[SOLVED] External drive recommendation for backup

[RSene]

Hey all.

I'm looking for recommendations for an external drive to back up my data. Here is my situation now:

- no backup data at the moment
- want to back up only data (not SO)
- I have about 500GB of data to be backed up
- my data are stored in a second HDD in my PC that is separated from the primary OS HDD

I'm planning to back up once a week. Could you recommend some brands and models? I'm looking for 2TB or 4TB. Is the SSD preferable over the HDD?

My MB is a Gigabyte Z68X-UD3P-B3

Thanks.

 

[Darkbreeze]

What is "SO"? I assume you mean OS?

Yes, an SSD would definitely be preferable to a HDD because it's so much faster and totally silent, unlike a HDD. However, if the data you are going to be transferring to the new drive is going to be coming from ONLY the older HDD, then it might not make much sense because a 2 or 4TB SSD is going to be MUCH more expensive than an equivalent capacity HDD, and the existing HDD is going to limit your transfer speeds to whatever the maximum of the HDD is, and that will be a LOT slower than any SSD. If it was going to be SSD to SSD it would definitely make sense OR if you plan to replace that HDD that is being used to store that data now with another SSD at some point, then it might still make sense to go with an SSD now.

But if not, then it doesn't make much sense because why pay more to get the same speed you would be getting with a HDD or pretty close to it anyhow. I mean, you'd likely see marginally faster transfer speeds going HDD to SSD than you would going HDD to HDD, but not enough to make the price difference worthwhile.

So as far as making a recommendation on a specific external drive, it would be helpful to know what country you are in because what's available is going to be very different from region to region.

 

[USAFRet]

First off, kudos for delving into this backup situation. Far too many people don't.

HDD advantage: GB per $$
SSD advantage: Resilience if you happen to drop this external thing off the desk.

Speed? Not so much of a consideration. Especially if your source drive is an HDD.
The fastest SSD in the world won't matter, if the HDD is the source. Speed depends on the slowest device in the chain.

 

[Darkbreeze]

The fastest SSD in the world won't matter, if the HDD is the source. Speed depends on the slowest device in the chain.

Precisely.

 

[RSene]

What is "SO"? I assume you mean OS?

Yes, thats right. My mistake.

Yes, an SSD would definitely be preferable to a HDD because it's so much faster and totally silent, unlike a HDD. However, if the data you are going to be transferring to the new drive is going to be coming from ONLY the older HDD, then it might not make much sense because a 2 or 4TB SSD is going to be MUCH more expensive than an equivalent capacity HDD, and the existing HDD is going to limit your transfer speeds to whatever the maximum of the HDD is, and that will be a LOT slower than any SSD. If it was going to be SSD to SSD it would definitely make sense OR if you plan to replace that HDD that is being used to store that data now with another SSD at some point, then it might still make sense to go with an SSD now.

But if not, then it doesn't make much sense because why pay more to get the same speed you would be getting with a HDD or pretty close to it anyhow. I mean, you'd likely see marginally faster transfer speeds going HDD to SSD than you would going HDD to HDD, but not enough to make the price difference worthwhile.

Well, that makes a lot of sense. Fair enough. Although I'm thinking of moving to SSDs at some point in the future, it will not be in the near future. I'll be using the HDDs I have here as long as they fit my needs (or until the point they die).

So as far as making a recommendation on a specific external drive, it would be helpful to know what country you are in because what's available is going to be very different from region to region.

I live in Brazil. The Dollar/Real rate is 1 to 5 🙁

 

[RSene]

First off, kudos for delving into this backup situation. Far too many people don't.

Thanks. I'm glad I'm doing this while I still have my data.

HDD advantage: GB per $$
SSD advantage: Resilience if you happen to drop this external thing off the desk.

Speed? Not so much of a consideration. Especially if your source drive is an HDD.
The fastest SSD in the world won't matter, if the HDD is the source. Speed depends on the slowest device in the chain.

Thanks for the explanation 👍

 

[Darkbreeze]

So what is your budget for this drive and are there any places online you can or prefer to, order from, or do you have to purchase from local shops due to the added costs of tariffs and duties, and probably also shipping as well?

 

[RSene]

So what is your budget for this drive and are there any places online you can or prefer to, order from, or do you have to purchase from local shops due to the added costs of tariffs and duties, and probably also shipping as well?

Actually, I prefer to do this search between shops myself. I just need the brand/model to look for. I'm planning to spend 150-200 dollar

 

[Darkbreeze]

I mean honestly, there's not that much to choose from anymore because there are really only a few manufacturers still offering external options using hard drives. Most of them have become SSD only. So really like the Western digital My Passport or My book, or the Seagate One touch are the only real options at reasonable prices. Toshiba offers it's Canvio line but they are not as reliable as the other two IMO and the Canvio line is moderately more expensive. Truthfully, whichever of them you can find in the size you need at the lowest price is probably the best option considering they are all within a stone's throw of each other when it comes to reliability these days.

All of the less expensive options are also only going to be 5400rpm drives inside. If you want a faster external option with a 7200RPM drive then you'll have to look at the Western digital WD_Black_P10 or D10 series or the WD My book duo. I don't see or recall many other options for the faster 7200 drives on external units besides those anymore. In any case, I'd stay away from anything for the most part that isn't Western digital, Seagate or Toshiba. Buffalo technology also has the Buffalo drivestation axis velocity that are also available at 7200 rpm but Buffalo technology really just makes the enclosures and then uses drives from Western digital, Seagate, etc., and then you pay a premium. Don't see the point of that really.

 

[RSene]

I mean honestly, there's not that much to choose from anymore because there are really only a few manufacturers still offering external options using hard drives. Most of them have become SSD only. So really like the Western digital My Passport or My book, or the Seagate One touch are the only real options at reasonable prices. Toshiba offers it's Canvio line but they are not as reliable as the other two IMO and the Canvio line is moderately more expensive. Truthfully, whichever of them you can find in the size you need at the lowest price is probably the best option considering they are all within a stone's throw of each other when it comes to reliability these days.

All of the less expensive options are also only going to be 5400rpm drives inside. If you want a faster external option with a 7200RPM drive then you'll have to look at the Western digital WD_Black_P10 or D10 series or the WD My book duo. I don't see or recall many other options for the faster 7200 drives on external units besides those anymore. In any case, I'd stay away from anything for the most part that isn't Western digital, Seagate or Toshiba. Buffalo technology also has the Buffalo drivestation axis velocity that are also available at 7200 rpm but Buffalo technology really just makes the enclosures and then uses drives from Western digital, Seagate, etc., and then you pay a premium. Don't see the point of that really.

Thanks for your reply, I was travelling, and I'm seeing your post just now. I'll do some search with the options you gave me in the following days. 👍

 

[RSene]

Hey buddy, just to give you feedback, I bought this Seagate 2TB Expansion, and it met my needs perfectly. I did my backup, and I'm happy with it.

Thank you for your help.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Perfect man. Glad you got it all sorted to where you need to be. Good luck to you man.