Which harddisk brand and model do you recommend? And why?

[kidster]

Which harddisk brand and model do you recommend? And why?

[Guest HardD]

I suppose its external hard disk?

 

both seagate and WD are good. Have been using them for years. Accidentally drop them before and they are still working fine.

 

dun go for Toshiba please. Got it free while purchasing a laptop. Drop it and it stop working. All my stuff inside gone!

 

[Behrhunter]

On 12/27/2019 at 3:41 PM, kidster said:

Which harddisk brand and model do you recommend? And why?

The two main players are only WD and Seagate so there really isn't a lot of choice. Unless you are referring to SSD. 

Either way, have back ups cos no matter how reliable they are they will fail after years of use. If you are a Mac user, do note that Seagate frequently bundles Paragon NTFS (limited to the use on Seagate Drives) for you to be able to read Windows formatted Seagate drives if you need cross platform compatibility. 

 

I will stay away from Hitachi drives in general

Edited January 9, 2020 by Behrhunter

[Behrhunter]

On 1/3/2020 at 7:21 AM, Since u r here said:

Tks for the tips! I m just abt to get a toshiba thumbdrive!!!! I was also suprised how did it make it so cheap and when did toshiba started making such stuff

Thumbdrives and Harddrives are totally two different thing. 

Toshiba has been making thumbdrives for years. Flash drives come in many brands though without going too deep in detail. Sometimes the chip is sourced from the same manufacturer. 

[Rhyn]

I generally avoid Seagate as they seem to have a higher than usual failure rate than other companies. 

 

Based on this annual report of different types of hard drive failure rates, Toshiba and HGST (Hitachi Global ST) stands out has the lowest failure rate based on Drive Count versus Drive Failures. 

 

 

I would personally steer clear of Seagate but if you want truly reliable external storage that you can carry around, invest in an external SSD; they remove the worry of failure with regards to reading data. The tl'dr is that hard drives have moving parts that are required to rotate when, say, you need to load a picture of your dog. In contrast, SSDs do not have moving parts and thus dropping it will not damage the components inside (from a reasonable height, of course).

 

There are also some SSDs in the market that have dust and water resistance rating which really takes physical protection to the next level. Go take a look!

 

[Behrhunter]

It is a myth that SSD does not fail. Flash based storage do fail too. While it does not have physical contact like a spinning disc, it does have constant electrical current passing through. I don't know how to properly describe it but the the chips will 'deteriorate' in quality. 

 

As for the report. I think its just a screenshot or a small period of time. And I do agree that many brands are left out. 10 - 14Tb drives are more recent drives anyway. 14Tb drives are not widely available commercially too. The Toshiba 14Tb drive is enterprise level drive. Which is a whole different price/performance level. 

 

For me it has been a personal experience and commercially available drives. I had a lot of failures from Hitachi. If forced to choose between Seagate and WD. I will go for WD. 

My thoughts about data storage is that with larger capacity means more stuff could be stored inside so the risk of losing the data, whether tangible or intangible are higher.

Edited January 10, 2020 by Behrhunter

[Steve5380]

On 1/8/2020 at 9:59 PM, Behrhunter said:

Thumbdrives and Harddrives are totally two different thing. 

Toshiba has been making thumbdrives for years. Flash drives come in many brands though without going too deep in detail. Sometimes the chip is sourced from the same manufacturer. 

 

Good observation.   And there is another different kind of drive: SSD (solid state drive)

 

Both thumbdrive (or USB memory stick) and SSD use semiconductor memory chips.  No moving parts, no mechanical break, wear out.  But their life is determined by the number of write-erase cycles of their internal cells.  The cells wear out with these cycles, becoming harder to recognize the state of the cell being '1' or '0'  until their error rate makes them useless.

 

SSDs are superior to thumbdrives in many ways:  they include controllers who try to distribute the usage of the cells to increase their lifetime and to implement more complicated, efficient interface protocols with the CPU.  They also use a faster bus (serial ATA) than the thumbdrive's USB   

 

For the main disk of the PC or laptop that stores the operating system, the SSD is the best choice.   A trusted manufacturer of SSDs is Samsung.

