Buying new 4TB hard drive. couple of questions

[crb806]

I currently have a 1TB Western Digital to store music and movies. Seagate looks to be a little cheaper. Are they just as reliable? What is the difference between the ones I picked out below, because I couldnt tell other than a slight price diff?

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Deskt...ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1389908698&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-SATA-...ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1389908698&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Deskt...f=sr_1_12?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1389908698&sr=1-12


Can i use my old internal WD as an external and plug it in to the sata plug on the back the PC with the sata connection? is OK to go bare without a case most external HDs have?

 

[Jeffman]

They're all as reliable as your backup is. I mean that in the sense that it could be the most reliable drive in the world, and it could still fail at any time.

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Deskto...9908698&sr=1-2 - This is a bare drive. Nothing else.

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-SATA-C...9908698&sr=1-3 - This is a NAS drive, designed for use 24/7 in a NAS environment

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Deskto...908698&sr=1-12 -0 - This is a retail drive. It comes with a box and a SATA cable (Usually).

You need power for the old drive if you want to use it external. I wouldn't suggest running it without a case, as you leave it open to static electricity, dust, and other factors. Get a case, or leave it in your PC.

 

[hdfreedom]

You need power for the old drive if you want to use it external. I wouldn't suggest running it without a case, as you leave it open to static electricity, dust, and other factors. Get a case, or leave it in your PC.

Ditto on Jeffman's response.

Just to clarify, if you plug it into your eSATA port, you'll also need to supply power to the HD. You can't just use the eSATA alone as it won't supply enough power to run the drive.

 

[crb806]

They're all as reliable as your backup is. I mean that in the sense that it could be the most reliable drive in the world, and it could still fail at any time.

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Deskto...9908698&sr=1-2 - This is a bare drive. Nothing else.

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-SATA-C...9908698&sr=1-3 - This is a NAS drive, designed for use 24/7 in a NAS environment

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Deskto...908698&sr=1-12 -0 - This is a retail drive. It comes with a box and a SATA cable (Usually).

You need power for the old drive if you want to use it external. I wouldn't suggest running it without a case, as you leave it open to static electricity, dust, and other factors. Get a case, or leave it in your PC.

can i use the first one 24/7?

would i be better off with a WD black 4TB?

 

[Dangman]

can i use the first one 24/7?

Yes.

would i be better off with a WD black 4TB?

No.

 

[x509]

Ditto on Jeffman's response.

Just to clarify, if you plug it into your eSATA port, you'll also need to supply power to the HD. You can't just use the eSATA alone as it won't supply enough power to run the drive.

If you buy a case for an external drive, a 12 V power supply will always be included.