Best external hard drives to buy right now?
in Computer Peripherals ·
So, I've finally decided to pick up some kind of external 2.5" drive!
One of the biggest things for me is making sure there's an actual, legit SATA drive inside, just hooked up to a SATA->USB 3.0 bridge. That way, if my computer case ever decides to kick the bucket and head to the great scrapyard in the sky, I can actually pull the drive out and use it elsewhere.
I also really need something beefy and durable. My main goal here is just general storage and occasionally booting up a virtual machine directly from the drive.
I'm seeing a ton of people recommending the Seagate Expansion, USB 3.0, Seagate Expansion($179)
And looking at photos online, it definitely seems like it houses a real SATA drive—looks like it’s packing a Western Digital Blue SATA I 5400rpm drive. I was wondering if it's even worth hunting down something with 7200 RPM or maybe a SATA III setup? Honestly, I'm thinking it probably isn't necessary.
The only tiny red flag I stumbled upon in a review was someone asking about the cooling situation since the whole thing is wrapped up so tightly 🙂 hmm...
As for other options, I see people mentioning WD:
Or maybe Seagate/Samsung:
I wouldn't mind DIY-ing my own enclosure or putting together a little docking station either, assuming there's actually some kind of advantage to building it yourself versus just buying a ready-made unit.
The only thing I found that has those nice rounded edges (I absolutely hate those sharp metal enclosures that snag on the mesh of my laptop bag!) is this one:
And here is the exact same drive from Seagate (though it looks like it might be out of stock locally):
Total: $218.
Anyone got any advice or tips for me? 🙂
p.s. If my Google search didn't steer me wrong, this enclosure should theoretically support a SATA III drive too...
For the USB 3.0 interface, Transcend is using the ASmedia ASM1053 bridge.
One of the biggest things for me is making sure there's an actual, legit SATA drive inside, just hooked up to a SATA->USB 3.0 bridge. That way, if my computer case ever decides to kick the bucket and head to the great scrapyard in the sky, I can actually pull the drive out and use it elsewhere.
I also really need something beefy and durable. My main goal here is just general storage and occasionally booting up a virtual machine directly from the drive.
I'm seeing a ton of people recommending the Seagate Expansion, USB 3.0, Seagate Expansion($179)
And looking at photos online, it definitely seems like it houses a real SATA drive—looks like it’s packing a Western Digital Blue SATA I 5400rpm drive. I was wondering if it's even worth hunting down something with 7200 RPM or maybe a SATA III setup? Honestly, I'm thinking it probably isn't necessary.
The only tiny red flag I stumbled upon in a review was someone asking about the cooling situation since the whole thing is wrapped up so tightly 🙂 hmm...
As for other options, I see people mentioning WD:
Or maybe Seagate/Samsung:
I wouldn't mind DIY-ing my own enclosure or putting together a little docking station either, assuming there's actually some kind of advantage to building it yourself versus just buying a ready-made unit.
The only thing I found that has those nice rounded edges (I absolutely hate those sharp metal enclosures that snag on the mesh of my laptop bag!) is this one:
And here is the exact same drive from Seagate (though it looks like it might be out of stock locally):
Total: $218.
Anyone got any advice or tips for me? 🙂
p.s. If my Google search didn't steer me wrong, this enclosure should theoretically support a SATA III drive too...
For the USB 3.0 interface, Transcend is using the ASmedia ASM1053 bridge.