External HDD for late 2015 iMac

[codger]

Hi,

Once bench marks of new graphic cards have been sorted I shall be buying a new iMac with 256 GB SSD. I will need an external HDD for storage/back up. I have always used a Time Capsule for this but have never been impressed with the wireless network it provides so intend to buy a new router. This I have sorted. I now need some advice on a "best buy" 1TB external HDD as I have never used one before. I have read a lot of reviews but often the same product is often praised by some and damned by others. Any recommendations?

Thanks

 

[Gogol]

I wonder if one could make a Fusion Drive with an external HDD and an internal SSD only. This is also a possibility?

 

[codger]

Sorry cannot help! Never been overly happy with the concept of Fusion drives although I am sure they are fine. prefer the non moving parts of SSD's.

 

[hifimacianer]

Hi,

Once bench marks of new graphic cards have been sorted I shall be buying a new iMac with 256 GB SSD. I will need an external HDD for storage/back up. I have always used a Time Capsule for this but have never been impressed with the wireless network it provides so intend to buy a new router. This I have sorted. I now need some advice on a "best buy" 1TB external HDD as I have never used one before. I have read a lot of reviews but often the same product is often praised by some and damned by others. Any recommendations?

Thanks

It depends on what you are looking for.
Speed and/or storage?

If you are looking for Speed, I you have to look for a SSD drive, I can recommend Samsung 850 EVO series.
It's available in 1TB size.

Just buy a cheap UASP capable USB enclousure for it and you are done.


If you just want storage, I would also look for a drive with UASP Support. You don't have to buy a Thunderbolt drive for your usecase.

 

[fa8362]

Hi,

Once bench marks of new graphic cards have been sorted I shall be buying a new iMac with 256 GB SSD. I will need an external HDD for storage/back up. I have always used a Time Capsule for this but have never been impressed with the wireless network it provides so intend to buy a new router. This I have sorted. I now need some advice on a "best buy" 1TB external HDD as I have never used one before. I have read a lot of reviews but often the same product is often praised by some and damned by others. Any recommendations?

Thanks

I'm surprised that you can still buy a 1 TB external, and I wouldn't expect any of them to be a "best buy." I'd look at 2 TB or larger. I doubt 2 TB costs much more than a 1 TB drive. I'm partial to LaCie and Fantom, but note that neither make drives. Like most sellers, they buy drives from one of the few HD manufacturers (there are only about 5 in the world - Seagate, Hitachi, and Western Digital are three of them) and put them in a case with their name on it.

 

[codger]

I'm surprised that you can still buy a 1 TB external, and I wouldn't expect any of them to be a "best buy." I'd look at 2 TB or larger. I doubt 2 TB costs much more than a 1 TB drive. I'm partial to LaCie and Fantom, but note that neither make drives. Like most sellers, they buy drives from one of the few HD manufacturers (there are only about 5 in the world - Seagate, Hitachi, and Western Digital are three of them) and put them in a case with their name on it.

Thanks. Yes, you can get 1TB drives certainly WD make them. The reason I chose a 1TB size was simply because that is the size of my Time Capsule and it has taken 5 years to fill it! You are probably right however and I should go for a 2TB as its only an extra £16 (US$22).