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Hey gang.....
I'm producing a show in a few weeks where I’ll generate 3+tB of video, audio, and other data. I bring my Thunderbolt 2 dock with an 8tB drive to quickly copy files over from camera cards, Samurai drives, etc. at the show, but will need to buy 3-4 additional 4tB USB 3.0 drives for backup use (my copy, my backup, a copy for the client, and 1-2 more). These drives don’t get a lot of use and are primarily for archiving the content (I don’t edit or do playback directly from these drives). I’ve just been buying whatever's cheap on Amazon (usually WD, but sometimes Seagate or Toshiba)... usually around $100-110. Just wondering if anyone has a recommendation for anything that’s either better or cheaper than what I’ve been buying (or if you've had experience with any I should stay away from).

Thanks.

I do a lot of archiving to spinners. I use one of these for a dock. USB 3 interface and easy insert/removal of drives:

https://www.icydock.com/goods.php?id=218

I've been using Western Digital SATA drives most recently. I usually wait for sales and pick up two to four at a time. I've tried different brands through the years, but WD seems to be my only "go to" at the moment. I was using the Samsung stuff for a while, but their quality has seemed to have gone down.

I was archiving stuff to DVD way back when, but now I have a stack of bare drives on the shelf that I just stuff into a dock when I need to dig something out of moth balls. The four slot dock allows me to have several clients' backups on my desk for work in progress.

Phil

Phil O wrote:I do a lot of archiving to spinners. I use one of these for a dock. USB 3 interface and easy insert/removal of drives:

https://www.icydock.com/goods.php?id=218
Phil

You know, Phil. I was actually looking for externals, which would be more suitable to sending to my client, but you got me thinking about just using bare drives for my own use, since I have a 2-slot dock (I have this one: https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/TB2U3DKR2/). Buying bare drives would save me $20+ a drive… great idea—thanks!

WD Red are as close to a bulletproof spinner as you can get. The bearings are extra heavy. Available up to 10TB
https://www.amazon.com/Red-10TB-NAS-Har ... d+red+10tb

These are the only ones I use for Time Machine anymore and come in the My Cloud NAS boxes. A buddy of mine from Seagate turned me onto them.

I have been very happy with the Seagate 8TB drive for backups; I rotate two across Time Machine in my studio. This enclosure uses Seagate's "Archive Drive" which is available without enclosure at a higher price. Hard to beat 8TB for $140.