Looking for External Hard Drive Recommendations

Pbm33 on 01/09/2023 - 22:14
Last edited 02/09/2023 - 21:13

Hi guys,

I currently use the WD My Passport for backing up my laptop. Except my laptop (512GB) is running out of space so I will need to get rid of some stuff from the laptop.

Which means the "backup" on the My Passport will not be the backup, it will be the only copy I have.

So I'm planning on buying a 2nd external HDD…

What would people recommend these days? I'm a fan of the WD My Passport but would be good to get something with faster transfer speeds.

Looking forward to hearing views.

EDIT:

My options:
(1) WD My Passport 2TB (USB 3.2 Gen 1, comes with Micro-B to USB-A cable + USB-A to USB-C adapter)
(2) WD My Passport Ultra 2TB (USB 3.2 Gen 1, comes with USB-C to USB-C cable + USB-C to USB-A adapter)
(3) WD My Passport SSD 2TB (USB 3.2 Gen 2, comes with USB-C to USB-C cable + USB-C to USB-A adapter)
(4) WD SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2 2TB (USB 3.2 Gen 2, comes with USB-C to USB-C cable + USB-C to USB-A adapter)
(5) Samsung Portable SSD T7 2TB (USB 3.2 Gen 2, comes with USB-C to USB-C cable + USB-C to USB-A cable)

Thanks.

Computing Portable SSD

Comments

  • altomic on 01/09/2023 - 22:44

    what external 2tb hdds have you found so far?

    • theHMASfriendship on 01/09/2023 - 22:50
      +2

      Google search just sends me to this forum post

      • Protractor on 02/09/2023 - 09:19

        Google search just sends me to your comment this forum post

  • boomramada on 02/09/2023 - 00:04

    Ask Google to pick a number between 1 and 5. 2TB is tiny.

    • Pbm33 on 02/09/2023 - 13:25
      +1

      I've got ~400GB of data to backup at present. My current backup external HDD is 1TB. So 2TB will be plenty for me.

  • garetz on 02/09/2023 - 00:41

    sandisk extreme has terrible reviews and failure rate.

    If you are using it for backups then speed isnt really a concern, and what you want the most is longevity and not to have to worry about its tbw.

    So you want a mechanical drive, i would go for a passport ultra

  • Mechz on 02/09/2023 - 10:43

    Get something like this

    ORICO 2.5 inch USB C Hard Drive Enclosure USB 3.1 Gen 2 to SATA III 6Gbps External Hard Drive https://amzn.asia/d/gKb82ra

    And something like this

    Samsung 4TB 870 QVO SATAIII 2.5' SSD
    https://amzn.asia/d/4roL2tj

    • Pbm33 on 02/09/2023 - 13:29

      Does this approach of buying drive + enclosure separate really work out cheaper?

      Any recommendations for 2TB?

      • Mechz on 02/09/2023 - 19:59

        Works out better for warranty. Just search around for good prices on 2tb, Ebay stores, Amazon, MSY, Futu, CentreCom etc.

        • Pbm33 on 02/09/2023 - 21:14

          Sorry how does it work out better for warranty?

          • Mechz on 02/09/2023 - 23:35
            +1

            @Pbm33: Because the thing most likely to die is the caddy.

      • tekisei on 03/09/2023 - 01:46

        I agree with the 2.5 inch enclosure idea. 3.5 inch enclosures are really only good for giant amounts of data or if you use it extremely infrequently.

        With semi-regular use I found having to plug in and remove the power adapter to be very irritating every time I had to use it, plus the weight of a 3.5 inch external drive is about 1kg - a pretty high % of your laptop weight. I end up reaching for the 2.5 inch enclosure every time.

        As for SSD vs HDD for long term data storage, I would still stick with HDDs as they fail slowly, unlike SDDs which often fail catastrophically. You also have issues with QLC long term storage where voltage levels drop when you don't use it for a long time, which starts to accumulate data corruption.

        I have a 500 GB HDD in that enclosure and it works very well. 1TB CMR 2.5" HDD are difficult to find, while 2TB SMR 2.5" HDD I think are still good enough for cold storage, if you are not constantly rewriting data.

        • Pbm33 on 03/09/2023 - 08:54

          Thanks mate. If it’s HDD over SSD, which would you choose between the My Passport and My Passport Ultra?

          • tekisei on 03/09/2023 - 20:06

            @Pbm33: The cheapest one. I see the cheapest My Passport 2TB seems to be $95 shipped.

            It's nonsensical to pay $20 more for USB-C or USB 3 Gen 2 when USB 3 Gen 1 already exceeds the maximum speed of the HDD by 400%.

            Do note that these are not shuckable.

            Out of the whole package, the USB controller in the enclosure is the most likely part to fail (as Mechz said), so [I think] it will be impossible to reuse the perfectly working drive in desktop or laptop applications if the controller does fail.

            I personally would buy the drive and enclosure seperately to mitigate the risk…. but you need 2TB.

            $125 2TB drive (overpriced atm) + $5-$10 enclosure would be better deal than Passport Ultra, but worse than regular Passport in my opinion.

  • Transient on 02/09/2023 - 13:02

    Have you thought about whether you can increase the storage size in your laptop? Perhaps it has a spare M2 slot or you can clone to a larger drive and swap.

    • Pbm33 on 02/09/2023 - 13:24
      +2

      Nah, its a 3 year old Dell XPS 15. Will probably upgrade in a year or so anyway.

  • Pbm33 on 08/09/2023 - 18:04

    Purchased the My Passport 2TB Black from Officeworks for $75.

    According to the WD website there should have been a "USB-A to USB-C adapter" but this was missing.

    Could not justify paying $30-40 extra for the My Passport Ultra as it would deliver the same transfer speeds but did come with USB-C.

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