Bigger disks needed - the move up to 8TB drives

[Growltiger]

My machines have 512GB SSD system disks and 4TB data disks. And I use 4TB and 6TB external drives for backups and to move data around. 4TB just isn't enough any more, I have only 150GB free at the moment on my main data drive. The number of backup images has had to be reduced temporarily, which is not good. So the time has come for me to decide what to get next.

At first I thought 6TB would be good, but I soon realised that this would be a poor choice, as the time before that was used up might not be very long. Looking at the prices of the larger drives, 8TB seems a good choice now. So I decided to buy one internal and one external to start with, and to decide on more purchases later depending on how well these work.

First the internal drive. The WD Black would normally be my first choice but it is reported to be very noisy, and my computers are almost silent (a 7200 rpm drive is essential for reasonable performance). So I chose the Seagate Barracuda Pro 8TB instead.

Next the external drive. I chose a Seagate 8TB external, this is a lower performance drive, and cheaper, but it does support USB3.

 

[bpdougd]

You have too much stuff. Need to find a computer-nerd version of Marie Kondo.

 

[Pa]

Ah, good to see that hard drive capacities continue to increase with our needs. I last needed to expand back in 2016, and decided on 4TB. I bought two 4TB HGST Touro models since they were rated most reliable by BackBlaze at that time. Since then, the difference in reliability between brands appears to have diminished considerably to the point that they are all quite reliable now.

My two 4TB drives are only half full, so it appears that by the time I need more capacity it will be available and pretty cheap.

How did you decide on Seagate, Richard?

 

[davidzvi]

I hear the "need for space" (doesn't really rhyme though).

My big internal is a HGST 10TB Deskstar that I have external on and off site backups for. But my main "working" internals are a pair of WD 2TB SE drives in RAID 1. I should change them to RAID 0 since I have them sync'd daily to the Deskstar, but I keep track of what's current so they never get too full.

 

[Mike Buckley]

I've yet to come close to filling up my 1 TB hard disk. I'm grateful to all you folks who need such large disk drives; without you, by the time I need a 2 TB disk it would be expensive.

 

[Growltiger]

How did you decide on Seagate, Richard?

Reading specifications and reviews and checking prices. WD and Seagate are the main two traditional suppliers. They all seem reliable nowadays.

Noise levels are important to me. I like silence, as I am writing this I cannot hear my (very powerful) computer. The fans are only audible when it is working hard. So the many comments about how noisy the WD Black 6TB and 8TB units are decided it.

The Seagate Pro drives have the same spec as the WD Black and were on offer a bit cheaper.

 

[Butlerkid]

Reading specifications and reviews and checking prices. WD and Seagate are the main two traditional suppliers. They all seem reliable nowadays.

Noise levels are important to me. I like silence, as I am writing this I cannot hear my (very powerful) computer. The fans are only audible when it is working hard. So the many comments about how noisy the WD Black 6TB and 8TB units are decided it.

The Seagate Pro drives have the same spec as the WD Black and were on offer a bit cheaper.

Good to know. I, too, like a very, very quiet machine.

 

[Pa]

With my hearing, noise is not a concern.

 

[BrianDW]

With my hearing, noise is not a concern.

Maybe that's why my new WD Black data drive sounds so quiet. If it was closer to my 'good' ear, might be a different story. It is only 2TB though. I like to depend on external drives for main data storage.

 

[davidzvi]

Mine is definitely not that quiet when it's syncing between my working drive and mass internal storage drive.

 

[Mike Buckley]

The only way I know with great certainty that my computer is working properly is when it is making noises.

 

[davidzvi]

The only way I know with great certainty that my computer is working properly is when it is making noises.

I actually replaced a traditional spinning drive in my mother's old all-in-one Lenovo with an SSD I had laying around last week. I had to point out VERY clearly "just push the button and wait a few seconds, you won't hear the drive". She kept thinking she hadn't hit the power button and kept pressing it again.

 

[rick_reno]

Wow, 8 tb. My first Mac with a disk drive had 20mb, and at the time I thought that was huge.

 

[Palouse]

Wow, 8 tb. My first Mac with a disk drive had 20mb, and at the time I thought that was huge.

Heck, I can remember buying a Plus Hard Card (32 mgs on a card), I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

 

[davidzvi]

Heck, I can remember buying a Plus Hard Card (32 mgs on a card), I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

That had a 5mb hard card. Woohoo I didn't need to use floppies to boot.

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[Pa]

That had a 5mb hard card. Woohoo I didn't need to use floppies to boot.
View attachment 1636342

Looks just like the IBM PC/AT I took to recycling a few months ago.

 

[rcooper]

I've never heard a computer.Must be nice to hear good.

 

[midocr]

Just saw this, this morning:

https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-SSD-PLUS-Internal-SDSSDA-1T00-G26/dp/B07D998212?tag=cnet-buy-button-20

 

[davidzvi]

Looks just like the IBM PC/AT I took to recycling a few months ago.

I sold that one for $250 to a collector last year. We were moving and I figured it was finally time to let it go.

 

[Palouse]

That had a 5mb hard card. Woohoo I didn't need to use floppies to boot.
View attachment 1636342

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