[GTALUG] inexpensive external portable 4T drive

[D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk]

I like the 4T Seagate "portable" (i.e. 2.5") external 4T disk drives.
They are good for backups.

- 2.5" drives are physically small

- 2.5" external drives only have one (USB3) cable. No separate power
cable and wall-wart (3.5" externals require these).

- If you don't have USB 3 on your computer I'm not sure that the drive
will get enough power to run. Even if it works, filling a 4T drive
at USB 2 "Full Speed" is going to take a very long time.

- shuckable (i.e. you can pry off the case and use the raw drive). This
is good if something goes wrong. It isn't true of Western Digital
drives.

- unfortunate: if I remember correctly, the physical raw drive is a
little thicker than most 2.5" drive bays allow. So shucking to get
a raw drive to install inside a notebook may not work. The Seagate
2T portable externals do work.

- 2.5" drives seem to handle mechanical shock better than 3.5" drives

- 2.5" drives are a lot easier to store than 3.5" drives (a lot smaller,
lighter, and fewer bits)

- cheap. Usually $125 is possible. Last I looked, cheaper than the
internal drive.

Right now Staples is selling these for $99.92 + a little environmental
stewardship fee. And there are a lot of $15 off $100 Staples coupons
floating about. I even had (and used) a $25 off $75 coupon.

<http://forums.redflagdeals.com/staples-staples-seagate-expansion-stea4000400-4-tb-usb-3-0-99-92-additional-savings-coupon-2218659/>

(For most internal applications these days, SSDs make more sense than
HDDs. SSD prices seem to be starting to fall. For a number of our
notebooks we actually have both.)

There are drives with larger capacity but they are generally more
expensive per byte, shingled, or 3.5". I don't yet trust shingled
drives but a natural application for them would be backing up because
that doesn't require random access writing, their weak point.
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[Giles Orr via talk]

Post by D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk
I like the 4T Seagate "portable" (i.e. 2.5") external 4T disk drives.
They are good for backups.
- 2.5" drives are physically small
- 2.5" external drives only have one (USB3) cable. No separate power
cable and wall-wart (3.5" externals require these).
- If you don't have USB 3 on your computer I'm not sure that the drive
will get enough power to run. Even if it works, filling a 4T drive
at USB 2 "Full Speed" is going to take a very long time.
- shuckable (i.e. you can pry off the case and use the raw drive). This
is good if something goes wrong. It isn't true of Western Digital
drives.
- unfortunate: if I remember correctly, the physical raw drive is a
little thicker than most 2.5" drive bays allow. So shucking to get
a raw drive to install inside a notebook may not work. The Seagate
2T portable externals do work.
- 2.5" drives seem to handle mechanical shock better than 3.5" drives
- 2.5" drives are a lot easier to store than 3.5" drives (a lot smaller,
lighter, and fewer bits)
- cheap. Usually $125 is possible. Last I looked, cheaper than the
internal drive.
Right now Staples is selling these for $99.92 + a little environmental
stewardship fee. And there are a lot of $15 off $100 Staples coupons
floating about. I even had (and used) a $25 off $75 coupon.
<
http://forums.redflagdeals.com/staples-staples-seagate-expansion-stea4000400-4-tb-usb-3-0-99-92-additional-savings-coupon-2218659/
(For most internal applications these days, SSDs make more sense than
HDDs. SSD prices seem to be starting to fall. For a number of our
notebooks we actually have both.)
There are drives with larger capacity but they are generally more
expensive per byte, shingled, or 3.5". I don't yet trust shingled
drives but a natural application for them would be backing up because
that doesn't require random access writing, their weak point.
---
Talk Mailing List
https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk

I could just say "me too" but I should probably clarify.

I didn't know you could still "shell" this model - I knew the WDs didn't
support that anymore, I had assumed the same of the Seagates - that's good
to know.

I have three of this very model, bought about 18 months ago. One has been
used fairly heavily, the other two are on a lighter backup duty - all have
performed flawlessly. Lennart isn't a fan of Seagate as I recall and I've
usually preferred WD myself, but I've had reason to be happy with these.
And $100 is a good price.