Best external hard drives to buy right now?

darkmarlin16 said:that's exactly what I was wondering about🙂

thanks a ton 🙂

and one more thing 😁
is that case actually huge—like, can you just carry it under your arm? 😬
and can I find it at Best Buy? 🤷

The only thing I managed to track down is this:

Go ahead, head over there and ask—you might as well bring your drive along for the ride... honestly, the case is barely any bigger than the drive itself, maybe a few millimeters of extra space on each side.

brightranger52 said:I really need a massive external hard drive. Ideally something in the 6 or 8 TB range. Does anyone have actual experience with those? From what I've seen online, it looks like WD is the only one making them that big?

As far as I know, the biggest option out there is from Seagate, which is 4 TB—where exactly are you seeing these massive WD drives?

Benjamin King2 said:As far as I know, the biggest drive is from Seagate at 4 TB. Where on earth did you see those WD drives?

Right here;

Look, this isn't some basic portable drive—it’s actually a Network Attached Storage unit (NAS)—basically a dedicated enclosure housing 4 TB drives that plugs directly into your router via an Ethernet cable.

Benjamin King2 said:That’s not just a portable drive; it’s a Network Attached Storage (NAS) unit. It’s basically a chassis holding 4 drives that plugs directly into your router via an Ethernet cable.

Man, I totally misread the situation.

Alright, so can you give me a solid recommendation for a big drive? All I really need is somewhere to stash my movie collection, mostly MKV files. Should I go with that 6 TB WD option or stick with the Seagate 4 TB you mentioned?

Portable 4 TB drives started popping up on the market maybe two or three months ago—think Seagate or Hitachi—but I haven't seen them around here yet; you can usually find the 3 TB versions if you look. Now, if you aren't planning on lugging this stuff around, a NAS is a way better move. You just need a decent router or switch since you access everything over the LAN; you can't just plug a NAS directly into your computer like a standard drive. Though, I'm pretty sure the ones they have over at Telebit are out of stock—WD stopped making those specific models about four years ago.

You could go this route: grab a portable drive, maybe two 3 TB units, and just hook them up to your PC via eSATA or FireWire. Honestly, don't even bother with USB 2.0—it’s absolute garbage and painfully slow:

Or, say, a NAS like this one:

If you do decide to pull the trigger on a NAS, my advice is to check the pricing over here. You'll get a much wider selection and higher-quality gear:

Benjamin King2 said:So you've got something like this—a portable drive, maybe two 3 TB units? Just hook it up to your PC using an eSATA or FireWire interface. Honestly, don't even bother with USB 2.0; it's absolute garbage and way too slow. Check out this silver model here:
I can't see any text to rewrite! Send over the post you want me to work on, and I'll get right to it.

Hmm... that 6TB WD would be perfect for me. I was just looking into it and noticed it comes pre-formatted for Mac. It looks like I can fix that if I have access to a Windows 7 or Vista machine. What do you think about that?

Check out this review on the WD Caviar Gold 6TB. It’s a pretty deep dive into how these drives actually hold up under pressure. If you're looking to beef up your storage, this might be worth a read.

Anyway, thanks for all the helpful info!

@ Benjamin King2

So here’s what they actually sold me 🤷

I specifically told them I needed a case for a PATA setup, and I even went out of my way to emphasize that I was talking about an OLDER model drive, so is this actually what I asked for or did they just totally screw me over? 🤷

I honestly have zero clue how anyone is supposed to make this work😕

darkmarlin16 said:@ Benjamin King2

Here’s what they sold me 🤷

I told them I needed it for PATA—actually, I specifically emphasized it was for an OLDER model drive—so is this right, or did they just screw me over? 🤷

Honestly, I don't have a clue how any of this is supposed to work.😕

That case should work fine if it's for that drive you posted in the photo... 🙂

Seriously though, how is someone even trying to shove a 3.5" drive into a 2.5" enclosure? It’s physically impossible—like, what were you thinking? 😁

darkmarlin16, just print out that link I sent you earlier—it’s the only 3.5" PATA enclosure they actually had in stock, so take it down there and see if they'll swap it out. Why on earth didn't you just bring the drive with you in the first place? 🙂

I’m looking to pick up an external hard drive with its own power supply, specifically just to record stuff from my TV. I did a little digging, and honestly, it seems like everything out there with an external power brick starts at 1TB or way higher. Is it even possible to find anything smaller? I don't need some massive storage beast—maybe something in the 250-500 GB range? I mostly just record things, watch them, and then wipe them anyway.

Amanda Anderson87 said:I'm looking to pick up an external hard drive with its own power supply, specifically just for recording stuff from my TV. I did a little digging, and it seems like most of the ones with external power adapters start at 1TB or higher. Are there actually any smaller capacity options that come with their own power supply? I probably don't need more than 250-500 GB, since I usually record things and then delete them once I've watched them.

