Storage Solutions non-OS internal HDD. Necessary??

T

talsilo

Disciple
There was a time many many years back when external HDDs were more expensive than the internal ones. And the portable HDDs were still more expensive.

Now, an internal 1 tb HDD costs almost the same as a 1 tb external portable. Plus, the portable comes with a 3-year warranty whereas the internal comes with 1-2 years warranty. And the added portability is always a convenience.

Was wondering if it would be a good idea to just have an SSD internal for OS and have an external portable connected to it all the time. Any downsides?
 
In my experience, external HDDs have always flaked out earlier than internal HDDs. Probably because of the amount of 'handling' they go through. I'm actually surprised external drives get such long warranties considering most RMA cases will be after a user has dropped his drive :p. A longer warranty doesn't mean much if your drive goes down with all your data on it. Plus there was a study that showed if your drive made it past the first year without incident, then it most likely would last the entire trip.
You also need a fast eSATA or USB 3.0 interface to your external drive if you want it to be as quick as internal drives.

BTW these are the chunky 3.5" external drives that have matched internal HDDs in pricing, largely because the casing itself barely costs much. The sleeker 2.5" portable drives are still about double the cost, like 2.5" internal drives.
 
If you don't need portability go for internal HDD. Internal drives will always last longer. Also if you have budget you can go for WD black comes wit 5 years warranty.
 
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