Suggestions for a External HD

raarar

raarar

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Wanted to pick up one to start backing up my system. Seems the older I get the more paranoid I get... Anyways, looking for something at least 500gb. I've never bought an external so I don't know if there are any that are better then the others.. Otherwise I would probably just wind up with a Western Digital.
 
Probably as long as you stick with a good brand (WD, Seagate, etc.) you'll be fine. Last time I bought one I chose a Seagate I think because it had a nice 5 year warranty, but I think all companies have trimmed those warranties back over the last couple years.

I'd suggest you get one that has USB 3.0 though. Even if your current PC doesn't have it is backwards compatible so it would still work, and pretty much all of PCs being sold now & in the future will have USB 3.0 so you future-proof abit.
 
I personally steer clear of WD drives, external or internal. Every WD drive I've ever owned (like 4-5) have all taken a shit within a year or two. If I'm not getting an SSD, I'm getting a Seagate drive.
 
Western Digital or Samsung are what I would recommend. They both have a good track record for me, personally and professionally. A USB 3.0 interface would definitely be ideal.
 
External HDs are great, but if you're really worried about your files you should just consider an online backup service.

Carbonite is extremely easy to use, the automatic file selection works for most people (unless you save to non standard directories, like the C drive root.) It's about $60 a year. This is what I usually put my non-technical clients on, just cause of ease of use and easy to check status.

I'm sure there's probably cheaper alternatives out there too; I usually deal with "ease of use over cost" type clients though.

BTW the reasoning behind online backup over external is that external doesn't really cover you from theft and fire. As much as you don't want that to happen, it does. And if it does your external will be gone too. (so it comes down to how much your files are worth)
 
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