Reliable Laptop Storage Expansaion

[TiredEngineer]

I currently have a MBP and use a NAS attached to a gigabit router through wireless AC. The speeds are OK. I am starting to do more with photography, and I notice dealing with photos/videos through a NAS is relatively slow.

I am happy using my NAS for onsite backup, but I have starting looking for a reliable external HDD or even a DAS. In the end I want to be able to choose my HDD, but want the environment I put it in to support long life.

I have heard the WD Red Pro runs a little hot, but I would prefer the better performance as well. Would anyone here trust a 7200 rpm in an external enclosure, or should I just stick with a WD Red?

Here is some example enclosures I am considering:

http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-...=UTF8&qid=1443715787&sr=8-1&keywords=uasp+fan

http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-...UTF8&qid=1443715787&sr=8-15&keywords=uasp+fan

http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-C...6154&sr=8-3&keywords=hard+drive+enclosure+fan

 

[dave_the_nerd]

If the enclosure is metal and has a cooling fan, I would be perfectly confident putting one or more 7200 rpm drives in it. Of the ones you linked, the second one will have the hard drive exposed to ambient air, which is nice, and the Thermaltake on is also very well-cooled (as you'd expect from TT.)

If a single HDD is all you need, any of those three would probably be okay, although I'd prefer the TT one since it's well-cooled and keeps the HD enclosed and away from my cats.

If you need/want multiple external HDDs, there are also 2-4 bay DAS enclosures you can find. Like your NAS, they'll tend to have cooling fans and whatnot.

 

[TiredEngineer]

Thanks for the reply...

I have been considering going overkill and using a mini-ITX case with ample cooling (and expandability). The problem here is I would want a small PSU to power the fans and the HDDs, and there does not seem to be a way to get a UASP sata to a usb 3 connection WITHOUT it blocking the sata power port...and then it just gets messy having a separate plug coming out the back for every HDD.

I found this, but I am running out of UPS plugs, and it just isnt "clean" if you want multiple HDDs.

http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-...43723423&sr=8-1&keywords=sata+3+to+usb+3+uasp

 

[Cerb]

How much space are you looking at using, and what kind of performance are you after?

 

[TiredEngineer]

How much space are you looking at using, and what kind of performance are you after?

I am going to be using Adobe LR/Photoshop CC and iMovie on the files saved there. I would LIKE SSD speed, but $$$ plays a factor here as well, which is why I am looking at WD Reds. I dont want proprietary Raid 1 or special partitions in my way when looking at many DAS (even for JBOD configs). I looked at the MyBook Duo, but it requires special software and even has been reported to have JBOD config as unreadable outside of that specific enclosure. I just want these drives to be formatted by me and available the same as an external drive. USB 3 with UASP, WD Red Pro, 24/7 reliability.

I want 2 x 2TB drives (but only need 1 drive, the 2 is just for redundancy), and will do a daily rsync between these 2 drives for additional backup (I am kind of paranoid/OCD about backups).

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Thanks for the reply...

I have been considering going overkill and using a mini-ITX case with ample cooling (and expandability). The problem here is I would want a small PSU to power the fans and the HDDs, and there does not seem to be a way to get a UASP sata to a usb 3 connection WITHOUT it blocking the sata power port...and then it just gets messy having a separate plug coming out the back for every HDD.

I found this, but I am running out of UPS plugs, and it just isnt "clean" if you want multiple HDDs.

http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-...43723423&sr=8-1&keywords=sata+3+to+usb+3+uasp

Eewww, not that way. Like this:

http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-External-Drive-Enclosure-SAT3540U3ER/dp/B007B61GVI

That looks identical to the MediaSonic brand of the same thing, which are pretty well-regarded I think. It seems a bit expensive though - a 4-drive USB enclosure should be around $100-$150. But that's the doohickey you're looking for.

I've tried the "DIY" multi-drive USB enclosure route and it's really just a pain in the butt to get right - and if you cheap out trying to "convert" and old PC case and using a bunch of adapters, it's ugly as sin anyway.

 

[TiredEngineer]

I think I may go with a WD Red Pro and the Thermaltake. I already have a Synology Raid 1 NAS for redundancy anyway, so having another external drive for backup is overkill (note: I do periodically manually backup to external drives because I am paranoid).

Currently all my work is done on the NAS, but I will transfer all the files to the new drive, and then do a nightly rsync back to my NAS. My NAS then uses Cloud Sync to a Google Drive. Hopefully that is redundant enough.

 

[Cerb]

IMO, follow dave_the_nerd's last post.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I think I may go with a WD Red Pro and the Thermaltake. I already have a Synology Raid 1 NAS for redundancy anyway, so having another external drive for backup is overkill (note: I do periodically manually backup to external drives because I am paranoid).

Currently all my work is done on the NAS, but I will transfer all the files to the new drive, and then do a nightly rsync back to my NAS. My NAS then uses Cloud Sync to a Google Drive. Hopefully that is redundant enough.

That should work fine too.

The one thing I'd avoid doing is hacking together a home-brewed multi-drive enclosure. (Hey, you put the word "reliable" right in the title of the thread!)