Discussion Forums > Technology
External HDD Suggestions/Tips
Freedom Kira:
--- Quote from: Blanchimont on May 21, 2012, 03:16:42 PM ---My Lacie Minimus 2TB drives(USB2/USB3) (which I have a bunch of, recommended) run ~120 MB/s, when copying from the drive where uTorrent is running it's ~60MB/s. And these drives aren't supposed to be the fastest USB3 drives either on the market...
--- End quote ---
I'm not sure if you're refuting what I said or reinforcing it. 120MBps is just under 1Gbps.
AnimeJanai:
If you buy external drive cases that are metal, don't let the outside collar of the USB connector touch the metal case. That's because some of the cheap metal cases made in China are very poorly designed. They are designed just to be good enough to work, but not consider grounding imbalances. In the worst ones, if you let the outside grounding collar of the USB cable touch the case, the hard drive circuitry can be blown. I know this as I've destroyed some drives this way before I was able to realize with great disgust the problem with "made in china" external USB cases.
As for UPS, Sam's Club sells two different APC UPS units. The price for the bigger APC unit is the best price of anywhere and is typically still lower-priced than on-sale prices at other stores such as Fry's, Office Depot, or Staples. I like the big unit since it has automatic voltage compensation without going onto battery power. A variac is essentially a variable autotransformer to adjust AC voltage. Using a variac on the power input to the APC UPS to push the input voltage down to 111 volts AC doesn't cause the battery to come on, but the UPS circuitry will try to keep the output voltage close to 120 volts AC. Dialing down the input to 109 volts AC, the output is at 118 volts without the battery coming on.
So, I am pleased with the big APC unit to NOT use the battery when attempting to maintain a consistent output voltage despite the input voltage rising or dropping. Small units without this feature have to use the battery.
EmptyMemory:
What's the difference between buying a bare drive + enclosure and buying something like this:
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/western-digital-western-digital-my-book-essentials-1tb-external-hard-drive-wdbacw0010hbk-nesn-wdbacw0010hbk-nesn/10155403.aspx?path=f1b6f4e4a887d6a73095069c91a0f540en02
?
datora:
.
--- Quote from: EmptyMemory on June 12, 2012, 11:24:12 PM ---What's the difference between buying a bare drive + enclosure and buying something like [...]
?
--- End quote ---
Build your own and you know the exact parts that went into it, especially you can review their quality. Every time, quality-for-quality, it will be cheaper than a pre-made. Anything goes wrong, you can replace the component that failed rather than exchanging or junking the entire unit.
Pre-made external HDDs use cheaper components to boost profit margins. AND they cost more, except for the most unusual deals.
Quick, in that link you used for an example: what model hard drive is inside the enclosure? That information will always be hidden from you until after you make the purchase and open the enclosure yourself. Maybe you get lucky, maybe you don't. Nothing like dropping $150 or $200 on a mysterious black box.
Also, some pre-made packages come pre-installed with software on the HDD, or have components hard-built into the case that are nothing more than branding eye-cancer for the manufacturer. Buy a stripped, solid quality enclosure and a high quality drive, do your own formatting and you know for certain that you will get exactly an HDD that will obey you as you wish to use it.
EmptyMemory:
Ah. I was expecting an answer like this. Thanks a ton Datora!
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