Best external hard drives to buy right now?

Joseph Hall4 said:The product description lists plenty of details, including the fact that it goes up to 3TB, so you really just have to ask God where they got that from. I appreciate the answer, but there was no need for the sarcasm.

That’s just a universal product description; they all look the same, the only difference is the drive capacity.
Plus, it clearly states 2TB right below.
My apologies for the sarcasm. 😁

Hey, my D drive is maxed out and my 500 GB external drive is hitting its limit too. I’ve been browsing external drives online, but honestly, I’m lost on which one to pick. Is there anywhere in Chicago where I can actually go see the hardware in person? Or is it better to just stick to an online shop? Online might be easier since I don't live in the city and the local shops around here have zero selection... plus everything is overpriced...

Looking for about 1 TB capacity, budget around $200... I saw a Toshiba model on Amazon for $180 but figured I'd check here first. Just need it for storage and backups—TV series, music, that kind of stuff.

Hey everyone, so here's the deal. I'm having this annoying issue with my external drive. Every time I try to watch a movie, the video keeps stuttering and lagging, which honestly never used to happen before.
Is the hard drive itself failing or what??? Help me out here..

It could be a dozen different things. It would really help if you let me know if this is happening while you're watching a movie directly from the external drive or just when accessing files on your PC. If it’s stuttering while you're playing a movie off the drive, you probably just need to defragment it. Over time, as you use a drive, it gets messy because data isn't written in a perfect line—it gets scattered across the platters since the drive head just writes wherever it finds an open spot to stay fast. The more you use it, the more those segments get split up, and the harder the drive has to work to pull them all together during playback. Just go to "This PC," right-click that external drive, and select "Defragment and Optimize Drives" under the Tools tab. This is a non-destructive process, so don't worry about losing your data, but while it's running (which can take a while depending on the size and speed of the drive—sometimes several hours), make sure you don't lose power or try to do anything intensive on the computer that hits the drive hard. That'll just slow down the whole thing. So, while it's working, don't try to watch movies or run heavy tasks, but I guess you can still suffer through some web browsing or whatever...

Thanks for the quick reply, darkowl72.
While I’m sitting here looking at my PC, playback seems smooth enough, but honestly, I’ve already lost count of how many times I’ve formatted this drive and nothing changes. It's frustrating. So, I'm going to follow your advice and run a defrag. I'll get back to you once I see if there's actually any difference...
Cheers.

Hey, darkowl72.
I tried running a defrag, but it was a total bust. I have no clue what's going on. It starts the disk analysis, maybe hits 2% after a second or two, and then just dies. Every single time. It keeps trying again, failing again... just a constant loop of nothingness. What gives?

Disk defrag usually restarts whenever there's a new write operation—basically, the system realizes new data has hit the drive and decides to start over from scratch. Based on what you're seeing, it seems like Windows thinks it's constantly writing something new to the disk.

Is your Windows installation clean? I mean, have you checked for viruses, trojans, or any other malware?

I remember back when I was using Windows XP, if you ran into this exact issue—where the defrag just kept resetting infinitely—you could sometimes fix it by booting into Safe Mode and running the defrag from there. I'm not entirely sure if that same trick works for Windows 7 or when dealing with external drives, though.

edit: tried running defrag in Windows 7 Safe Mode, but it didn't work.
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/w...a-6e513935ce5f

Just run a disk check—it's located right next to the defrag tool.

none said:Hey everyone. I might be posting in the wrong thread or an old one, but I’m hoping for some advice anyway. I'm looking to pick up an external drive, but I could use some recommendations. I found a few used ones online, but the issue is—who knows what kind of shape they're actually in.
Is it better to just buy a new one somewhere, or is it worth the risk to save a little on a used one? For example, I'm looking at a used 1TB for $100, or a brand new 500GB for $133. Hmm... or maybe I should just look into an SSD?
What's your experience with this? Thanks.

Buying a used drive is always a gamble—I'd definitely go with something new. Also, there isn't much point in getting an SSD for external storage unless you're just looking to show off how fast you can move files.
What's your main priority here; budget or capacity? Generally, the bigger the capacity, the better the value per gigabyte. You can even find 3 TB drives for around $300. Also, you should probably decide if you're okay with a drive that needs its own power adapter plugged into the wall.

Could anyone suggest a good place to pick up an HDD? I'm looking for at least 1TB

Ideally something high-quality, or at least with a decent price-to-performance ratio...

Thanks!

Greetings everyone,
My work computer currently uses a 500GB hard drive, and I intend to upgrade to an SSD. I plan to put the old drive into an enclosure to serve as external storage.

Do you have any recommendations for a specific SSD and enclosure?
My budget is flexible, though I am aiming for a mid-range option that offers the best value for the money rather than just the cheapest available.

I assume 120GB will suffice for basic system tasks, especially since I will have an external drive available.

What kind of business computer are we talking about here? Desktop or laptop? You should probably list the rest of the specs too, because right now I have zero clue what you're working with. For all we know, you might be trying to slap an SSD into some ancient relic that isn't even worth the upgrade.