For large storage space, internal or external, where access time is not so important,  the hard drive is still the cheapest option.

The main advantage of the thumbdrive  is its portability and easy universal interface.

[Guest toshibasucks]

On 1/9/2020 at 5:27 PM, Rhyn said:

I generally avoid Seagate as they seem to have a higher than usual failure rate than other companies. 

 

Based on this annual report of different types of hard drive failure rates, Toshiba and HGST (Hitachi Global ST) stands out has the lowest failure rate based on Drive Count versus Drive Failures. 

 

 

Toshiba has the lowest failure rates?

Must be a joke.

My Toshiba external hard disk stopped working as soon as I drop it on the floor.

 

My Seagate is still going well after many years despite dropping it many many times.

Currently using WD as well and its working well too!

[Steve5380]

On 1/12/2020 at 8:03 AM, Guest toshibasucks said:

 

Toshiba has the lowest failure rates?

Must be a joke.

My Toshiba external hard disk stopped working as soon as I drop it on the floor.

 

My Seagate is still going well after many years despite dropping it many many times.

Currently using WD as well and its working well too!

 

Failure rates of hard disks don't include destruction from mechanical shock.

In external drives, tolerable shock is a separate specification, if it exists at all.

 

 

[CherieLove]

Im assuming you want to save data and not run OS on the HDD? If that's the case WD or toshiba is sood but if you looking for one that can host OS as well, perhaps SSD is something you might want to look into as well.. 

[CherieLove]

56 minutes ago, Since u r here said:

i seriously dont think TS is trying to let it host an OS 

if not, i would also propose SSD....now some older laptops and computers do not come with the SSD port

I have friends who can keep usingg their machines for more than 5years or longer

The pcie to SSD cards are quite cheap abd reliable to a certain degree. 

[CherieLove]

That is true. Reliability vs price is the comparison people have to end up at sooner or later when looking for hardware to purchase.. Haha

[Guest GayGuy]

i have been using a 2TB WD external hard disk for 2 to 3 years to download and store all my porn

working well and no issue even up till now.

 

but there is not enough storage space anymore

prob have to get a 4TB now, will stick to WD

[Steve5380]

20 hours ago, Guest GayGuy said:

i have been using a 2TB WD external hard disk for 2 to 3 years to download and store all my porn

working well and no issue even up till now.

 

but there is not enough storage space anymore

prob have to get a 4TB now, will stick to WD

 

2TB of porn is not enough?  Does it not become...  repetitive?

[Guest GayGuy]

3 hours ago, Steve5380 said:

 

2TB of porn is not enough?  Does it not become...  repetitive?

 

bcos i have a huge collection like

jap gay porn, western gay porn

jap straight porn, western straight porn (straight porn focusing on guys)

 

and doesnt help that videos are HD now so files are big

[Steve5380]

7 hours ago, Guest GayGuy said:

 

bcos i have a huge collection like

jap gay porn, western gay porn

jap straight porn, western straight porn (straight porn focusing on guys)

 

and doesnt help that videos are HD now so files are big

 

I understand.  Porn can build up fast.  I have now about 40GB of porn.   And this is after I compressed all the good porn that decades ago used to come on DVDs,  so I converted the big files from the ripped DVDs to AVI format.   I personally don't find much advantage in higher resolution,  the good porn is still good in standard resolution.

 

[minichub]

Ssd 120gb is only like less than 50$

[minichub]

I bought in wish

[Behrhunter]

On 1/20/2020 at 10:14 PM, minichub said:

Ssd 120gb is only like less than 50$

Actually SSDs are a lot cheaper than what they used to cost. If you go to the tech shows or sim lim. The recent Sitex is was about $47 for 256Gb SATA SSD Sandisk

https://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/sitex/view_brochure/22196/#.Xif-3cgzZEY

Of course it is not the top range but any SSD is faster than HDD. Don't even need to go wish. 

 

With the exception of Apples, sub 2k laptops even come with  512Gb -1Tb of SSD. 

 

Of course in relative byte to byte comparison it is still more ex than HDD. It will be a while before it catches up. 

[kidster]

Sorry for not being clear enough.