I use this setup and everything works fine, I guess:

- 3.5'' external enclosure

- 250.0 GB Seagate SATA hard drive

So, if you just pair those two together, you basically have an external drive with its own power supply. 🙂

Joshua Garcia3 said:I run this exact setup and it works like a charm:

- 3.5'' external enclosure

- 250.0 GB Seagate hard drive, SATA

Basically, you just pair these two up and boom—you've got an external drive with its own power supply. 🙂

I've got two 500GB externals sitting at my place right now (one Seagate, one Imation). Does that mean I can just grab this enclosure, plug everything in, and call it a day? Also, am I going to need some kind of engineering degree to put this together, or is it just a "plug and play" situation where it tells me exactly what goes where once I have the parts in my hands?😁

Amanda Anderson87 said:I have two 500 GB external drives at home (one Seagate and one Imation). Does this mean I just buy this enclosure, plug everything in, and I'm done? Also, do I need to be some kind of tech expert to put this together, or will it basically just be a matter of plugging things into their respective slots once I have all the parts in front of me? 😁

Wait, I'm not entirely sure what you mean by having two hard drives—are we talking about bare drives, or the ones already inside an external housing?

It shouldn't be much of a hassle to put a drive into that enclosure. Honestly, you probably won't even need to go hunting through a toolbox for a screwdriver, since most enclosures come with one included in the box. 🙂

Joshua Garcia3 said:Wait, I’m not totally following you here. Are you saying you have two separate drives like this or just one with an enclosure (an external drive)?

It’s honestly no big deal to pop a drive into one of those enclosures. You don't even need to go digging through a toolbox looking for a screwdriver because they usually toss one right in the box with the external case. 🙂

Look, I thought it was kind of weird—like, why would I need two different cases for a single drive? 🤣 I already have two external ones with their own housings. So, basically, I just grab the stuff you mentioned, use the little screwdriver that comes with it🙂 and that’s it? Boom. Done!

Amanda Anderson87 said:Well, I thought it was a bit weird to need two enclosures for one drive. 🤣 I actually already have two external drives in their own cases. So, if I just buy what you suggested and put it together with the screwdriver provided, 🙂 that's it? Great!

No, no, I think we’re miscommunicating here. If you already have two external HDDs in enclosures, then you don't need the specific setup I was talking about. You could just take one of those existing external drives, plug its USB cable into the port on your TV, and call it a day.

My suggestion was specifically responding to your question: "I should probably buy an external HDD with its own power supply, maybe around 250-500 GB." Since everything on the market seems to be larger than what you asked for, I figured buying a standalone HDD and pairing it with a powered enclosure might be the way to go.

Since you mentioned you already own external drives (which wasn't in your first post), then this combination isn't necessary for you... unless I'm mistaken. Given that your current drives draw power directly from the USB port rather than having their own wall plug, I guess the real question is whether the TV manufacturer requires an external power supply for the drive to work properly.

I don't even know where to start with this mess. Honestly, just looking at it makes my blood boil. It’s like nobody actually thinks before they act anymore. Just pure, unadulterated chaos. I’m sitting here, trying to make sense of things, and I just want to throw my laptop out the window. Seriously. Everything is a disaster. kaže:
No, no, I think we’re totally missing each other here. Look, if you already have two external hard drives sitting around, then you don't even need that enclosure I was talking about. It's simple. Just grab one of those existing drives, plug the USB cable straight into the port on your TV, and boom—you're done. That's it.

Look, I was just answering your question! My suggestion was directly related to what you asked. I really need to pick up an external hard drive—something with its own power supply, preferably around 250 to 500 GB. Just getting it done already.Look, since everything on the market right now is way bigger than the stuff you’re actually talking about, I’ve got an idea. Just grab a standalone hard drive and pair it up with a separate case and power supply. It’s a better move.

Wait, hold up. If you already have an external hard drive with its own power supply—which, by the way, you totally failed to mention in your first post—then why on earth would you even need this setup? Or am I just losing my mind here? Because the gear you currently have doesn't even have external power; it’s all running off the USB port. So, seriously... what's the point? So, I just found out that if you want to plug an external hard drive into your TV, you actually have to use its own dedicated power supply. It’s one of those stupid requirements the manufacturers slap on the box, and honestly? It’s such a massive pain in the neck. You think you’re just grabbing a drive to watch some movies, and suddenly you’re hunting for an extra outlet because the USB port alone can't handle the juice. Seriously, why make it so complicated? Just let us plug things in without turning our living room into a tangled mess of power bricks!.

Exactly. My two drives don't even have external power, and now the manufacturer is breathing down my neck demanding it. So, I'm stuck with this version of yours. What am I looking at here? Buying a whole new hard drive plus an enclosure? Great. Just great.

Amanda Anderson87 said:Exactly. My two units don't have external power supplies, even though the manufacturer insists they need them. So, I guess I'm stuck with your suggestion. Buying a whole new hard drive plus an enclosure?

Well, if that's the case, just grab the enclosure and the hard drive (make sure it's large enough). I actually use that exact setup myself. It’s been running smoothly for about two years now; I record stuff from my digital tuner, watch it, delete it, and everything works fine. No issues at all. 🙂

Joshua Garcia3 said:Fine then, just go ahead and grab this case and that hard drive—it'll be plenty of space. Honestly, I’m running that exact same setup right now and it’s been humming along for two years straight. I use it to record stuff from my digital antenna, watch it, delete it, simple as that. Everything works perfectly fine. 🙂

Oh, fantastic! Thanks a million.

I’m not entirely sure what the ground rules are on this forum, but I have two external hard drives—one 500GB and one 750GB—that I'm looking to offload. If selling gear is allowed here, I’ll follow up with all the specifics, but if it's against the rules, I’d just ask the admin to go ahead and delete this post... for now. 😉

There’s a whole Hardware Marketplace section over on Craigslist—just go ahead and start a new thread there.