Hardware External HD recommendations

[Thesolcity]

I need some recommendations on external drive models. Specifically, I'm looking for a 3tb drive that has a high chance of not dying after a couple months. After scouring through various websites and looking at reviews its always been the same story, either DOA or dead after a month or two. Reviews being the horror story they are, can someone recommend me a drive that'll last?

 

[Pleng]

ooking at reviews its always been the same story, either DOA or dead after a month or two....

There's always going to be a couple of bad eggs in every batch from every manufacturer. Of course the stories you read in the reviews are going to be bad ones. As a rule, people are less inclined to write a positive review about a device. This applies even more so to 'boring' devices such as hard disks. Who's going to bother coming back12 moths down the line just to say "know what? still working!"?

 

[Originality]

An external drive tends to get chucked into a bag, carried around places, get subjected to varying quality of power sources, and ultimately die fast.

 

[gifi4]

I may be wrong here but, with the HDD's that have higher capacity such as a 3TB, don't they have more chance of dying quicker, because the technology isn't as perfected as what a 1 TB is?

Also @OP
What do you want the drive for? Is it just for backup? Is it going to be connected all the time? The less it's moved around means the longer the drive itself will last...

 

[Originality]

You're not wrong, but it's not as you explain. High capacity drives (e.g. 3TB) have more platters. More platters, more headers, more motors, more magnets, more cramped. This means that they're more fragile - NOT that they die quicker. Life expectancy is based on environment, wear and tear, usage and treatment.

 

[Thesolcity]

I may be wrong here but, with the HDD's that have higher capacity such as a 3TB, don't they have more chance of dying quicker, because the technology isn't as perfected as what a 1 TB is?

Also @OP
What do you want the drive for? Is it just for backup? Is it going to be connected all the time? The less it's moved around means the longer the drive itself will last...

It'll be sitting around plugged into my main comp. It wont be moving around too much.

 

[Originality]

Question (before I move onto an actual recommendation): have you considered a removable HDD bay, rather than an external drive? If it's not going to move around much (i.e. if you don't need it for portability), then hot-swappable drives are far less likely to... well... die.

As for drives, Western Digital. Samsung make very good drives, and some of my favourite review sites tells me Seagate drives no longer die within a few months (I'll believe that when I see it), but Western Digital has always been reliable. I've got a 3TB WD Green drive in my rig right now (in addition to 2 Samsung 1TB drives, 120GB OCZ Vertex 3 and my DVD drive). Used to have Seagate external drives but they all died. Still got 2 more 1TB Samsung drives in my NAS.

 

[Fishaman P]

For one, I wouldn't recommend getting a 3TB drive, or for that matter any drive greater than 2TB. They have issues with older operating systems, specifically XP and 32-bit Vista IIRC.

As for the brand, you can't go wrong with Hitachi. I hear Samsung makes good drives, but they haven't been around as long as WD.

 

[Another World]

every western digital external i've used has caused me headaches.

i have a 1tb seagate how, i love it. also using seagate drives on my desktop.

-another world

 

[uribemaster]

Seagate is now the most recommended brand. Western Digital is also cool and cheaper but they end up dying (or atleast mine did after a year). I recommend Seagate especially the goflex brand

 

[Thesolcity]

Question (before I move onto an actual recommendation): have you considered a removable HDD bay, rather than an external drive? If it's not going to move around much (i.e. if you don't need it for portability), then hot-swappable drives are far less likely to... well... die.

As for drives, Western Digital. Samsung make very good drives, and some of my favourite review sites tells me Seagate drives no longer die within a few months (I'll believe that when I see it), but Western Digital has always been reliable. I've got a 3TB WD Green drive in my rig right now (in addition to 2 Samsung 1TB drives, 120GB OCZ Vertex 3 and my DVD drive). Used to have Seagate external drives but they all died. Still got 2 more 1TB Samsung drives in my NAS.

A removable HD bay hasn't even crossed my mind, oddly enough. It seems I should look into one. Any idea of a decent model?

From reading a crap ton of reviews, everyone seems split over the WD/Seagate issue. Some people swear by one side and avoid the other like the plague, it makes it quite confusing.

For one, I wouldn't recommend getting a 3TB drive, or for that matter any drive greater than 2TB. They have issues with older operating systems, specifically XP and 32-bit Vista IIRC.

As for the brand, you can't go wrong with Hitachi. I hear Samsung makes good drives, but they haven't been around as long as WD.

I don't have XP or Vista, so I don't think it should be a problem. Thanks for the info, though.

every western digital external i've used has caused me headaches.

i have a 1tb seagate how, i love it. also using seagate drives on my desktop.

-another world

Currently running an almost-full 2tb Seagate.

 

[chains_of_androm]

Build your own. Find a 3TB drive you want, get enclosure or SATA dock.

 

[Anon10W1z]

Build your own. Find a 3TB drive you want, get enclosure or SATA dock.

That's not building. For that, you would need platters, drive heads, screws, a controller board, etc....

You aren't wrong in suggesting using an internal drive as an external one.

 

[Pleng]

Build your own. Find a 3TB drive you want, get enclosure or SATA dock.

That's not building. For that, you would need platters, drive heads, screws, a controller board, etc....

You aren't wrong in suggesting using an internal drive as an external one.

I don't know. As we're being pedantic anyway, The original post was asking about recommendations for an external hard drive. In which case chains_of_andromeda's instructions are quite valid. If the OP had been about hard drives in general then you might have had a case (pun!).