 

I'm referring to external portable external hard disk.

 

Before SSD for laptop is out, we used to have external portable hard disk that don't require us to plug into power socket. Are they SSD?

[Behrhunter]

There are both portable HDD and portable SSD. If price or storage space is a priority.. go for HDD.

If speed is a priority.. go for SSD. 

 

For most modern usb ports are high powered, therefore not requiring additional power supply 

[minichub]

On 1/22/2020 at 3:58 PM, Behrhunter said:

Actually SSDs are a lot cheaper than what they used to cost. If you go to the tech shows or sim lim. The recent Sitex is was about $47 for 256Gb SATA SSD Sandisk

https://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/sitex/view_brochure/22196/#.Xif-3cgzZEY

Of course it is not the top range but any SSD is faster than HDD. Don't even need to go wish. 

 

With the exception of Apples, sub 2k laptops even come with  512Gb -1Tb of SSD. 

 

Of course in relative byte to byte comparison it is still more ex than HDD. It will be a while before it catches up. 

Frankly, I never visit sitex or tech sales (not shows) b cos what I want to see is never there

[Kimochi]

On 1/22/2020 at 9:58 PM, kidster said:

Sorry for not being clear enough.

 

I'm referring to external portable external hard disk.

 

Before SSD for laptop is out, we used to have external portable hard disk that don't require us to plug into power socket. Are they SSD?

HDD is not the same as SSD. Your answer is no. Its bigger than SSD as well physically. 

[Behrhunter]

On 2/2/2020 at 3:42 PM, minichub said:

Frankly, I never visit sitex or tech sales (not shows) b cos what I want to see is never there

So what do you want to see? I thought we were talking about storage devices? 

Anyway, you dont need to be in the shows physically to see the prices. Hardwarezone and VRZone posts the catalogues out there. 

[kidster]

Where can I find the cheapest portable HDD hard disk? Still Sim Lin Square?

[Behrhunter]

51 minutes ago, kidster said:

Where can I find the cheapest portable HDD hard disk? Still Sim Lin Square?

 

Yes. 

 

You can try Qoo10/Lazada especially when they have coupons it can be cheaper. Trade shows sometimes gives freebies and DURING trade shows some stores in Sim Lim will offer the same price as trade show prices. I think the next trade show is in March, though with the nCOV, I am not sure if it is a wise idea to go there

[kidster]

On 2/10/2020 at 4:37 PM, Behrhunter said:

 

Yes. 

 

You can try Qoo10/Lazada especially when they have coupons it can be cheaper. Trade shows sometimes gives freebies and DURING trade shows some stores in Sim Lim will offer the same price as trade show prices. I think the next trade show is in March, though with the nCOV, I am not sure if it is a wise idea to go there

 

March IT Show is cancelled. 

[Behrhunter]

Yup .. for the better 

[yfan]

HDD (External)

• WD My Book 4TB (~S$115 from Amazon.sg, likely WD Blue internally hence the price)

HDD (Portable) / HDD (Internal)

• Toshiba (Better reliability)
• WD (Pref Red but depends on your budget)

>HGST

If you still can manage to get these old ones. They are the only 7200RPM portables out there which are no longer available since WD bought out the company

 

SSD (2.5" SATA)

Crucial MX500 (~$88 for 500GB from Amazon.sg)

Samsung Evo (Get this only if its cheaper than Crucial)

 

SSD (M.2)

Samsung Evo

 

You might want to read blackblaze quarterly report on HDD reliability. Generally Seagate usually have the worst reliability.

[Guest guest]

seek help from experts here

 

thinking of getting wd hdd, to store my data from my laptop (which is kinda dying, kept having horizontal green line flickering at taskbar), before it finally spoils

 

a) suppose i want a 2tb size - is it better to get 2x1tb hdd or 1x2tb hdd?

i am just wondering if it is better not to keep everything in one basket, or i think too much, can just get 1x2tb hdd?

