expiredN3RD_01 posted Dec 10, 2025 08:33 PM
Item 1 of 2
Item 1 of 2
expiredN3RD_01 posted Dec 10, 2025 08:33 PM
24TB Seagate Expansion External USB 3.0 Desktop Hard Drive
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$330
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Buuut, these days, time is short, I'm quite busy, reliability is supremely important, and money is less of an issue than it was. The shucked drives definitely are more prone to failure earlier in their lifespan, which can be a big headache even if caught in time. So now I tend to Ironwolf Pros, WD Red Pros, etc. Other advantage is many of these external drives are 5400 RPM, and a fair bit slower than the 7200RPM internal counterparts. I'm currently working to purchase new internals to cycle out the last few of my old, slow shucked drives.
So, I wouldn't say either option is wrong. Just depends if you're willing to sacrifice reliability and speed for lower cost.
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Depends on what your OS supports.
Windows won't let you do RAID1 with external drives... you can do storage spaces but folks have already lost data enough with that "feature" I can't recommend it.
Personally what I (and I'd been running fake raid 1 with Seagate external pairs for 10+ years without issue) is have a robocopy script that mirrors one to the other that runs every night in task scheduler.
The "slower" thing isn't really relevant for like 99% of people who are buying these for media storage and playback.... USB3 is way faster than needed for that..... If you're routinely moving around terabytes of data OTOH you'd care about the speed difference.
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Heat: I've had zero issues with heat. I've been transferring TBs of data from my other drives, so it's been running nonstop. I did purchase two external USB fans that the drive has been sitting vertically on. They don't move that much air but it's been plenty to keep the drive cool. I've yet to feel it be even remotely warm.
Noise: I can barely hear this spinning. I have it on a desk in my kitchen and you would never know it was on.
I have about a dozen portable and SSD drives, no external power, that I've purchased over the past 15 years from 1TB to 5TB. These are a mix of Seagate and WD. None have ever failed. I also have an external Iomega 2TB drive that still works.
There's a lot of FUD regarding these external drives that made me question their value. Based my experience so far I have no reservations recommending them. As long as I have multiple backup drives I'm confident my data will be safe.
I watch BackBlaze for stats. Pretty much a reliable way to look at drives by a super high use case scenario.
2 of the 4 drives with zero failures are Seagate drives. 2 of the 3 drives with the highest failure rates are Seagate.
You will see that WD has a good failure rate, but most of those drives for 2025 calcs are newer whereas the Seagate drives are all much older.
I have hadn't any Seagate failures. I have had a WD fail and a Hitachi (before WD) fail and that is it in home use and server.
The bottom line is that they are mechanical devices and they fail. BackBlaze AFR is 1.3% over all their drives. and has been pretty much steady over the last few quarters.
I have a 14tb Barracuda that has been spinning for 6 years now with zero issues. 24/7 365.
I have older drives that are still working just fine.
I have a hard time accepting a few online folks who have had issues as they are all bad.
My 2 cents.
Well, I can only go off what I know and I have use Barracuda drives in many servers with a pretty low failure rate. Now that was a few years ago but who knows now.
I have a 14tb Barracuda that has been spinning for 6 years now with zero issues. 24/7 365.
I have older drives that are still working just fine.
I have a hard time accepting a few online folks who have had issues as they are all bad.
My 2 cents.
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