Desktop External HDD hunt!

[Perlies]

My Seagate external desktop expansion drive of 2TB just gave out... So as of now, while trying to make it possible to salvage what i can from the wreckage i am in the market for a new external HDD.

 

I will need at least 2TB but if the price is worth it I am willing to go over to 4TB.
 

My options are as posted below:

- Samsung D3 4TB                     @      138.90 €

- Samsung D3 2TB                     @      89.90 €

- WD elemenst desktop 4TB       @      152 €

- WD elements desktop 2TB       @      94 €

- WD My book desktop 2TB        @      109 €

- WD My passport ultra 2TB        @      120 €

 

there are also seagate options but I'd rather not go down that road again given the recent failure.
So, i am aware that the Samsung HDD division has been "merged" with seagate and that the drives are actually manufactured and distributed by seagate. So which one do you prefer and Why?

 

The drives are nor used for storaging work stuff. It all goint to be Media of all sorts, e.x. movies, series, games, photos, music, and all sorts of other clutter that i will dearly miss if lost. Also the drive is going to stand next to my desktop all day and be idle unless i decide to watch something. with that i mean that there will be work done on it aside from media playback one in a while. I say that concearning that last Portable drive solution, since i cannot decide whether the portability is worth and whether not having its own power source is good for having it plugged all the time...

thanks to everyone for your answers.

[Techpumpkin_WD]

Hi there, 

 

If you intend to keep the external HDD connected to your PC all the time I suggest you get a desktop external HDD, they have separate power supply and come at a better price per TB when compared to portable HDDs.  As you are looking at WD products those are the  WD Elemenst desktop http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=m0kkem and WD My Book http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=iGL3P6 . The main difference between those two series is that the WD My Book has hardware encryption and the WD Elements doesn't. The hardware encryption means that the HDD will always encrypt your data even if you don't set a password for it. It's a layer of extra security but could also be something troubling if the enclosure fails as the data won't be readable without it. In addition the WD My Book also comes with a free version of WD Backup software – WD SmartWare Pro and a free license for Acronis True Image WD Edition. 

 

I think both those drives will work for you, you just have too choose if you need an encrypted and password protected HDD or just simple storage. Hope that helps you choose if you have any other questions regarding this products just give me a shout.

[Perlies]

Thanks for the answer friend. What i dont understand though is WHY the 3.5" external is better if you are going to use it for a desktop. In what ways is it better. I mean yes i get that it is cheaper, but what else? I can find any speed benchmarks everywhere, or at what temperatures they tendo to operate. Also is it ok to leave a portable connected for days at a time? If those two are on par as far as performance and failure rates go then i would consoder getting the portable if only to have freedom to move it every 1-2 months for visiting friends and stuff...

[Techpumpkin_WD]

One of the main differences between portable and desktop drive is the way the are getting power. Portable drives are getting power through the same cable they are using to transfer data. That is just a normal USB 3.0 cable and usually no one pays a lot of attention to the cables they use. However if there is small problem with the cable this could affect the lifespan of the HDD and even cause a premature failure. And then there is the problem with the USB ports. Most PCs provide enough current on their USB 3.0 ports, but the situation is different with other kind of devices that provide USB 3.0 “support”, some TVs for example provide support for the USB 3.0 standard as far as they support the USB 3.0 data transfer mode, however some are unable to supply enough power for the HDD to spin up, the same goes with backward compatibility with USB 2.0.

 

And then there is the way that we handle HDDs. HDDs are extremely precise pieces of equipment - current head-media spacings are at molecular dimensions: 1 – 2nm, for comparison 1 nm = 1/1 000 000 000 m and the diameter of DNA helix is 2 nm. Desktop drives usually sit on desks and are rarely moved, but portable drives, due to their portable nature get moved a lot. This isn't a bad thing generally, but people tend to treat them like phones, like if" I just toss it on the bed now, it won't damage it". And it won't, if it's only once, but if one does such things on a regular basis the HDD health will suffer and the lifespan will be shorter.  

[Perlies]

Thanks for taking the time to discuss this. So if i treat it with care and make sure that i use it o regular Motherboard3.0 ports without a hub, it will not really matter if I get a portable or a desktop. I will probably go for the 3.5" though since I read that they are a quite bit faster in their operation. THanks a lot for your input

[Techpumpkin_WD]

 Glad I could help.