 

b) suppose i don't drop it, how long can such hdd last?

i understand hdd won't last forever, but if get 1x2tb hdd, transferring data take long time if need to change new one

 

thanks

[JK2E4]

On 6/24/2022 at 9:24 AM, Guest guest said:

seek help from experts here

 

thinking of getting wd hdd, to store my data from my laptop (which is kinda dying, kept having horizontal green line flickering at taskbar), before it finally spoils

 

a) suppose i want a 2tb size - is it better to get 2x1tb hdd or 1x2tb hdd?

i am just wondering if it is better not to keep everything in one basket, or i think too much, can just get 1x2tb hdd?

 

b) suppose i don't drop it, how long can such hdd last?

i understand hdd won't last forever, but if get 1x2tb hdd, transferring data take long time if need to change new one

 

thanks

I would suggest getting the 2TB external drive.

Data transfer shouldn't be that bad if you're on USB 3.0 (which most external HDD should be on) or USB-C.

I've have been using seagate external hard disk drive and haven't had any issues with them, though I don't plug them in everyday, and usually change them every 3-5 years.

Right now, I'm using ext SSD for data storage (for those less frequently accessed files) and online storage (OneDrive) for those I use on a daily basis.

 

p.s. the flickering green line could be a hardware issue on your laptop (maybe the display cable?)

[JK2E4]

On 6/24/2022 at 10:22 AM, Since u r here said:

can help to explain why the need to change every 3yrs?

 

esp we use it to store less freq........yes, i use 1drive too but i think limited space 5gb , i used up nearly all my googledrive

for freq use eg our laptop yes, i agree we definitely must change every 4yrs!

Hard disk drives are mechanical in nature, so they do have limited life span, although I would say most modern HDD should be able to last longer.

But changing them every 3-5 years (usually around 4 years for me), whether they are spoilt or not, gives me a peace of mind.

 

I have an office365 subscription which give me 1TB online storage, so I use that for my frequently access files.

[JK2E4]

On 6/24/2022 at 11:39 AM, Since u r here said:

oooohhhhh tks for explanation, i think my latest one is like coming to a decade soon (WD elemt - somemore bought at Thailand 2015? i never worry do i need to get repair cos gd brand last) and i still keeping my first one (only still once a while using the "2nd" one)
 

ok noted that! 
but how about your laptops cos it holds most of the impt stuff , how regular do u change them?

 

I usually go about 4-5 years as well, they will change from my daily driver, to home-based system. 

For example, the Macbook Pro that I bought in 2016 is now my home "PC" after I bought a new one in 2020.

Important stuff are backed up to the clouds, so if the laptop fails, I would still have a copy on the cloud. 

[Guest Guest]

On 6/24/2022 at 12:20 PM, Since u r here said:

 

how could an old laptop be still using the latest techgy? hmmmmmmmmmmm

many in forums mentioned they are so proud that theirs can last for more than 5yrs and using it daily proudly and some 8yrs and still using.......

 

 

1stly, u not qualify as expect 2 give view la

2ndly, u alway hv 2 ask ppl qn when saying ur pt

finally, ur EQ fail as u like sarcastically suan other ppl when they don do things ur way, u lousy character la. pls b ban alrd. kekekekeke

[Guest guest]

On 6/24/2022 at 10:12 AM, JK2E4 said:

I would suggest getting the 2TB external drive.

Data transfer shouldn't be that bad if you're on USB 3.0 (which most external HDD should be on) or USB-C.

I've have been using seagate external hard disk drive and haven't had any issues with them, though I don't plug them in everyday, and usually change them every 3-5 years.

Right now, I'm using ext SSD for data storage (for those less frequently accessed files) and online storage (OneDrive) for those I use on a daily basis.

 

p.s. the flickering green line could be a hardware issue on your laptop (maybe the display cable?)

thanks for your valuable input

 

correct me if i'm wrong, based on my understanding, external ssd is better (as in more durable) than external hdd?

which also means external ssd would be more expensive right?

 

i have a fair knowledge on external hdd but not ssd, is there a more recommended brand for external ssd?

