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External Hard Drive

chriscrowlee

chriscrowlee

macrumors 65816
Aug 10, 2015
1,333
1,468
San Diego, CA
Weaselboy said:
There are not many USB-C external drives around yet. I noticed in another thread Apple is selling this Lacie USB-C drive with a pretty decent discounted price.

What I did was bought this USB-C enclosure and pulled the hard drive out of a USB-A enclosure I had and popped it in the new enclosure.
Click to expand...


You know just about ANY current USB 3.0 hard drive comes with a USB-A to USB-B (standard USB to the tip that plugs into the drive). You can either use the $9 apple adaptor, or if you want to make it clean, just order this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012V5699...colid=JKIQMWCZ05PO&coliid=IXX63BX13YG3V&psc=1

Easy as pie. It's absolutely absurd to pay a "tax" to buy a USB-C drive which is nothing more than a regular USB drive with that cable that you can buy from amazon for $6.99 ... be an educated consumer!
[doublepost=1480724775][/doublepost]
Weaselboy said:
I would just grab the Lacie I linked in post #4. Decent price and USB-C.
Click to expand...

Don't be a sucker for marketing. That #4 post is identical to the drive for 50% less money, but with https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012V5699...colid=JKIQMWCZ05PO&coliid=IXX63BX13YG3V&psc=1 in the box ... educated consumers are the best consumers!
 
Weaselboy

Weaselboy

Moderator
Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
34,351
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California
chriscrowlee said:
You know just about ANY current USB 3.0 hard drive comes with a USB-A to USB-B (standard USB to the tip that plugs into the drive).
Click to expand...

Yes I am aware of that, but not all drives use that standard connector. I have a couple that appear to be some sort of proprietary connector and not USB-B.


chriscrowlee said:
... be an educated consumer!

... educated consumers are the best consumers!

Don't be a sucker for marketing.
Click to expand...

... or you could have just politely made your suggestion without the condescending remarks.

chriscrowlee said:
That #4 post is identical to the drive for 50% less money, but with https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012V5699...colid=JKIQMWCZ05PO&coliid=IXX63BX13YG3V&psc=1 in the box ... educated consumers are the best consumers!
Click to expand...

I think you posted the wrong link here. I'm not seeing any identical 1TB drives on Amazon for $41.
 
chriscrowlee

chriscrowlee

macrumors 65816
Aug 10, 2015
1,333
1,468
San Diego, CA
Weaselboy said:
Don't be a smart ass. Obviously I'm not following what point you are trying to make there. If you don't care to explain, just move along.
[doublepost=1480726666][/doublepost]
Yes, I see that. Plus the cable makes it $55... not $41.
Click to expand...

I don't know how to make it any clearer.

This is a hard drive. A 2TB hard drive.

https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Back...480728033&sr=1-5&keywords=portable+hard+drive

This is a cable that will plug into the hard drive.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012V5699...colid=JKIQMWCZ05PO&coliid=IXX63BX13YG3V&psc=1

Combine the two and you've spent the same as the 1TB hard drive you linked me to, but have double the storage, so effectively half the cost.

If you want to go for 1 TB, there are plenty of options (as others have pointed out, scroll up) sub-$50... so sure, with the cable yeah, sorry, it's not half like I said earlier, it's 45% less. My bad.

Instead of being insulted (happy to provide a break for you to go to your safe space), try reading, researching, instead of asking to be spoon-fed answers. You'll get further in life.
 
U

UnluckyXIII

macrumors 6502
Feb 20, 2014
298
66
chriscrowlee said:
You know just about ANY current USB 3.0 hard drive comes with a USB-A to USB-B (standard USB to the tip that plugs into the drive). You can either use the $9 apple adaptor, or if you want to make it clean, just order this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012V5699...colid=JKIQMWCZ05PO&coliid=IXX63BX13YG3V&psc=1

Easy as pie. It's absolutely absurd to pay a "tax" to buy a USB-C drive which is nothing more than a regular USB drive with that cable that you can buy from amazon for $6.99 ... be an educated consumer!
[doublepost=1480724775][/doublepost]

