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Bigger disks needed - the move up to 8TB drives

Discussion in 'PC/Windows/Linux' started by Growltiger, Apr 14, 2019.

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  1. Growltiger

    Growltiger Administrator Administrator

    11,843
    Apr 26, 2008
    Up in the hills, Gloucestershire, UK
    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.
     
    Growltiger, Apr 14, 2019
    #1
  2. bpdougd

    bpdougd Subscribing Member

    6,283
    May 3, 2007
    Colorado Springs, Colorado
    You have too much stuff. Need to find a computer-nerd version of Marie Kondo. :rolleyes: 
     
    bpdougd, Apr 14, 2019
    #2
  3. Pa

    Pa Subscribing Member

    20,274
    May 5, 2005
    SW Virginia
    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?
     
    Pa, Apr 14, 2019
    #3
  4. davidzvi

    davidzvi Subscribing Member

    3,450
    Apr 30, 2005
    Massachusetts
    David
    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.
     
    davidzvi, Apr 14, 2019
    #4
  5. Mike Buckley

    Mike Buckley Subscribing Member

    10,601
    Sep 13, 2007
    Northern VA suburb of Washington, DC
    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.
     
    Mike Buckley, Apr 15, 2019
    #5
    • Funny Funny x 1
  6. Growltiger

    Growltiger Administrator Administrator

    11,843
    Apr 26, 2008
    Up in the hills, Gloucestershire, UK
    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.
     
    Growltiger, Apr 15, 2019
    #6
  7. Butlerkid

    Butlerkid Cafe Ambassador Moderator

    19,492
    Apr 8, 2008
    Rutledge, Tennessee
    Karen
    Good to know. I, too, like a very, very quiet machine.
     
    Butlerkid, Apr 15, 2019
    #7
  8. Pa

    Pa Subscribing Member

    20,274
    May 5, 2005
    SW Virginia
    With my hearing, noise is not a concern. :( 
     
    Pa, Apr 15, 2019
    #8
    • Agree Agree x 3
  9. BrianDW

    BrianDW

    440
    May 14, 2014
    Portsmouth UK
    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.
     
    BrianDW, Apr 15, 2019
    #9
  10. davidzvi

    davidzvi Subscribing Member

    3,450
    Apr 30, 2005
    Massachusetts
    David
    Mine is definitely not that quiet when it's syncing between my working drive and mass internal storage drive.
     
    davidzvi, Apr 15, 2019
    #10
  11. Mike Buckley

    Mike Buckley Subscribing Member

    10,601
    Sep 13, 2007
    Northern VA suburb of Washington, DC
    The only way I know with great certainty that my computer is working properly is when it is making noises. :ROFLMAO: 
     
    Mike Buckley, Apr 15, 2019
    #11
    • Agree Agree x 1
  12. davidzvi

    davidzvi Subscribing Member

    3,450
    Apr 30, 2005
    Massachusetts
    David
    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.
     
    davidzvi, Apr 15, 2019
    #12
    • Funny Funny x 1
  13. rick_reno

    rick_reno Subscribing Member

    5,627
    Dec 3, 2012
    N Idaho
    Wow, 8 tb. My first Mac with a disk drive had 20mb, and at the time I thought that was huge.
     
    rick_reno, Apr 15, 2019
    #13
  14. Palouse

    Palouse Subscribing Member

    20,344
    Oct 9, 2005
    Moscow, Idaho
    Heck, I can remember buying a Plus Hard Card (32 mgs on a card), I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.
     
    Palouse, Apr 15, 2019
    #14
  15. davidzvi

    davidzvi Subscribing Member

    3,450
    Apr 30, 2005
    Massachusetts
    David
    That had a 5mb hard card. Woohoo I didn't need to use floppies to boot.
    DSC_7733.jpg
    Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
     
    davidzvi, Apr 15, 2019
    #15
  16. Pa

    Pa Subscribing Member

    20,274
    May 5, 2005
    SW Virginia
    Looks just like the IBM PC/AT I took to recycling a few months ago.
     
    Pa, Apr 15, 2019
    #16
  17. rcooper

    rcooper Subscribing Member

    728
    Jan 12, 2008
    elba,al
    Ralph
    I've never heard a computer.Must be nice to hear good.
     
    rcooper, Apr 15, 2019
    #17
  18. midocr

    midocr

    3,874
    Mar 28, 2008
    OH - IO
    Mike
    midocr, Apr 15, 2019
    #18
  19. davidzvi

    davidzvi Subscribing Member

    3,450
    Apr 30, 2005
    Massachusetts
    David
    :wideyed: 
    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.
     
    davidzvi, Apr 15, 2019
    #19
  20. Palouse

    Palouse Subscribing Member

    20,344
    Oct 9, 2005
    Moscow, Idaho
    C:/DOS
    See DOS run
    Run, DOS, Run!
    :D 
     
    Palouse, Apr 15, 2019
    #20
    • Funny Funny x 1
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