Internal HDD Storage Advice/Recommendations

Frunk on 28/12/2022 - 16:28

Hi forum,

I built a PC earlier this year and am wanting to add some internal "cold storage". I have an SSD as my main drive (had 2 actually, one died though) so figure HDDs are a good choice for storing files I won't often need - photo back ups mostly, as well as game files (not to be installed on said HDD; moreso mod files and/or installation backups which I'd copy over to the SSD for installation), some movies, documents, etc. Basically wouldn't be intending to access any files on the HDD very often. I may buy 2 HDDs in the ballpark of 4TB each.

Does it count as "cold storage" if it's in my PC? Haha. I'd like to get into NAS storage one day, but that's a bit beyond my level of expertise/expenditure currently. I'm using PC Part Picker to make sure drives are (hopefully) compatible with my motherboard and system, and I believe I have the necessary SATA/power ports/cables available/on hand. My case is quite large so plenty of places to installed either 2.5" or 3.5" drives. I'm just chasing some advice on the following:

  • Are NAS labelled drives ok to use in a regular PC for my purposes? Are there pros/cons to NAS drives generally?
  • I've read that I won't be needing high RPM, so I'm looking in the range of 5000-5940 and NOT 7200+. Is that a good idea?
  • Which HDD brands/models are best for this kind of storage? (I've only found topics on HDDs being used within NAS or where games/programs are installed, which I'm not doing).
  • I'm looking at models 4TB+, and maybe 2 drives (multiple backups?). Is this reasonable or should I reconsider going with smaller/larger capacities? e.g. 1 x 8TB instead, or even 2 x 2TB.
  • I did read about cache and determined that, while larger is generally better, it may not matter much for my use case. Am I correct?
  • Finally, and this is more just my curiosity, but when a HDD isn't being accessed directly, will it simply sit there idle (or close to idle)? I'm not too concerned about noise (quieter is better, which lower RPM helps with), but I'm just simply curious as to how HDDs behave in this configuration as I've never done it before (I've only built one PC and it was all SSD). Any general advice or thoughts on longevity? (I do realise any HDD will fail eventually, and can fail at any time, essentially.)

Thanks very much for taking the time to read my possibly-dumb questions. I'm attempting to create a good 3-2-1 back-up system and this is an important step, I feel.

Apologies if this has already been discussed. I did Google and search OzB a bit first, but didn't find what I was after.

Computing Computer Component Hard Drive

Comments

  • lachhelix on 28/12/2022 - 16:37
    +1

    Not answering your question directly but by having a HDD in my PC, there is noticeable lag while the disk spins up when opening things like File Explorer.

    I assume it's "asleep" when not used and woken up when File Explorer "This PC" is opened which means it has to spin up - perhaps could be configured to never sleep but I just ended up ditching it and using an external HDD and only plugging it in when needed

    Just food for thought!

    • Frunk on 28/12/2022 - 16:38
      +1

      That makes sense and is good to know/keep in mind.

  • lachhelix on 28/12/2022 - 16:39
    +1

    Also, NAS drives are fine to use in a PC.
    AFAIK the key difference is they're designed to run 24/7

  • scrimshaw on 28/12/2022 - 16:39
    +3

    Are NAS labelled drives ok to use in a regular PC for my purposes? Are there pros/cons to NAS drives generally?

    NAS drives are just regular hard drives, but with special firmware, designed to be always in operation (never turned off) and have vibration sensors built in. They often have a longer warranty, usually 3 years but a maximum of 5 years. The downside… You could be paying more than you need to get a NAS drive when just an ordinary Seagate Barracuda SMR drive will do. You could also purchase cheap external backup drives (which typically use some white-label desktop drive) which cost less per TB than bare drives.

    7200rpm vs 5400RPM

    if your drives are not accessed regularly but only for data hoarding, the occasional backups and longer term storage, then rotational speed probably isn't that important.

    However one day you might decide to throw the drives in a NAS and RAID them, in which case you might want to spend a little more and get a higher end NAS CMR drive, like a Ironwolf Pro or a WD RED Pro

    You should also read up and understand what CMR and SMR means — a quick google will answer most questions you'll have about them.

    • Frunk on 28/12/2022 - 16:51

      Excellent to know. Thank you.

    • smashman42 on 28/12/2022 - 16:53
      +1

      Concur with this advice

      your current needs are basically buy whatever is cheap and big and it'll be enough, but your mentioned interest in a NAS in the future means CMR/PMR (diff names for the same thing) not SMR is what you want.

      For redundancy sake I'd suggest two, and look at how the pricing scales with capacity - if it costs hardly any more to get 8TB over 4TB why wouldn't you? Data storage needs, especially for backups/archives, inflate over time and in 2-3 yrs you might kick yourself for going too small.

      • Frunk on 28/12/2022 - 17:40

        Seems like it might be an idea to pick up a couple of these, since I'm not seeing many (well-priced) 8TB drives that are low-RPM.

        https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/747580

        Only issue is Amazon's postage, but I guess it could be worth the risk at that price, and have the potential of popping them in a NAS down the track.

  • kiitos on 28/12/2022 - 16:48
    +2

    I guess it won't be protected from a virus deleting everything on your system, so not a true air gapped backup.

    • Frunk on 28/12/2022 - 16:50

      A fair point. I do have an 18TB WD I picked up in a recent deal here as an external drive, as well as a couple of other smaller externals lying around. My thought process was having a drive installed internally would be a convenient and easily accessible/writable way to have yet another back up.

      • smashman42 on 28/12/2022 - 17:02
        +1

        yes, you can use the internal/s as a live-ish backup/mass storage, and then back them up to the 18TB periodically - the more backups you have the better (the 18TB could fit a few copies of it in date labelled folders perhaps and only delete the oldest when you run out of space).

        Ideally you'd want offsite too and multiple air gapped backups, but how much is your data worth to you vs how much that prevention costs?

        Linux ISOs and game install files can be got again, family photos or save game files not so much, but those latter two more critical are smaller so viable for cheap/free reputable cloud backup (not sync, or any corruption/virus syncs too).

  • bazingaa on 28/12/2022 - 20:14
    +2

    I have a WD Blue - WD80EAZZ 8TB which is a CMR drive (one of few CMR drives at 8 TB) and I am happy with that. Usually there are deals on OzB for around $190.

    I got from this deal : https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/707587

    My speed test : https://imgur.com/HxVFC7b

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