Don't be a sucker for marketing. That #4 post is identical to the drive for 50% less money, but with https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012V5699...colid=JKIQMWCZ05PO&coliid=IXX63BX13YG3V&psc=1 in the box ... educated consumers are the best consumers!
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, do the drives with native USB-C have faster transfer rates over ones that would be required to use the USB-C adaptor since they will be fitted with standard USB internals in the caddy or are the limitations entirely base around the drive itself? (I know this isn't applicable to my original question but I'm curious).
 
powerocool

powerocool

macrumors 6502
Jun 5, 2007
437
408
UnluckyXIII said:
Out of curiosity, do the drives with native USB-C have faster transfer rates over ones that would be required to use the USB-C adaptor since they will be fitted with standard USB internals in the caddy or are the limitations entirely base around the drive itself? (I know this isn't applicable to my original question but I'm curious).
Click to expand...

I compared the LaCie Porsche Design 2TB (USB-C 3.1 Gen 1) vs a Seagate 2TB Backup Plus Slim (USB 3.0 Micro-B). Got the same read/write speed of around 110-120MB/s. So no difference in which shape the port is.

So I plan to return the LaCie and get the PNY Elite SSD 480GB for about the same price.

https://www.amazon.com/PNY-Elite-48...e-20&qid=1480751922&sr=8-1&keywords=pny+elite
 
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UnluckyXIII

macrumors 6502
Feb 20, 2014
298
66
powerocool said:
I compared the LaCie Porsche Design 2TB (USB-C 3.0) vs a Seagate 2TB Backup Plus Slim (USB 3.0 Micro-B). Got the same read/write speed of around 110-120MB/s. So no difference in which shape the port is.
Click to expand...

Great :) just what I was hoping to hear!
 
protoxx

protoxx

macrumors 6502a
Oct 10, 2013
599
360
USB-C can be from USB 2.0 to USB 3.1 Gen 2 (probably USB 1.1 too) USB-C is a port size/shape/configuration not a protocol.

USB 3.0 November 2008 SuperSpeed (5 Gbit/s) Also referred to as USB 3.1 Gen 1 by USB 3.1 standard
USB 3.1 July 2013 SuperSpeed+ (10 Gbit/s) Also referred to as USB 3.1 Gen 2 by USB 3.1 standard
 
powerocool

powerocool

macrumors 6502
Jun 5, 2007
437
408
protoxx said:
USB-C can be from USB 2.0 to USB 3.1 Gen 2 (probably USB 1.1 too) USB-C is a port size/shape/configuration not a protocol.

USB 3.0 November 2008 SuperSpeed (5 Gbit/s) Also referred to as USB 3.1 Gen 1 by USB 3.1 standard
USB 3.1 July 2013 SuperSpeed+ (10 Gbit/s) Also referred to as USB 3.1 Gen 2 by USB 3.1 standard
Click to expand...

That's correct.

The speeds of these external Hard Drives seems to be limited by the drive itself. USB 3.0 (3.1 Gen 1) is plenty fast for these hard drives.

I'm looking forward to a USB 3.1 Gen 2 SSD. Hope there will be a lot of announcements at CES 2017.
 
Weaselboy

Weaselboy

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Staff member
Jan 23, 2005
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California
chriscrowlee said:
Instead of being insulted (happy to provide a break for you to go to your safe space), try reading, researching, instead of asking to be spoon-fed answers. You'll get further in life.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the explanation, but I really don't know why you find it so difficult to explain things without being insulting and condescending.

I do understand your point. But there are quite a few posts here in the forums about different USB-C cables being incompatible with various devices for some reason, so unless I am certain a given combination will work, I am hesitant to suggest it. For example, I bought an Inatech (known brand name) USB-C cable like you suggested to use with an enclosure I have that does not work.
 
