Best external hard drive for PC- need expert advice

General Discussion
1

I want to buy an external hard drive for my PC which one is the best need expert advice.

2

I like the WD Elements series. They come in a variety of sizes. The Tablo will accept up to 8TB. I have a 2TB and that is plenty for me. DO NOT use a little thumb-drive. They are not made to handle the data rate or the constant use.

Here is a link to a 4TB that appears to be on sale:

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3

Lot of good manufacturers out there.
HP, WD, IBM, Seagate, Dell…

I’m a Seagate fan myself.

Key things to look for when buying a hard drive.

  1. RPM - Usually 5400 or 7200.
    5400 is typically use for laptops, surveillance camera storage, or anything that you want for
    low power consumptiom.
    7200 would be the preferred for a PC.

  2. USB generation. 3.2 is the latest (I think) 2.0 and 3.0 are available.
    Get a 3.0 or 3.2

  3. Cache - more is better.

Many times you have to do some digging to find those details.

You didn’t mention budget or disk capacity.

4

I agree with KGBnut, I have been using Western Digital Elements drives for years without any issues. They are cheap and reliable, and are a good choice for this purpose.

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5

Not trying to be flip, but I go to Costco and see what they have that meets my needs and budget. Return privilege is great. I don’t think they sell hard drives any more, just SSD

6

I have an SSD on mine, however if I had to do it over again I would go with a traditional drive. SSDs are very good, but they do have some limitation on re-writes and long-term service life. A good traditional drive is plenty good enough for the Tablo, and it likely more robust in the long run. Mind you, my SSD is running fine, at least for now.

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7

I always buy the WD 1 & 2 TB reliable performance. Use a 1 TB Seagate with the Tablo.