 

 

on the other hand, i agree with you that my flickering green line could be a hardware issue, however that laptop is already about 4-year-old and it is kind of slowing down considerably - hence it is also a good time to change it, that's why i should backup all the data first, just in case

[Guest Guest]

see 👇 den u see 👆

On 6/24/2022 at 7:33 PM, Since u r here said:

i am not asking Guest

by ur same logic tt guest aso din ask u wat, k.poh nia, kekekeke

 

u see ur on last sentence, make no sense, donno wat u toking. simi jke..

[kidster]

On 6/25/2022 at 11:35 AM, Since u r here said:

who have tried usin solid state external drive before, any recommendations , are they really gd?

ONly use SSD on laptop

External drives : mine are stil the typical hdd

 

had gd experience with Seagate. Compatible with Wins and Mac OS

[JK2E4]

On 6/25/2022 at 9:24 AM, Guest guest said:

thanks for your valuable input

 

correct me if i'm wrong, based on my understanding, external ssd is better (as in more durable) than external hdd?

which also means external ssd would be more expensive right?

 

i have a fair knowledge on external hdd but not ssd, is there a more recommended brand for external ssd?

 

 

on the other hand, i agree with you that my flickering green line could be a hardware issue, however that laptop is already about 4-year-old and it is kind of slowing down considerably - hence it is also a good time to change it, that's why i should backup all the data first, just in case

External SSD is more durable in a sense as they do not have moving parts, so are more resistant to dropping/shock etc.

And yes, SSD will be more expensive than traditional HDD.

 

I have only used Samsung and Sandisk external SSD and I had no issues, so I can't say which brand are better.

[Guest guest]

On 6/27/2022 at 9:25 AM, JK2E4 said:

External SSD is more durable in a sense as they do not have moving parts, so are more resistant to dropping/shock etc.

And yes, SSD will be more expensive than traditional HDD.

 

I have only used Samsung and Sandisk external SSD and I had no issues, so I can't say which brand are better.

thank you so much for your response, really appreciate it lots! 👍

[Steve5380]

On 6/23/2022 at 11:20 PM, Since u r here said:

 

anything more than a 4.5 yr is a strict no-no to me
Techgy has changed, the Killer wifi that i bought (in the laptop) 3yrs ago is too far from the current one and many more
n now all are into sustainability / eco ....

how could an old laptop be still using the latest techgy? hmmmmmmmmmmm
many in forums mentioned they are so proud that theirs can last for more than 5yrs and using it daily proudly and some 8yrs and still using.......

 

 

A no-no?   Don't be so negative.

 

Technology is changing like usual.  But are needs changing?  Do you need the computing power of today's top-of-the-line laptops and desktops?

I am proud that the three laptops I have are all more than 5 years old.

And I am proud that my main computer, my desktop, is now 12 years old.  I have improved it over the years:  new operating system, new solid state drive, more memory, and just a year ago I had to replace the motherboard and CPU ( now very inexpensive ).  And I am looking now at my DELL UltraSharp 24 inch monitor that is... 17 years old.

 

For the common user today,  obsolescence is not an issue, because a 12 year computer does exactly the same as a new one does.  This should be a problem for manufacturers.

[radiusulnar]

i use western digital green.

[JK2E4]

On 7/1/2022 at 3:05 PM, Since u r here said:

why Green? as in Eco Green? 

 

• WD Blue HDD: It is a general-purpose, reliable, and power-efficient storage medium.
• WD Red HDD: It is manufactured for NAS and RAID systems.
• WD Green HDD: It consumes less power and is similar to the blue series hard drives.
• WD Black HDD: It is a high-performance hard drive and is designed for high-end gaming and content creation applications.
• WD Purple HDD: It is a surveillance system storage device.
• WD Gold HDD: It is a premium version of WD hard drives and is designed for data centres and other similar applications.

[JK2E4]

On 7/4/2022 at 4:17 PM, Since u r here said:

tks , how did u even know all these !
yes green is more sustainable, using lesser energy

next time i wil get it but i doubt mine will be spoilt easily

 

Because I like reading about these stuff.  lol

[kidster]

On 7/4/2022 at 4:29 PM, JK2E4 said:

Because I like reading about these stuff.  lol

 

Hi fellow geek haa

[JK2E4]

On 7/5/2022 at 12:01 AM, kidster said:

 

Hi fellow geek haa

Hey hello!