Recommend me mass storage + HDD dock

[PizzaJailer]

A few months ago I started a research project that required me to generate a large amount of data. I picked up a 8TB WD Elements external HDD for the price and my storage needs. However, yesterday it started ticking audible every 5 seconds at idle and when reading files it sounds like its scraping the plate. I've tried updating the firmware (Already latest) and changing the USB cable (Still makes noises even when not plugged into a PC, power adapter is separate from USB) with no success.

 

As far as I'm aware all of my data is still intact, but I'm thinking I'll want another 8TB drive as a backup in case this one fails.

 

I was hoping someone from the community could recommend me a drive for my use situation. I've seen a lot of conflicting reviews for drives like the Seagate Barracuda on Amazon and its making me confused about what I should purchase (e.g., This product is not as described, it was used or the incorrect model).

 

I'm not playing games on this drive or accessing more than small parts of my data at a time. Basically I need a reliable drive that can store a large amount of data, and maybe like not fail within a few months. Of course if it is like $10 more for a non SMR drive I'll take that instead. And certainly cheaper is better, I'd rather have two drives with a greater chance to fail than one expensive drive that could still fail. I'd prefer an internal 3.5" drive at this point, but if you recommend an external one make sure its one I can take it out and use it internally without any hassle.

 

I'm also looking for a HDD docking station with at least two slots for 3.5" drives. It doesn't need to have any built in features like drive cloning, but I'd at least like to get one that uses modern interfaces: i.e., USB-C, ditching the external power adapter if possible.

 

Thanks for any help I get in advance!

[Windows7ge]

I don't know anything about HDD docks but for drives themselves I like to buy either Seagate Ironwolf/Ironwolf Pro, or WD Reds/Golds. These brands/models have been pretty reliable for my use cases.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

USB of any kind doesn't put out enough power to run a 3.5" HDD (not to mention it doesn't provide the 12v 3.5" HDDs need) so you will be stuck with dealing with external PSUs for an external dock.

[PizzaJailer]

1 hour ago, Windows7ge said:

I don't know anything about HDD docks but for drives themselves I like to buy either Seagate Ironwolf/Ironwolf Pro, or WD Reds/Golds. These brands/models have been pretty reliable for my use cases.

Do you think Ironwolf/Pro would be a bit overkill for my use case? I only need to generate my data once (However data generation is slow, so the drive needs to be on for extended periods i.e., months) + occasional backups from my boot drive.

[Windows7ge]

4 minutes ago, PizzaJailer said:

Do you think Ironwolf/Pro would be a bit overkill for my use case? I only need to generate my data once (However data generation is slow, so the drive needs to be on for extended periods i.e., months) + occasional backups from my boot drive.

This sounds like a good use case for an NAS type or enterprise like drive. Something rated for 24/7 operation with a high write lifetime. If you're going to be writing over almost the entire disk and it's going to take weeks to complete you'll want something better than consumer disks to ensure the lifespan of the drive. The type I've listed aren't astronomically more expensive, they should perform better (as in last longer/run cooler) than say a WD Blue drive or a Barracuda.

 

As you get into the much higher capacities the features kind of come with the territory. I find that the Ironwolf 10TB/12TB disks can be had cheaper than the equivalent capacity WD Gold (if you find a sale). So the Ironwolfs are actually a pretty good deal in my eyes.

 

At this time it seems WD is replacing their Gold series with one they're calling Ultrastar.

 

Seagate also has a Compute series of drive called Seagate BarraCuda/BarraCuda Pro. I haven't looked into them personally but you can check them out.