Best external hard drives to buy right now?

Hello everyone, I would truly appreciate some guidance from this community. 🙂

I am currently looking to purchase a 500 GB external hard drive, which is more than sufficient for the specific volume of data I intend to store on it.

Which particular manufacturer would you recommend I trust, and which major retailer should I utilize for the purchase?

I have compiled several links that I pulled from a price comparison site, which I can certainly adapt for our discussion here; I kindly ask that you review them and offer your expert insights—whether you suggest adding an option or perhaps discarding one of these—as I suspect your collective knowledge far exceeds that of a simple search engine. (Please note that I pulled these just a few days before Christmas, so they may not reflect the most current market availability):

http://www.nabava.net/cvrsti-diskovi...1260071#ponude

http://www.nabava.net/cvrsti-diskovi...00rpm__1305511

http://www.nabava.net/cvrsti-diskovi...sb-30__1693111

http://www.nabava.net/cvrsti-diskovi...sb-30__1307451

http://www.nabava.net/cvrsti-diskovi...00rpm__1313171

http://www.nabava.net/cvrsti-diskovi...cache__1873641

http://www.nabava.net/cvrsti-diskovi...cache__2272071

http://www.nabava.net/cvrsti-diskovi...cache__1693531

Adata gives you a three-year warranty—you could also go with SanDisk or General Electric if you want—just make sure it’s USB 3.0 and stay far away from Western Digital; that stuff is incredibly unreliable.

Benjamin King2 said:The Adata model comes with a three-year warranty, so you could easily go with either SanDisk or General Electric; just make sure you're getting one with USB 3.0 capabilities.

I appreciate the advice; I will certainly keep those options in mind. 🙂

Benjamin King2 said:And if it isn't Western Digital, it's often just unreliable junk.

Oh, really!? 😲
Because a buddy of mine who works in software development has sworn an eternal oath to WeDej, having used their products for years without a single issue.

I’ve spent basically the last two years—nearly two, actually—just messing around with Western Digital drives. If you're looking at them for simple backups or some light, occasional use, sure, go ahead. But if you need a drive that’s going to be running non-stop—say, for streaming movies or anything else where the thing is spinning for hours on end—I wouldn't touch Western Digital with a ten-foot pole.

Benjamin King2 said:For nearly two years now, I have dealt with nothing but headaches caused by WD drives. If you intend to use one strictly for occasional backups or light tasks, then perhaps it might suffice; however, if you require a drive that will be running continuously—such as for a media server where the disk stays active for hours on end—I would strongly advise against choosing WD.

Understood, and thank you for the insight. It seems my first instinct was correct, though hearing such a definitive warning is certainly unsettling and significantly diminishes my confidence in WDA.
Do you happen to have any recommendations regarding specific retailers in New York City in terms of pricing and reliability, or should I simply scan through various options on Amazon?

Take a good long look at the price lists over at Port, ADM, RS Magazine, Dell, Centro, or Accenture... you might just stumble upon a decent deal if they're running some kind of sale. Using Nabava as a baseline is fine and all—it gives you a general idea—but honestly, those numbers rarely align with what you'll actually see on the sticker at the store.

Yesterday afternoon, I went ahead and pulled the trigger on an Adata drive (I suppose "pulled the trigger" is more accurate, as I settled the transaction via online banking following an offer from a gentleman at the shop), using the link I provided above
http://www.nabava.net/cvrsti-diskovi...cache__1873641
from the Centro location over in Brooklyn, just as it specifies for $144.

The item is supposedly already in stock, so I plan to swing by this afternoon to pick it up, after which I shall certainly report back with my impressions. I find myself wondering, quite earnestly, whether it will actually come with that three-year warranty you mentioned, or if it won't; I have a nagging suspicion that it might not turn out to be the case.

It is performing quite adequately; the device operates smoothly and handles data transfers with impressive speed, so everything seems perfectly fine at this stage. I shall continue to monitor its performance over the coming weeks to ensure consistency.
I am truly grateful for the advice you have provided once again.

I decided to pick up an Adata 2.5" NH13 1TB drive today... I grabbed it from Accenture for $239, which includes a 36-month warranty. It has a very sleek design, though my one minor gripe is that the included cable is a bit short. Luckily, I have an 80cm USB extension cable lying around, so that solves the problem perfectly.
Now, I'm just crossing my fingers that it holds up well so I don't actually have to end up using that warranty 🙂

Benjamin King2 said:For the last couple of years, I've been dealing nothing but trouble with Western Digital drives. If you're just using it for backups or occasional storage, fine—no big deal. But if you plan on running that drive non-stop, say for streaming movies or something where it's spinning for hours on end, I wouldn't touch Western Digital with a ten-foot pole.

Given that point, Centro.hr currently has two different 1TB external drives available:

Adata (36-month warranty)

Hitachi (24-month warranty)

The price difference is about $6.75

Since Western Digital recently acquired Hitachi, does that change anything? Just because a company gets bought out doesn't mean the product quality has to tank, right?

