Which 1TB Portable Hard Drive Should I Buy?

HairyChickens on 06/04/2021 - 21:06
Last edited 06/04/2021 - 22:43 by 1 other user

Hi everyone, I am currently looking to buy a cheap portable hard drive that I am going to use for my data backup and as a steam game drive. I've come across three options that I'm considering.

Seagate 1TB Expansion Portable Hard Drive $59.00
WD Elements SE 1TB USB3.0 Portable Hard Drive $55.00
Toshiba 1TB Canvio Basics Portable Hard Drive Black $58.00

They are all relatively the same price, however, I don't know which one I should buy. I initially wanted to buy the Seagate one because of its popularity but after hearing about the Rosewood drives that are in them made me reconsider. The WD and Toshiba ones are also prone to drive failure according to other users which is why I am not sure which one to buy.

Part of me thinks that there isn't a perfect portable HDD and that experiences depend on the person.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
Thanks

this is like my third forum post this week :/

• 

  Hybroid on 06/04/2021 - 21:09

  +5

  None of them.

  A) You should be getting an SSD at that size. Both for speed, reliability and better for game drive.

  B) 1TB HDDs are not value for money when larger capacity ones are less $/TB.

  • 

    HairyChickens on 06/04/2021 - 21:16

    I considered SSDs but they're double the price and for my usage, I don't think SSDs are necessary the games that I play the most and require frequent loading are on my PCs SSD. Yes, larger ones are less $/TB but I don't need that large of a drive.

    • 

      bobbified on 06/04/2021 - 23:10

      +2

      …and for my usage, I don't think SSDs are necessary the games that I play…

      You'll regret it when you're trying to load up your special 4k videos! 😋

  • 

    IVI on 07/04/2021 - 04:17

    HOLD ON… Consider, eg:

    • Seagate Wireless HD

    When we realised how to put them to use, we bought-up all we could find!
    when on sale…albeit only 500GB each (so, but 2 ;-)

    They let you access your [media] files from an device or computer via WiFi.
    (& can also let you access Internet via same WiFi connection, if you wish).

    So, you take one to a small, socially-distanced group, for a meeting or talk,
    & a handful (maybe all?) can access your video, etc. concurrently, eg, out-
    side (w/out a huge screen).

    Won't work for every1, but there are places & times where / when it might.

    PS Did they ever offer a Wireless HD w/ more capacity?

    Did/Does anyone else?

    • 

      Hybroid on 07/04/2021 - 09:20

      I don't follow your train of thought but yes, wireless hard drives are offered in larger sizes.

• 

  Twix on 06/04/2021 - 21:44

  +1

  All drives fail at some point. That's why you keep at least one backup.

• 

  rocketpoweredmice on 06/04/2021 - 21:52

  +1

  Your gut feeling is right - for someone buying 1x drive, they're all much of the muchness, there is very little difference between these drives in reliability for the normal user.
  I'm partial to Toshiba for no real reason; have had great reliability thus far (touch wood).
  The way you treat the drive (physical damage/drop, disconnects without ejecting, etc.) will play a far larger role than the variability between manufacturers.

  The only tangible difference that may be relevant is the drives that have the USB port built into the drive itself (meaning if the USB chipset fails, the drive can't be plugged into a computer directly to salvage data) versus a drive where it can be "shucked", but i'm not sure which of these drives offer that.

  Ultimately, steam game drive data is easily replaceable, so reliability doesn't matter too much.

  With regards to your personal data, 1x backup is a good start, but if it's your game drive, I presume its connected to the same computer you're backing up. I would consider getting a second HDD as an offline (eg. not always connected) that you keep somewhere else physically, rather than relying on the always connected game drive. Also see the "3,2,1 rule" of backups, although this may be overkill for your situation.

  • 

    FireRunner on 06/04/2021 - 23:27

    The Seagate is shuckable, I don't think the other are two are.

  • 

    HairyChickens on 07/04/2021 - 00:47

    Yeh I do follow 3,2,1 I just wanted a cheapo hard drive for my less played games and also another place where I chuck a copy of the files as a "4" to the rule. But considering what you said I'll just pick up any and if it dies it dies.

    • 

      Chandler on 07/04/2021 - 11:01

      +1

      Yeh I do follow 3,2,1 … another place where I chuck a copy of the files as a "4" to the rule

      Consider 3-2-1-1-0 instead.

      3 Copies
      2 Media Types (HDD, CD, etc)
      1 Off-site
      1 Off-line. i.e. no access, to prevent ransomware etc - can be relatively easy depending on your media type/s
      0 Errors

      The 0 Errors is a good addition IMO, as one thing many people are guilty of (me included) is checking that their backups actually work.

      All well and good having a good backup system in place only to discover something was corrupted, misconfigured, etc and that your backup is not usable. And this discovery usually occurs when you actually need that backup.