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    Which portable hard drive? Narrowed down to 4.

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by CrusherW9, May 18, 2011.

  1. CrusherW9

    CrusherW9 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I want to get a external hard drive to back up my laptop, and I have it narrowed down to four different portable hard drives, each listed below with their unique features listed below them.

    1. Western Digital 1TB My Passport Essential SE usb 3.0 - $105
    - 2 Year warranty
    2. Verbatim 1TB Store 'n' Go usb 3.0 - $114
    - 7 Year warranty
    3. Toshiba 1TB Canvio usb 3.0 - $95
    - Shock sensor
    - 3 Year warranty
    4. Iomega eGo 1TB usb 3.0 - $100
    - "protected from 7 foot falls"
    - 3 Year warranty

    All have 256 bit hardware encryption except the Verbatim. It says it has encryption, but I think its through Verbatim's backup software. I'm leaning towards the Toshiba, but which one should I go for?
     
    CrusherW9, May 18, 2011
    #1
  2. Dreamliner330

    Dreamliner330 Notebook Evangelist

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    WD Drives are very reliable.
     
    Dreamliner330, May 18, 2011
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  3. GP-SE

    GP-SE Notebook Consultant

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    I'm a huge Western Digital fan so I'll vote for that.
     
    GP-SE, May 18, 2011
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  4. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

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    you may want to consider....

    Storing 1Tb of personal data on a single device and depending on a warranty (of whatever length) to somehow 'protect' the data is kind of foolish.

    You need to have a backup strategy beyond a cushy case and mfgrs warranty.
     
    newsposter, May 18, 2011
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  5. Dreamliner330

    Dreamliner330 Notebook Evangelist

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    +1

    Even if you have a RAID solution (Like I do), you still need your data on at *least* 2 different drives.
     
    Dreamliner330, May 18, 2011
    #5
  6. CrusherW9

    CrusherW9 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I totally agree. I'm getting one of these to backup my laptop. Everything will then be in two locations. It's just nice to have the warranty in case the drive fails. As I continue my lossless music project, I will eventually run out of space on my pc hd. My plan is to then store my lossless music on this portable hard drive, and get a desktop/networked hard drive to backup the portable.

    After reading a good amount of reviews, It's between the My Passport Essential SE and the Verbatim. I'm thinking the WD drive is the way to go.
     
    CrusherW9, May 18, 2011
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  7. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

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    You can get dual drive external enclosures with hardware raid. There are even one or two of them that take 2.5" (laptop sized) drives.

    Given the cost of disk drives, I'd never run anything in less than raid 1.
     
    newsposter, May 18, 2011
    #7
  8. Mr_Mysterious

    Mr_Mysterious Like...duuuuuude

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    I agree, this is why I have a 1TB EHD and do additional backup on my DVD disks.

    Mr. Mysterious
     
    Mr_Mysterious, May 19, 2011
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  9. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    Studies have shown that all hard drives manufacturers have the same failure rates, though my preferred and recommended brand is Western Digital. It all really boils down to, RMA and warranty services and Western Digital cannot be beat.

    Though I would research that Passport SE, some have the a proprietary SATA to USB PCB soldered onto the hard drive, so if it dies or you physically break the connector, you are kinda SOL. More and more manufacturers are doing this as people would just crack open external hard drives and put them inside notebooks resulting in more lost revenues for manufacturers.
     
    Tsunade_Hime, May 19, 2011
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  10. garetjax

    garetjax NBR Freelance Reviewer NBR Reviewer

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    Of the four choices, is there really a decision to be made here? Three of the choices will be using the cheapest-made hard drives available, probably Toshiba drives, while the fourth choice will most assuredly be using a Western Digital drive in it.

    I wager you can imagine which choice I would be making...
     
    garetjax, May 19, 2011
    #10