External HDD

[Redjo]

Western Digital Elements Portable 2.5 [2TB] [Speed:5400rpm, Cache: 32 MB] 3.0

or

Seagate Expansion Portable 2.5 [2TB] [Speed:5400rpm, Cache: 32 MB] 3.0

or

Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2.5 [2TB] [Speed:5400rpm, Cache: 32 MB] 3.0 

or

ADATA HV620S 2TB 2.5 [2TB] [Speed:5400rpm, Cache: 32 MB] 3.1

 

I've decided to buy external HDD to backup my data which is around 700GB, but there are alot of different options from different brands [price is similar between them]

I've listed the ones that popped in the first page in my search engine.

 

I would like to know which HDD brand you guys would recommend me getting. [I have WD Blue in my PC as my main storage and its running fine for over 5 years now] 

[Electronics Wizardy]

There all basically the same, so get whats cheapest. There probably all smr, but with backups speed really won't matter than much.

 

Get multiple drives in difference locations if the data is important, any of these drives will fail sometime, likely without warning.

[Redjo]

1 hour ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

There all basically the same, so get whats cheapest. There probably all smr, but with backups speed really won't matter than much.

 

Get multiple drives in difference locations if the data is important, any of these drives will fail sometime, likely without warning.

Like will it just fail while sitting there, because i dont plan using it actively.

 

 

[Electronics Wizardy]

9 minutes ago, Redjo said:

Like will it just fail while sitting there, because i dont plan using it actively.

 

 

It can, hdds can fail randomly at any time. Multiple backups are key for important data.

[Redjo]

2 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

It can, hdds can fail randomly at any time. Multiple backups are key for important data.

So is it safer to go SSD? 

[Electronics Wizardy]

1 minute ago, Redjo said:

So is it safer to go SSD? 

not really, ssds can do the same thing. Multiple backups are key, not having a single reliable backup

[doommood]

On 6/12/2020 at 2:10 PM, Redjo said:

So is it safer to go SSD? 

In some terms, yes SSDs are considered as more reliable than HDDs (they do not have mechanical parts).

On 6/12/2020 at 2:12 PM, Electronics Wizardy said:

not really, ssds can do the same thing. Multiple backups are key, not having a single reliable backup

This is 100% right. It is not safe to store backups on a single drive. You should have the 3-2-1 method for backups. 

3: you should always have 3 copies of your important data.

2: two copies should be stored on different media.

1: one of the three copies should be offsite.

You should always use encryption for offsite backups.
https://www.vmwareblog.org/3-2-1-backup-rule-data-will-always-survive/