Question External drive vs internal drive + USB adapter

knowledge2121

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I am looking to purchase an 8tb HDD. I want to write a lot of data on it(5tb+) initially and then read 500gb-1tb from the drive every year or even longer.

I also have this SATA to USB adapter.

1. Should I buy an external drive or an internal one and use it with the adapter ? What if i can find a better internal drive than the one used in the external for around the same price ?

2. Does SMR vs CMR matter considering how i want to use the drive ?

3. If i should buy an internal drive, which Seagate line of products is good for this type of usage ? My budget is $250 cdn including tax and shipping.
 

Inthrutheoutdoor

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If you buy an internal drive AND your mobo has SATA ports AND your case has a place to mount an internal 3.5" drive, then that's your best option, because it eliminates the need for the adapter, which almost always tends to slow down data transfers, especially writes.

However, since you already have the adapter, then you will be able to connect either an internal or external drive. Of course the internal would be just laying bare, which could be an issue depending on your environment, but an external would have some sort of enclosure around it for protection and noise dampening....

Years ago when I still had a few internal drives, I used a similar adapter nottaproblemo, but then again, I am the only one using my computer, and I only took them out occasionally to make back-ups, then put them away for safe keeping :)

Either way works, it just depends on your needs....

SMR or CMR won't really matter much for your uses.

And I would recommend Western Digital over Seagate, but that's just me, since I have always had excellent luck with WD drives, both internal & external, HDD, SATA, and now nvme's, but only so so luck with Seagates. YMMV though !
 

USAFRet

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And I would recommend Western Digital over Seagate, but that's just me, since I have always had excellent luck with WD drives, both internal & external, HDD, SATA, and now nvme's, but only so so luck with Seagates. YMMV though !
And my Seagate vs WD experience is just the opposite...;)

Of the two, in the last decade, only a WD died.

Stats like that only count in fleetwide numbers...hundreds or thousands.
The singular drive on your desk...irrelevant.
 
If you're just planning on touching the drive once in a while, sure, getting an internal drive and storing it somewhere safe is fine. But if you're doing anything more, get an external drive.

As far as who's better, there's one thing the internet can agree on: they both suck. They're both also the best. So it cancels out that neither is better than the other. So buy whatever's cheaper and if they're both the same price, flip a coin.
 

USAFRet

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On my desk or in the drawer.

I might buy a backup drive once i finish writing everything to the drive.
Do NOT leave it on your desk.

You NEED this data to be on more than one drive, from Day 1.
"Day 1" == today, Sept 7 2022.

Here's a scenario for ya...

Write your initial 5TB.
A year from now, you take it out of the drawer.
In the process of doing this annual 500GB read, it falls off the desk.
Poof, all gone.

You NEED a second (or third) copy of this data.


Or, you could choose to play it fast and loose with your data. Hoping nothing bad happens.