On Fri, 31 Aug 2018 at 11:17, D. Hugh Redelmeier via talk <[email protected]> wrote:
> 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 > [email protected] > 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. -- Giles https://www.gilesorr.com/ [email protected]
--- Talk Mailing List [email protected] https://gtalug.org/mailman/listinfo/talk
