Suggest me an external storage solution!

[Annisman*]

My Needs: At least 2TB of size, preferrably 3TB.
Uses: For backup/storage of music, Steam folder and other games, and to be able to transfer files as quickly as possible to other computers at my house.

Questions: Should I go USB 3.0 or E-sata if I have to choose between the two ? I am leaning USB 3.0.

Is it better to purchase a harddrive 'dock' and purchase my own high speed HDD's to use, or purchase an all inclusive external hdd setup ?

My main goal is speed in transferring large files, such as a couple hundred gigs of games onto my bro's PC. Cost is not really an obstacle.

I have just never owned any kind of external HDD so I want you to suggest one for me !

Items I have been considering: This http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817198053 paired up with a WD Black 2 TB (doesnt WD make 3TB Black drives ?)

This: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817576013 Paired up with a 2TB WD Black and a 120GB SSD (would that make any sense ?)

Or just a stand alone External HDD like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822186278

My worry is that a standalone external HDD will be much slower than what I am looking for, and that I could put together a much faster one myself.

 

[VirtualLarry]

if you want speed, e-sata is hard to beat. USB3.0 is close.

 

[Annisman*]

if you want speed, e-sata is hard to beat. USB3.0 is close.

Is e-sata faster than USB 3.0 ? Or is it too close to call ? And do you have any specific purchase suggestions ?

 

[greenhawk]

I assume both your computer and your brothers both have the needed connections? if one computer is a little old then it might not have usb 3.0 so making it pointless.

though a network connection for file transfers works better in the long run

 

[Annisman*]

His computer does not have USB 3.0, however I can easily purchase a USB 3.0 add on card, it does have E-sata right now though.

As far as networking is concerned, that is what we have been using for transfers, however we are capped at 10 mb/s.

 

[Concillian]

Yes, eSATA will be slightly faster, but much less universal than USB3.0. Your computer now may have eSATA, but will your next? A backup drive is often used for ~5 years. USB3 is prominent enough now that I'm pretty sure it still be on virtually every computer in 5 years, laptop or desktop, while eSATA doesn't have enough traction to have that kind of guarantee.

USB3 and eSATA transfer speeds both exceed mechanical HDD speeds, but USB3 has more overhead and will add some latency as a result, but the speed difference will be pretty small. Probably not even noticeable.

I'd choose USB3 just for these reasons

As for dock vs. enclosure, pick one based on portability or usage. A dock is convenient at your desk, but taking a bare drive somewhere is kinda wierd, and moving the dock too... If you're backing up and moving the drive somewhere else so that you reduce the risk of data loss in a disaster (fire, earthquake, etc...) then the full enclosure makes more sense, I think. If you're just keeping a second copy on your desk, then the dock is probably better. It's kinda your call on what you're after.

 

[nanaki333]

Yes, eSATA will be slightly faster, but much less universal than USB3.0. Your computer now may have eSATA, but will your next? A backup drive is often used for ~5 years. USB3 is prominent enough now that I'm pretty sure it still be on virtually every computer in 5 years, laptop or desktop, while eSATA doesn't have enough traction to have that kind of guarantee.

USB3 and eSATA transfer speeds both exceed mechanical HDD speeds, but USB3 has more overhead and will add some latency as a result, but the speed difference will be pretty small. Probably not even noticeable.

I'd choose USB3 just for these reasons

As for dock vs. enclosure, pick one based on portability or usage. A dock is convenient at your desk, but taking a bare drive somewhere is kinda wierd, and moving the dock too... If you're backing up and moving the drive somewhere else so that you reduce the risk of data loss in a disaster (fire, earthquake, etc...) then the full enclosure makes more sense, I think. If you're just keeping a second copy on your desk, then the dock is probably better. It's kinda your call on what you're after.

when it comes to docks, i always had problems when swapping drives when the dock is connected with esata. sometimes they would come up, most of the time they wouldn't without rebooting. tried it on a couple docks and other machines. ended up switching them to the (then) USB2 port. once USB3 became more prevalent, i switched to that for my enclosures.

 

[Old Hippie]

This http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817198053 paired up with a WD Black 2 TB

Cool! First time I've seen one of those AND it has active cooling! Nice!

It has both eSATA & USB3 and I doubt you'll be able to tell the difference but the eSATA should be faster.

Never buy a prebuilt external drive.

Do yourself a favor and go with "option 1".

Good Luck!

 

[rickon66]

Check out Antec's Easy Sata dock that makes it easy to use a standard 3.5" HD as a back up/ file transfer drive that is even hot swappable under Win 7. Fry's has it for $19.99