Noah Sanchez39 said:Since Western Digital picked up Hitachi recently, does that actually change anything? I mean, just because a company gets bought out doesn't automatically mean their quality is going to tank, right?

I mean, look at how Geely took over Volvo—it’s still Volvo through and through, isn't it? 😉 🙂

From what I can gather, everything else remains exactly the same—it’s just a matter of different divisions operating under the same parent corporation. Honestly, I'm pretty sure the law actually requires it to be structured this way just so they don't get slapped with some massive antitrust lawsuit for having a monopoly.

Hey,

I'm looking to pick up a 1TB external drive to back up my photo and video archives. It’ll mostly sit with my desktop PC, though I might occasionally plug it into the TV to watch stuff on the big screen. I'm leaning toward a 3.5'' USB3 drive—if spending a bit more actually means faster transfer speeds for large files (video clips around 400MB) in that $50 $110 range... that's fine by me. I did some digging and crossed Western Digital and Verbatim off my list; looks like everyone swears by Adata. At the end of the day, I just want whatever has the best ratings, even if nothing is 100% foolproof.
I couldn't find any Adata options in the 3.5'' size (only 2.5''), but I found these. I need your take or better suggestions:
http://www.dell.com/external-drive-link-example
(No cache info provided)
http://www.bestbuy.com/toshiba-1tb-drive-example
(Warranty isn't listed)
Western Digital seems to be everywhere. Is it really that bad, or does it just look like it fails more because it's the most common thing on the market?
For example, this one:
http://www.amazon.com/wd-external-drive-example

If I can't find a 3.5'' drive, what should I grab instead for my setup? Which of these two would you pick:

Besides price and how they look, what's the actual difference in speed and quality between them?

Honestly, I’ve got this feeling you just cooked up this handle for one or two quick posts before disappearing forever 😬

Justin Gray81 said:Honestly, I feel like you just picked this username for one or two posts you're gonna drop here and then vanish 😬

Think whatever you want. Every other name I tried was already taken 🤷 This one is just what happened when my imagination ran dry and my nerves were shot 🙂
😉

👍 I just noticed how this is basically the exact same thing being asked in the 😁
thread.
Sent from Desire23

🤷 Is ignoring questions from new users just standard procedure around here, or am I somehow special enough to be ignored too? 😉

It isn't that anyone is ignoring you... it's just that, honestly, you can find the answer to your question or dilemma right here in this thread... it really just comes down to what you want in the end

I think the real choice is whether you want a finished, all-in-one product or if you’d rather build it yourself (using an external enclosure plus a 3.5" HDD). The big advantage of building your own is that you can swap in any internal HDD into that same external enclosure later on—whether you want more capacity or need to replace a drive if, heaven forbid, one fails... and so on
Since you mentioned you won't be moving it around too much, that's another point in favor of getting a separate enclosure and a separate HDD

As for those pre-built external HDDs, they tend to be a bit pricier. Plus, they often have slower speeds, typically running at 5400 RPM compared to 7200 RPM, which ultimately means slower transfer speeds. However, if your motherboard has USB3 and you pick up an enclosure with USB3, you won't have any bottlenecking issues (just make sure to grab a USB3 cable to connect the drive to your PC, unless one comes included with the enclosure)
Try to look for the longest warranty possible; I personally feel that the length of the warranty says something about the quality, even if that isn't always strictly true...

Now, as for which specific drive to buy... man, I wish I could help. I was in the exact same boat when I was searching for advice... it's a personal decision based on what you choose, but my suggestion is to Google something like "top 10 3.5 inch HDDs" or something similar, and then base your decision on the reviews and opinions you find online

I previously had a Seagate HDD 1 TB that I actually had to send back under warranty because it started failing, and they replaced it for me. The other drive I have inside my computer is a WD 640GB, and it's been running perfectly for at least four years now... and recently, I picked up an external ADATA 1TB 2.5" drive, and so far, so good after five months... only time will tell

Dennis Taylor82 said:...do you want something ready to go, or are you looking to build it yourself (case + 3.5" HDD)? The upside to building it is that later on, you can just pop any internal HDD into that same external case—maybe something with more capacity, or just swap it out if, God forbid, one dies... etc. ...if your motherboard has USB3 and you grab an external case with USB3, you won't have any speed issues during transfers (just make sure you get a USB3 cable to connect the drive to your PC, unless it comes in the box)....

If I’m following you correctly, you're suggesting using an internal HDD mounted inside its own separate enclosure for backups. I'm not exactly an expert here, but I assume that means the enclosure needs its own power supply and some kind of controller or whatever is required to plug the drive (or drives?) into a USB3 port that's also sitting inside that case? That part doesn't quite click for me... I have this old PC lying around; the case and the power supply are fine, so maybe I could repurpose it, but how do I even factor USB3 into that setup?

Dennis Taylor82 was actually talking about a drive enclosure, not a full PC case. 🙂 For instance, you could grab this 2 TB 3.5" drive—it should fit right within your budget: