Help on choosing Mobile External Drive for 2011 MBP (down to 3 LaCie drives)

[bcollins24]

I'll start off by saying that I have researched a lot on my own and know the facts...but understanding what the facts mean is the hard part. And I am not very experienced so I really appreciate opinions. I am looking for an external hard drive to use with my 15-inch, Early 2011 MBP.

Already own:
LaCie Rugged 500GB USB 2.0/Firewire - Works great.
1TB Seagate - Couple scares after it was dropped but still working.

Why I am looking: I download and store "legal" movies/tv shows/music and mostly 720p or 1080p. I am looking b/c I have a list of new shows that have no home. Most likely, they will stay on the HD until it's life ends or I move them to a new HD b/c I am paranoid of losing them. Some are hard to find and foreign . I like the LaCie rugged b/c my laptop and me are very mobile (mostly in my condo) and I have definitely dropped it before.

Dilemma: What LaCie Rugged is best for me? I have not really looked into external drives in awhile so thunderbolt was new to me. I did check my MBP and I see the bolt symbol so I assume I an enabled?? I've read about both SSD and HDD and I think SSD would be great for speed to get videos onto the device but I would like more than 500GB ($499) for space. So then I compared the LaCie Rugged Mini, Triple and 3.0 USB Thunderbolt series in 2TB. I compared speed, size, costs and reviews. I liked the mini over triple b/c they both have 3.0 USB and the mini is a bit smaller but I supposed the firewire and 3 USB would actually be better. Then I "thought" I liked the Thunderbolt over mini but I read some horror stories on overheating and the HDD Thunderbolt not being worth it vs a non thunderbolt 3.0 USB. It sounds like the overheating is caused mainly by a faulty thunderbolt cable but not sure what to buy to fix that if that truly is the case.

What I am asking everyone here: I very much welcome any advice on which external might work best for me based on my needs. I am hoping not to spend more than $300 for the external itself.

Rugged 3.0 USB Thunderbolt 2TB
vs.
Rugged Mini 2TB
vs.
Rugged Triple 2TB

Please ask any questions or direct me to a different forum if I picked the wrong one or if I am a dupe. My understanding of the facts may be wrong so please correct me if needed.

Thanks!
Brooklyn

 

[ColdCase]

For a repository for video, any of your choices will work just fine. You may spend an extra 15 minutes or so one time to save the video onto the drive, but any of the ones will read and play video just fine. Just buy the least expensive or most reliable. I have TBs of video on a USB2 drive and don't notice the slow speed during playback. Even the highest bit rate HD video is less than 10MBps.

It makes a bigger difference if you intend to edit video stored on the drive.

 

[tcphoto]

G Technology are my drives of choice for storage. The build quality is outstanding and I've never had an issue in the nine years I've used the brand.

 

[bcollins24]

For a repository for video, any of your choices will work just fine. You may spend an extra 15 minutes or so one time to save the video onto the drive, but any of the ones will read and play video just fine. Just buy the least expensive or most reliable. I have TBs of video on a USB2 drive and don't notice the slow speed during playback. Even the highest bit rate HD video is less than 10MBps.

It makes a bigger difference if you intend to edit video stored on the drive.

This makes sense, thanks @ColdCase. Sometimes I tend to overbuy and over-think. I'm one of those that think I have to buy the best but then don't know how to get the best out of it. The mini is the cheapest for 2TB and hopefully is reliable. I like my current rugged but it seems to be "luck of the draw" sometimes with externals.

----------

G Technology are my drives of choice for storage. The build quality is outstanding and I've never had an issue in the nine years I've used the brand.

@tcphoto Thanks! I never looked into G-Drives. I like how sleek they look and most people seem to have only positive comments. I am not seeing 2TB for the mobile USB 3.0/Thunderbolt. Is that available? Also, how is the durability? I have been known to drop mine a couple times. Mostly from the couch to the floor

Thanks again!

 

[Fishrrman]

I'm going to offer you another solution, which you may or may not find useful.

If what you're planning to keep on the drive is "mostly media" (that is, movies, music, pics, etc.) for archival storage and random use, you don't need an SSD-based drive.

