Largest reasonable single external HD

[aComicBookFan]

What is the largest reasonable external single hard drive setup that a 2011 iMac could work with? Could I put my own together using a hard drive enclosure and a large 4TB drive?

I am asking this as I continue thinking about ways to back up my data, which is mostly movies, music, and photos. For the past couple of years I have had everything distributed among several USB hard drives. My new iMac's 1 TB drive is filling up quickly as I consolidate everything into iTunes and iPhoto.

-=- Boris

 

[John T]

As large as you can find.

 

[marzer]

My new iMac's 1 TB drive is filling up quickly

More important question would be - Do you have a backup solution than can accommodate the increased storage space?

For an external pick the largest capacity drive with the fastest interface (pref. FireWire or Thunderbolt) that fits within your budget. And make sure you have a backup solution (Time Capsule or additional external drive) that can handle backing up all your data.

I use one of these, OWC Mercury Elite Pro RAID.


I put two 2TB drives in it configured as independant drives. I keep my files on one drive and use Chronosync to backup to the other drive. The single case keeps the cord clutter down.