USB3 external that can handle constant use

I will be moving among several computers this fall, and I want to easily keep a large collection of media files and application data in sync between them.

As I have quite a bit of data, I'd like to use a 1.5TB, USB3 Seagate Freeagent Goflex for this purpose. However, I'm concerned about whether the drive will stand up to being used as an application drive (as opposed to just a backup) on a regular basis. While it is only a 5400RPM, 2.5 inch drive, it is a thicker than average drive with three platters, so I feel heat may be a concern. I am also worried the three platters could make it more prone to travel damage than conventional 2.5 inch drives.

(I've also heard occasional mention of these drives dropping their connection to the PC, but most of these seem to concern Macs or other USB2 machines and I'll be using it almost exclusively with USB3, so I'm hoping it won't be an issue for me.)

 

Good luck with the Seagate - I'd back it up with a WD or a Hitachi external drive to be safe. Just don't get the same setup as your 'backup' system.

To keep everything in sync: MS SyncToy.

See:
Download Details - Microsoft Download Center - SyncToy 2.1


Forget about using it as an application drive - unless all your apps are portable. If you don't have this plugged in when you boot a system that is looking for certain files/folders - bad things happen to your Windows install...

The problems that I've seen are not Mac/PC or USB2.0 related - they're related to the board frying itself, the connector (whatever connector is used...) not connecting, or the HDD just outright dying on my clients systems.

Definitely don't recommend you to buy this if you haven't already.

Good luck.

 

First, thanks for the quick reply.

I actually have a 1.5TB Caviar Green in one of the systems I'll be using already, so I was planning to back up to that every week or two.

I don't think any of the stuff I plan to run from the drive is going to be loaded on Windows startup (although I should probably check to be sure). I'm mainly looking at this as a way of a) not having to add a lot of internal storage to several machines - not having to run sync routines when moving between machines would be nice too though.

If WD made a 1.5TB 2.5 inch I'd definitely prefer that, as I've had good luck with WD. I'm mainly looking at 2.5s since I've always got the impression they're less damage prone during transit.

The "fried boards" stuff is definitely making me reconsider, as I suspected heat could be an potential issue. A DOA drive is pretty easy for me to deal with (I live close to the shop I normally buy from), but a drive that dies later on wouldmore annoying.

 

It's a 5400rpm 2.5" drive, it's unlikely to get hot. When the heads are parked (as they will be when the drive is powered off) it can handle a fair amount of shocks.

I wouldn't worry about more heat or more prone to damage.

PS. Are you sure there is only one hard drive inside?