What’s the point of an SSD for you anyway? What exactly are you hoping to gain by installing one? How much RAM are you running, what's the CPU, and what motherboard are you using?

Rachel Davis81 said:Can someone recommend where I should pick up an HDD? I need at least 1TB.

Look, just give me something high-quality. Or, if you can't swing that, at least make sure the price-to-performance ratio isn't a total joke.

Thanks!

Check out the deals over at Micro Center.

Prices start at... $133 So? $220I'm talking about standard drives here, not some specialized high-end versions. $220 If you want speed, go with the Seagate BarraCuda. It’s the fastest option out there, and more importantly, it comes with a 5-year warranty. Most other drives only give you 24 months, which isn't worth the headache.

How much do you actually care about data security and long-term reliability?

Last year, the Seagate IronWolf was Best Buy's top pick for internal drives. It’s a solid, reliable disk.

If you're looking for a system drive, stay far away from those "eco" or "green" models. Also, don't even bother with anything spinning slower than 7200 RPM. You'll regret it.

darkowl72 said:What kind of business computer are we talking about? Is it a desktop or a laptop? You should probably list the rest of the specs because right now I have no idea what you're working with; maybe it's an older machine where adding an SSD wouldn't even make sense?

What is the purpose of an SSD for you? What do you expect to gain by installing one? How much RAM do you have, and what are your CPU and motherboard specs?

Desktop, purchased last year.

Intel Core i5-2500K
Patriot Sig. DIMM 4GB 1600M
Silverstone Strider ST50F-230
Western Digital 500 GB SATA III ASUS Motherboard Combo

I specified business use because it isn't used for gaming. I want to install an SSD because several friends told me the computer becomes much faster and the user experience improves significantly.

Regarding demanding tasks, I occasionally edit photos (Adobe Photoshop), though nothing particularly intensive and there is no 3D involved, but I sometimes process 50+ photos at once.

I know the computer can struggle sometimes when I have 5 or 6 Firefox windows open with 10 to 20 tabs each, along with 4 or 5 Excel sheets, Word docs, PDFs, and whatever else.

darkowl72 said:Check out what Micro Center has available.

Prices range from $133 up to $220 for standard drives—nothing too fancy. $220 is the Seagate BarraCuda, which is the top performer and comes with a 5-year warranty. Everything else is just 24 months.

How much do you prioritize data security and long-term reliability?

Last year, the Seagate IronWolf was a total best buy for internal drives and is generally considered a solid choice...

I'd steer clear of those "eco" or "green" models, and definitely skip anything spinning under 7200 RPM if you're looking for a system drive...

Data security and longevity are huge priorities for me! Thanks so much.

Timothy Foster5 said:It's a desktop, bought it last year.

Look, if you're running apps that eat up disk bandwidth, an SSD will definitely speed things up, no question about it. But honestly, with that specific software lineup you mentioned, what you really need is another 4GB of RAM. If you have more memory, more data stays in the RAM instead of constantly hitting the scratch file on your drive...

As for that 500GB drive, don't bother buying an external enclosure. Just leave it inside the PC; there’s plenty of room for extra drives, and it runs way faster that way. Most enclosures use USB, which is a much slower protocol compared to the SATA connection you get when the drive is mounted directly inside the machine...

darkowl72 said:If you're running applications that put a heavy load on your drive, an SSD will definitely boost your speed. However, given the software setup you mentioned, adding another 4GB of RAM would be a massive help. That way, more data stays in the memory instead of being constantly swapped out to a scratch file on your disk.

Regarding that 500GB drive, there is no need to buy an external enclosure. It can stay inside your computer, where you have room for multiple drives, and it will operate much faster that way. If you opt for an enclosure, they usually rely on USB, which is a slower protocol compared to the SATA connection used when the drive is installed internally.

The budget from the drawer will cover the RAM. Since 64GB sticks are already on the market, moving data between a desktop and a laptop won't be an issue.

Thanks for the help.

Since your motherboard lacks a SATA 3 interface, there's really no point in dropping cash on a high-speed SSD; this one will work perfectly fine for you. Also, just like darkowl72 mentioned, you might actually see more of a boost from adding another 4GB of RAM. Check your current usage—if you're consistently hitting the 75-80% mark, you'll definitely feel the slowdown, and some extra memory would be a lifesaver.

This one looks decent to me, what do you all think? I just need a reliable, long-term spot to back up my kid's photos and videos. That’s really it. Nothing else for me. I've got about 100 gigs of media taking up space and nowhere left to put it... I'd love to just keep everything in one organized place.

The price seems fair, too. Has anyone here ever ordered anything from this company before?

Look, the drive and the retailer are fine if that's what you're after, so go for it, but...

http://www.amazon.com/?naziv=tvrdi-dis...kl=051.520.422
http://www.amazon.com/?naziv=tvrdi-dis...kl=051.520.414
http://www.amazon.com/?naziv=tvrdi-dis...kl=051.520.410