C

crazee928

macrumors member
Sep 29, 2011
63
21
BasicGreatGuy said:
You can get a WD My Passport 4TB (3.0) for $129.00 versus the Samsung T3 for $100. In my opinion, the WD is a better deal. It is plenty fast for storage and backups. I have 3 of the WD My Passport connected to a hub, which is plugged into my AirPort Extreme. Has been working smoothly for backups and for media streaming to Apple TV.
Click to expand...

may i ask which hub you're using? i just tried the amazon hub (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00D...owered+hub&dpPl=1&dpID=31oP5hP34zL&ref=plSrch) to connect my two 2tb wd passport drives to my airport extreme and could not for the life of me get the partitions to show up as shared drives.
 
Apple_Robert

Apple_Robert

Contributor
Sep 21, 2012
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In the middle of several books.
crazee928 said:
may i ask which hub you're using? i just tried the amazon hub (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00D...owered+hub&dpPl=1&dpID=31oP5hP34zL&ref=plSrch) to connect my two 2tb wd passport drives to my airport extreme and could not for the life of me get the partitions to show up as shared drives.
Click to expand...


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FO2QS0O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I plugged everything in and when Airport Utility popped up, I chose "Create a New Network" (although either option should work).

It could be that the Amazon basics wasn't powered enough to handle the external drives? Not sure why it didn't work for you.
 
chriscrowlee

chriscrowlee

macrumors 65816
Aug 10, 2015
1,333
1,468
San Diego, CA
UnluckyXIII said:
Out of curiosity, do the drives with native USB-C have faster transfer rates over ones that would be required to use the USB-C adaptor since they will be fitted with standard USB internals in the caddy or are the limitations entirely base around the drive itself? (I know this isn't applicable to my original question but I'm curious).
Click to expand...

Think of it as charging or syncing your iPhone with a USB-C lightning cable vs a USB-A cable. It's all the same.
 
C

crazee928

macrumors member
Sep 29, 2011
63
21
BasicGreatGuy said:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FO2QS0O/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I plugged everything in and when Airport Utility popped up, I chose "Create a New Network" (although either option should work).

It could be that the Amazon basics wasn't powered enough to handle the external drives? Not sure why it didn't work for you.
Click to expand...

thanks! ill try this once more, but the amazon hub came with a 5v/2.5a power adapter so it should've been fine. it didn't work whether i plugged in just one drive or two. plugging the same drive directly to the airport extreme works just fine.
 
imbadwithusernames

imbadwithusernames

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 17, 2016
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Spain
I'm so lost between the many options, I've been thinking about the LaCie Porsche Design, however I've seen in some reviews that the Read and Write speed aren't that fast, so I don't know if I should buy it...
 
Weaselboy

Weaselboy

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Jan 23, 2005
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California
imbadwithusernames said:
I'm so lost between the many options, I've been thinking about the LaCie Porsche Design, however I've seen in some reviews that the Read and Write speed aren't that fast, so I don't know if I should buy it...
Click to expand...

This review is showing 123W/118R for that drive. That sounds about right and is in line with various reviews of USB3 Seagate or WD portable drives.
 
powerocool

powerocool

macrumors 6502
Jun 5, 2007
437
408
Weaselboy said:
This review is showing 123W/118R for that drive. That sounds about right and is in line with various reviews of USB3 Seagate or WD portable drives.
Click to expand...

That's about the same speed I got. I'm actually going to keep my Seagate drive as it's actually a lot smaller than the LaCie and with a new cable it will be USB-C ready.
 
L

LS417

macrumors regular
Oct 30, 2009
134
18
groundcontrol said:
Here's is a nice comparison of portable ssd options for photographers, or anyone else working with large files. From one of my favourite photography websites, DPreview. Not much reference of USB-C here, but might still be relevant to some following this thread...

https://www.dpreview.com/news/4088411411/mobile-speed-portable-ssds-for-photographers
Click to expand...

Great overview, I went with 2 of the glyph atoms, super small, rugged and faster than anything else.

Here's cnet's review, although my drives hit just under 500 read and write, not sure about the tests they ran, maybe on windows? https://www.cnet.com/products/glyph-atom-ssd/review/
 
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sarc

macrumors 6502
Dec 3, 2016
295
339
A great place to get cables is monoprice. They come in a number of different sizes and colours but are all certified. Some on amazon are not.
 
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