External drive choice.

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ciaran33
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2016 3:02 am
Primary DAW OS: MacOS

External drive choice.

Post by ciaran33 »

I'm looking at buying 2 external HDDs, probably 4TB 2.5in drives that are USB powered. It seems some are regular SATA with a USB controller in the case, others have some sort of proprietary system with the USB directly soldered to the drive, so the drive cannot be taken out and connected to a regular USB to SATA device. I would like to avoid the latter if possible, in case of problems down the road. I read the Toshiba Connect and Basic are soldered, for example. Budget is, as always, a consideration. Any comments or suggestions? Thanks.
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Phil O
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Joined: Thu Jul 28, 2005 10:01 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Scituate, MA

Re: External drive choice.

Post by Phil O »

I've been using WD drives for years now with great luck. Blue or black depending on your application (and budget). My preference is to use an external dock and have the option of using the drive as an internal or external. That's just me. I've tried many through the years and have had the best luck with WD.

I'm now looking for a second SSD. I'm pretty sure I'm going with the Samsung 850 EVO. Various threads here on both HD and SSD. Try the search feature.

Phil
DP 11.23, 2020 M1 Mac Mini [9,1] (16 Gig RAM), Mac Pro 3GHz 8 core [6,1] (16 Gig RAM), OS 14.3.1/11.6.2, Lynx Aurora (n) 8tb, MOTU 8pre-es, MOTU M6, MOTU 828, Apogee Rosetta 800, UAD-2 Satellite, a truckload of outboard gear and plug-ins, and a partridge in a pear tree.
ciaran33
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2016 3:02 am
Primary DAW OS: MacOS

Re: External drive choice.

Post by ciaran33 »

Thanks, I have 2 2tb WD drives that are nearly full, they have been good. This time I might go usb powered 2.5in drives, if reliability would not be significantly worse. And yes, a Samsung 850 EVO is next.
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