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WD 4TB Studio vs 4TB G-Drive vs WD 6TB Duo

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PatrickNSF

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Does anyone have any experience with the WD 4TB Studio USB 3 (bit.ly/dOtPpS) for about $250, the 4TB G-Drive USB 3 (http://bit.ly/27ZydU) for about $350, and/or the WD 6TB Duo Thunderbolt (http://bit.ly/z2UA9b) for about $525+?

I'm looking for a external for my 2012 iMac allocated to iTunes media, Aperture libraries, and digital video footage. I'm a hobbyist (i.e., not a professional), so the absolute "best" performance isn't critical, though reliability is. I back up data from 3 laptops and some data from the iMac via Time Machine to a networked Time Capsule, and the rest of the iMac data via Firewire 800 to a (slow) Drobo.

Any alternate suggestions would be appreciated also. Thanks.
 
Thanks for the tip on the G-Raid. It's expensive, but looks to be a fast performer. Are you planning to use it striped?
 
I'm thinking of getting the Lacie 2big thunderbolt. Just haven't decided if I really need thunderbolt just for backing up files.
 
PatrickNSF said:
Apparently a discussion about hard drives for the new iMac warrants less importance than the "when did you iMac ship" threads.
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Please read the forum descriptions! Thank you! 🙂

External RAID enclosures, external harddisks and so on have nothing to do with the iMac hardware. You can use the same enclosures/HDDs on other Macs, not only iMacs.
 
Ice-Cube said:
I'm thinking of getting the Lacie 2big thunderbolt. Just haven't decided if I really need thunderbolt just for backing up files.
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If you have “older” eSATA enclosures, you can use the LaCie Thunderbolt Hub:
http://www.lacie.com/ie/products/product.htm?id=10574

iThink i will use the hub + 2 x WD Red 3 TB (WD30EFRX) in a RAID 0 configuration. The expected transfer speed is 200-250 MByte/s. I use this enclosure:
http://www.inxtron.com/multi-bay-raid-enclosures/taurus-super-s3-lcm

Other necessary parts:
One double shielded eSATA cable (not too long), and one 2 m Thunderbolt cable (Apple).
 
I have the LaCie 2Big 4TB Thunderbolt, very happy with it. I just ordered another from MacMall, so now have 2 of the LaCie 2Bigs. They use the Seagate 7200rpm Barracuda drives. I have run Black Magic on them as RAID 0 and they are fast about 330/380M W/R I recall. I was trying to setup a more complex RAID between the 2 LaCie's but not sure if this can work. I did run both LaCie's in a RAID 0 with 4 drives just for fun. Black Magic indicated 497/515M if I remember. I will probably setup as a pair of RAID 0 with one LaCie for Time Machine when I get some time today or tomorrow.
 
So, I ended up with the WD Studio 4TB USB3. It seems OK. Not sure if the 4TB G-drive would have offered better performance, but this was about $100 cheaper.
 
Have 2 WD Thunderbolt Duo's and I like them. WD has always been a solid performer to me. (Except for their NAS drives, slow slow slow...but reliable)
 
mmomega said:
Have 2 WD Thunderbolt Duo's and I like them. WD has always been a solid performer to me. (Except for their NAS drives, slow slow slow...but reliable)
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I believe they are using 5400 rpm drives? I hesitated to buy them solely cos of that.
 
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