Also -- DON'T waste your good money on thunderbolt. USELESS for a drive that is just "for storage and archiving". For playing movies back, USB3 will be "as fast as" thunderbolt. No noticeable difference.. NONE.

My suggestion:
First, get something like this for less than $20:
http://www.amazon.com/Optimized-Ina...=1398871409&sr=8-1&keywords=inateck+usb3+uasp

Next, pick up a "bare drive" of your choice from a drive vendor such as amazon, newegg, etc.

Then, put it together yourself. The Inateck enclosure doesn't even use screws. Just slip the drive into the connector, and snap the cover on, and ... done.

Initialize it with Disk Utility, perhaps partition if desired.

Why do it this way?
1. Drive warranty may be longer.
2. You pick the components, so you know what "is inside".
3. If you ever have a problem, you know how to take it apart -- because YOU put it together.

I can't believe how many folks haven't tried this instead of paying a premium for "pre-packaged" drives...

A good place to keep an eye on drive prices is dealmac.com...

 

[tcphoto]

Drop them? No, I'm pretty careful with my gear. I would not worry about Thunderbolt since you're just copying and building a library. I copy all RAW files, edited images and studio paperwork to mine and duplicate on another drive for redundancy plus one for Time Machine. I would also think smaller capacity and spread data over a couple drives since they're relatively cheap. Here is a shot of my stack.

 

[bcollins24]

I'm going to offer you another solution, which you may or may not find useful.

If what you're planning to keep on the drive is "mostly media" (that is, movies, music, pics, etc.) for archival storage and random use, you don't need an SSD-based drive.

Also -- DON'T waste your good money on thunderbolt. USELESS for a drive that is just "for storage and archiving". For playing movies back, USB3 will be "as fast as" thunderbolt. No noticeable difference.. NONE.

My suggestion:
First, get something like this for less than $20:
http://www.amazon.com/Optimized-Ina...=1398871409&sr=8-1&keywords=inateck+usb3+uasp

Next, pick up a "bare drive" of your choice from a drive vendor such as amazon, newegg, etc.

Then, put it together yourself. The Inateck enclosure doesn't even use screws. Just slip the drive into the connector, and snap the cover on, and ... done.

Initialize it with Disk Utility, perhaps partition if desired.

Why do it this way?
1. Drive warranty may be longer.
2. You pick the components, so you know what "is inside".
3. If you ever have a problem, you know how to take it apart -- because YOU put it together.

I can't believe how many folks haven't tried this instead of paying a premium for "pre-packaged" drives...

A good place to keep an eye on drive prices is dealmac.com...

Wow! @Fishrrman Definitely, never thought of this! I will have to do a little research. There are some good you tubes on this enclosure as well. It sounds pretty simple (even for me) and it looks like it will fit any 2.5 inch SATA hard drive between 9.5mm and 7mm. I will look at some of the bare drives to see what I can find. Do you prefer any?

Thank you for the suggestion

 

[bcollins24]

Drop them? No, I'm pretty careful with my gear. I would not worry about Thunderbolt since you're just copying and building a library. I copy all RAW files, edited images and studio paperwork to mine and duplicate on another drive for redundancy plus one for Time Machine. I would also think smaller capacity and spread data over a couple drives since they're relatively cheap. Here is a shot of my stack.

@tcphoto

Mine is usually sitting on my lap so it has fallen. Something that I just thought about, my early 2011 MBP does not have USB 3.0 so either way I would be using USB 2.0. So I need to decide should I go with Usb 2.0 and Firewire or would the thunderbolt do anything for me. It sounds like for my purpose, not really. You think I would be fine with the USB2 instead of TB?

Thanks again

 

[matreya]

@tcphoto

Mine is usually sitting on my lap so it has fallen. Something that I just thought about, my early 2011 MBP does not have USB 3.0 so either way I would be using USB 2.0. So I need to decide should I go with Usb 2.0 and Firewire or would the thunderbolt do anything for me. It sounds like for my purpose, not really. You think I would be fine with the USB2 instead of TB?

Thanks again

In the case of not having USB 3.0, I would suggest paying more for the TB Rugged drive of choice, because you'll get speeds at least double that of firewire.