Before Buying an External HDD

[Roshen]

I was thinking about buying an external hard disk.
Despite of the budget, what should I consider?
Thanks!

 

[snowctrl]

Consider what is important to you:

Space (how big the drive is)
Speed (how quickly you want to be able to transfer data to and from it)
Connectivity (what port(s) will you use to connect to it)

Then look for drives that meet your criteria. If you're unsure about you requriements, strat by thinking about what you will use the drive for.

 

[kanewolf]

What is the primary purpose? Backup? Move files between systems? Shared to the network?

You might pick different features for those use-cases. Backup might look for an eSATA/USB 3 disk. Moving files might be best with a 2.5 inch disk that doesn't require a wall power adapter. Shared to the network might look for a disk that has WIFI and USB ...

The other question to ask -- would a disk docking station and bare disk be better? Would I use the docking station for other disks and not just the single backup disk?

 

[Roshen]

Whoa.. I'm more confused now than I was.
Umm... Let's say backup. My internal HDD is 500GB. That's not enough, that's why I need an external.
But not an internal! Noo...
.
And, I have a PC (Win 8.1) with no eSATA, Bluetooth, Thunderbolt, WiFi.
Hell, I don't even have USB 3.0

 

[LandonWho]

You could use Network storage like the WD My Cloud WDBCTL0020HWT 2TB Personal Cloud Storage. That would mean you plug it in and send data through your home network. Or get a normal USB Hard Drive like a BUFFALO DriveStation 2TB USB 3.0 External Desktop Hard Drive.

USB 3 hard drives will still work with USB2, it just will not have the same speed.

 

[kanewolf]

For backup, with a computer that is wired networked, a network mounted disk is my preferred implementation. Performance is usually good. The disk is available to all devices on the network. The downside is that the cost is higher than a USB direct connected device.

 

[Roshen]

For backup, with a computer that is wired networked, a network mounted disk is my preferred implementation. Performance is usually good. The disk is available to all devices on the network. The downside is that the cost is higher than a USB direct connected device.

But if I decide to go with a USB one instead of a network mounted
Should I worry about,

• 
  Cache Memory
  Spin speed
  Load/Unload cycles, etc...

 

[Roshen]

BTW, Thanks guys for taking time for answering!

 

[kanewolf]

You will be limited by the USB2 connectivity of your motherboard. If you have the slots available you might want an eSATA or USB3 card also.

 

[James Mason]

Why not just get a bigger internal hard drive? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236624
External Drives are only good for Data STORAGE, not for programs and applications.

 

[Roshen]

You will be limited by the USB2 connectivity of your motherboard. If you have the slots available you might want an eSATA or USB3 card also.

I know. But network mounted ones waaayy.. more expensive.
I think I should go with a USB 3.0 portable.
Thanks for your time!

 

[Roshen]

Why not just get a bigger internal hard drive? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236624
External Drives are only good for Data STORAGE, not for programs and applications.

Thanks for the idea dude