their longevity & reliability is like.
But based on the three or four I already have, Samsung every time for me.

Seagate gave me some pretty bad experiences years ago and I have never forgiven them.

[Allybye]

Ah...I should perhaps quality my last post on choice of manufacturers......it was for hard drives only!

[serr]

I've been using WD black for spinner data drives. Then going cheap with WD USB externals for backup volumes for them. ("Cheap" might not be the right word. Simply lower performance and thus lower cost.) You don't need to pay for premium performance for backup drives.

I use SSDs for OS/apps and the free space is the high performance workspace. Crucial and Samsung are my first choices.

What Samsung HDD spinner are you talking about there @ivansc? Or did you switch up to talking about SSDs there?

Seagate drives back in the day were absolutely the highest failure rate. People started calling the DeskStar the Death Star and all that. They always did sport a cheaper price tag as well. Again, I think nowadays ALL drives are more robust. But those old habits...

I don't run a data center and I'm sure I'm missing something but that's what I think I know.


Wasn't Seagate the one who made that "fusion drive"? That in-between tech when SSDs were still stupid expensive where they used a very small SSD flash drive as a buffer and then combined with a 5400rpm spinner. Truly awful product that was around for 6 months or so a few years ago. They still lose points just for that!

[Allybye]

Ok, personal experience counts for a lot when using or buying for yourself.
But that is still anecdotal and very very limited evidence.
I have found Seagate (brands) great for backup 1TB sizes...but that counts for nothing too really!

Let's see what the professional users say:

"At the end of the day, it’s still difficult to figure out which manufacturer to trust when it comes to buying your hard drive"
Reliability varies a bit from manufacturer to manufacturer and drive type/size within brands too.
See a good bit of info on the subject from a major user based upon real evidence from a big number of drives https://platinumdatarecovery.com/blo...-most-reliable

Basing choice on our individual anecdotal biases is as bad as saying something like "with two instruments, always have the glockenspiel at a higher level to make the mix work better...."


.,....oh is that actually the case? 🤫

[Pintspiller]

Buy what you can afford. Most of these things are made by the same people or share components. I think the one I got a few years back was by HP.

I'll probably get another soon. I've so much on it that I'm worried about what I might lose if it goes down.

[Allybye]

Originally Posted by Pintspiller

Buy what you can afford. Most of these things are made by the same people or share components. I think the one I got a few years back was by HP

Exactly hardly any actual manufacturers but best not to buy just based on cost!

Originally Posted by Pintspiller

I'll probably get another soon. I've so much on it that I'm worried about what I might lose if it goes down.

Then backing up is your friend!! and if it is of value back up twice on different devices/locations/media/methods/timing.....and keep them secure