Looking for 4tb drive for iTunes library

[MarkC426]

Havn’t bought an ‘old skool’ drive for a while (all ssd).
What’s a good 4tb hdd purely for iTunes library?

A bit confused by all the different wd colors (blue, purple, red, black.........)

 

[JoshCalvetti]

you'd probably be fine with just a standard blue drive- that's the general all purpose one.

Red is for NAS systems, black is the fast/"pro" model, green is the "eco" variant, and purple I haven't encountered before- quick google search reveals they bill it for surveillance systems. I'd just get the blue one.

 

[bsbeamer]

Be aware that many of the new larger capacity HDDs use a different screw pattern, which will likely impact securing to your drive sled if installing internally. There is a modified bracket from OWC that works with 5,1 and these newer 3.5" drives:

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/MPRODBKTLG6/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L1DH3AA
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...ng_owcmprodbktlg6_hard_drive_bracket_for.html

Unaware of any other manufacturers of similar products. Someone was working on a 3D printed version and they may be for sale somewhere by now. Unlike a relatively light 2.5" SATA SSD that could be secured with rubber bands or other methods, a 3.5" SATA HDD should be properly secured to the port to avoid damage (to the drive and port).

 

[MarkC426]

When you say larger, would a 2tb have the standard fixings for cmp.
Alternatively any other makes that do.
I didn’t realise they had changed the screw positions.

 

[bsbeamer]

Check this thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...her-capacity-drives-without-new-sleds.2108497
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/macpro-5-1-high-capacity-hard-drives.1971809/

For $20 for a mounting sled, personally wouldn't worry about it too much.

Also be aware that SOME larger capacity drives will not mount properly after a reboot, but only will mount from a cold power on boot. This isn't an issue for most people, just something to be aware of. Installing into an external case solves this issue for most.

For your particular case and use, you may be able to get away with a simple/cheap NAS style drive as an alternative option. There are some Western Digital "My Cloud Personal" drives at 4TB+ capacity that are single drive and connect to your network via ethernet:
https://www.wdc.com/products/personal-cloud-storage/my-cloud.html#WDBCTL0040HWT-NESN