Actually, yes. 3 IS a VERY wise choice. (For both backup and kinfolk
relations.)
My experience also shows …
- Keep away from nice-looking "Apple design" drives (or actually all
drives that have a too small housing, (almost) no air vents, and
plastic casing). Personally, I’ve had -very- bad experiences
with LaCie units. (Regarding technical reliability, -not- dealer
service—getting them exchanged was no problem, but 3 times in a
row all data gone is BAD.)
- Look for drives with a fan, if the noise doesn’t disturb you
too much.
- Prefer sturdy aluminium cases over plastic.
- Always use the drive in the upright position on the stand. Air
should (on most of them) be able to flow from bottom front to upper
rear—don’t accidentally use them 180° rotated. They
usually tend to heat up too much, very quickly.
- Don’t place them in the sun or near a heater. Leave a minimum
of about 5" room to left, right, up so airflow is good. (No putting it
in the drawer or squeezed in between the books on your bookshelf.)
Lack of airflow and overheating really is the cause for early death on
most of these external drives. Most are built for the »mass market«, so
they must be cheap and the manufacturer wants to sell you a new one
soon. Result: Design near the limits.
Interestingly, another cause for early death *seems* to be switching
these thingies on and off too much. I have two here that haven’t
been switched off for about 2 years now, are only "medium-hot" and in
regular use (daily backup of music collection plus heavy use on the
music files). Not ONE glitch and SMART shows still 100% good. Friends
have the SAME type of units, all broken in the meantime. It may be a
coincidence, but I still think it’s better for drives to run at
all times and at about the same temperature, as opposed to being
switched on and off every few hours.
I agree with bobkoure in saying: Get 1TB instead of 500GB. They give
much more bang for the buck, and are about as reliable as the 500GB
now.
If budget matters, I’d start out with 2x 1TB. Backup IS
important—at this size, you won’t ever even DO one if you
haven’t got an identical drive to back up!
Eventually, I’d try to follow pfarrell’s suggestion using 3
drives. His is really a VERY wise suggestion.
Another one: Try to get all two (three) SAME model and manufacturer.
It’s just GREAT being able to swap parts in case a power supply
dies, the casing breaks or whatever!
--
Moonbase
Moonbase: 'The Problem Solver' (http://www.kaufen-ist-toll.de/moonbase)
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