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recommendation for picture HDD

O

omghaxcode

Senior member
I'm looking for a large capacity HDD to backup photos to. 1TB or more and decent performance/reliability. I was going to grab a WD caviar black but the complaints about sound are driving me away. Is there anything of similar quality but without the noise? ty
 
I've read many reviews complaining about noise level. I don't want to be able to hear it when my fans are turned down and I'm trying to sleep.
 
Buy only SSD drives if you don't want absolute silent drives.
But you don't want to spend the cash, so you won't go that route.
WD Blacks aren't silent, no spinning platter drives are.
The Blacks I own have never been what I consider loud.

The method anyone uses to mount a HD makes a huge difference as to how much noise is heard, as well as the quality of the case.

What case are you using for this PC?
 
If it is for photo backups, why not a low RPM drive? They are cheaper and quieter. I doubt you will notice a few ms longer seek times and "merely" 100 MB/s sequential read/write speeds of the Caviar Green HDDs.
 
Blain said:
Where do you get that information from?
There are tons of 10k & 15k drives that have been in service for years.
Click to expand...

From experience with our datacenters. Its pretty obvious what got the lowest lifetime in average.

Plus its logical that higher RPM means more wear and tear.
 
WD blue 2.5" , runs at 5400 rpm, designed for laptops and to be very quite.

put 2 in raid 1 for reliability.
 
I back up my thousasnds of photos to an eSATA external drive. It is always OFF unless I want to add files. Ergo, noise is not a problem, and, since it as external, I can sneaker-net it to any of my computers. BTW - it is in turn duplicated to another external drive.
 
All the WD blacks i've owned have been quiet

if it's loud and making grinding/rubbing sounds it's likely no good.
 
Soulkeeper said:
All the WD blacks i've owned have been quiet

if it's loud and making grinding/rubbing sounds it's likely no good.
Click to expand...

Same experience here.. but apparently, the latest revision of the WD Black .. the WD1002FAEX .. seems to be a bit louder and grindy-er..

Still, its on sale for $99 on newegg and has a 5 year warranty.. only $10 more than Seagate's 1tb offering with a mere 1 year warranty.
 
corkyg said:
I back up my thousasnds of photos to an eSATA external drive. It is always OFF unless I want to add files. Ergo, noise is not a problem, and, since it as external, I can sneaker-net it to any of my computers. BTW - it is in turn duplicated to another external drive.
Click to expand...

This is what I do as well. A 3tb external should be enough for even the most avid amateur photographer. Heck, my wife is a professional and she still hasn't filled up her 3tb drive yet.
 
The most important recommendation for hard drives for photos is that there be at least two of them.

Preferably one an external drive with USB 3.0 or eSATA.

You'll thank me some day. 🙂
 
Blain said:
What are you talking about? What exactly is "pretty obvious"?

How are you privy to RMA information, do you work for a component vendor?
Click to expand...

If you want vendor RMA you can try this. I´m sure it wont satisfy you anyway. My last post to you.

- 3,65% Western Digital Caviar Blue (WD10EALS)
- 2,89% Western Digital Caviar Black (WD1001FALS)
- 2,79% Western Digital Caviar Black (WD1002FAEX)
- 1,57% Western Digital Caviar Green (WD10EARS)

- 5,53% Western Digital RE4-GP (WD2002FYPS)
- 4,42% Western Digital Caviar Black (WD2002FAEX)
- 3,05% Western Digital Caviar Green (WD20EARS)
 
Blain said:
What are you talking about? What exactly is "pretty obvious"?

How are you privy to RMA information, do you work for a component vendor?
Click to expand...
ShintaiDK said:
If you want vendor RMA you can try this.
I´m sure it wont satisfy you anyway. My last post to you.

- 3,65% Western Digital Caviar Blue (WD10EALS)
- 2,89% Western Digital Caviar Black (WD1001FALS)
- 2,79% Western Digital Caviar Black (WD1002FAEX)
- 1,57% Western Digital Caviar Green (WD10EARS)

- 5,53% Western Digital RE4-GP (WD2002FYPS)
- 4,42% Western Digital Caviar Black (WD2002FAEX)
- 3,05% Western Digital Caviar Green (WD20EARS)
Click to expand...
You are correct sir, thank you.
 
Last edited:
Ok, purchased a caviar black. I'll probably back it up to an external also. Any suggestions on externals? 1TB obviously
 
I've got Samsung F4EG 2TB, it's a good 5400RPM drive but a bit old. Buying now I'd probably get Seagate ST1000DM003 or ST2000DM001.
 
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