Need Recommendations for External Hard Drive

[MacConvert2007]

Just got a new MacBook Pro M1 Max and I need an external hard drive to do time machine backups. I think 12-14 TB should be enough. I want to spend around $250. Any recommendations?

I’ve looked at Western Digital Elements and My Book, as well as Seagate Expansion. But they all got some bad reviews on Amazon for arriving dead or not being as good as advertised.

Thanks.

 

[Fishrrman]

Do you really need 12-14tb?
How large is the MBP drive?

 

[MacConvert2007]

It’s 8 TB.

 

[jav6454]

That's quite the storage requirements. If you don't mind me asking, what is it going to be used for? It can also help me provide a recommendation.

 

[MacConvert2007]

It’s my main rig and I’ll do a little bit of everything with it including heavy computer gaming. I’m also a bit of a data hoarder—I love the humble bundle site and am always adding gigabytes of books, PDFs, comics, music, movies and tv shows. My music collection is 260 GB and will grow larger as will the others. Plus I’m always trying new things with my machines. Thanks for the advice.

 

[MacConvert2007]

Oh and reliability of the backup drive is more important to me than speed. At the end of the day I will plug it in to backup while I sleep.

 

[jav6454]

It’s my main rig and I’ll do a little bit of everything with it including heavy computer gaming. I’m also a bit of a data hoarder—I love the humble bundle site and am always adding gigabytes of books, PDFs, comics, music, movies and tv shows. My music collection is 260 GB and will grow larger as will the others. Plus I’m always trying new things with my machines. Thanks for the advice.

Well, why not look into a NAS storage solution with SSDs?

 

[MacConvert2007]

The main 8 TB drive is an SSD. I guess I want a cheap backup solution in case the SSD fails. Something $250-$300. Any ideas?

 

[jav6454]

The main 8 TB drive is an SSD. I guess I want a cheap backup solution in case the SSD fails. Something $250-$300. Any ideas?

$250-$300 for 12-14TB of storage? Not going to happen. Just a NAS enclosure for 2 disk bays on NewEgg is around $280 and that's without any disks. Selecting 1x NAS disks to reach the desired range is at $320-$380.

So overall in a NAS configuration you are looking at any easy $600. However, a single external drive under the portable category can fetch $120 USD for 5TB.

 

[MacConvert2007]

What if I scale it back to a 8 TB backup drive. What’s price then?

 

[jav6454]

What if I scale it back to a 8 TB backup drive. What’s price then?

It'll still run above your target budget. A NAS solution for back-up and general storage is not cheap.

 

[MacConvert2007]

What if I drop NAS, and just go a single external drive in 8TB-16TB range. What is a good brand and model? Can I achieve a $250-$300 drive?

 

[jav6454]

What if I drop NAS, and just go a single external drive in 8TB-16TB range. What is a good brand and model? Can I achieve a $250-$300 drive?

Single WD 12TB drive (no redundancy) is here: Click Me

It will be around $225, you can get a higher 14TB option. However, this is not a portable drive, it's meant to be an external drive.

 

[MacConvert2007]

Thanks so much for your help. I’m no hardware guru, but love to learn. 😁

 

[jav6454]

Thanks so much for your help. I’m no hardware guru, but love to learn. 😁

However, that is a single drive, with no redundancy. In other words, if it fails, your data is gone. Given you want a back-up solution with it, I would suggest caution or look for a solution that does offer redundancy.

 

[MacConvert2007]

Well what does the 8 TB NAS solution cost? Go ahead and give me a link to a viable one? I’ll consider it if you think it is a superior solution. I know it will be more expensive.

 

[jav6454]

Well what does the 8 TB NAS solution cost? Go ahead and give me a link to a viable one? I’ll consider it if you think it is a superior solution. I know it will be more expensive.

Just a NAS enclosure for a disk setup: Click Me this is $280 USD with no disks provided
A 6TB disk: Click Me for $199 per disk. For redundancy you need 2, which brings the cost for disks to $398

Overall, you are looking at: $678 + S&H for a setup at the 6TB range with redundancy. Yes, it is expensive.

Mind you, I gave you popular options, you can look around for other options, but this will give you an overall idea.

 

[MacConvert2007]

Thanks for your expertise; you’ve been a great help.

 

[jav6454]

No problem. Happy hunting.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:
"The main 8 TB drive is an SSD. I guess I want a cheap backup solution in case the SSD fails. Something $250-$300. Any ideas?"

My suggestion:
Get an 8tb platter-based HDD (unless you want to splurge for an SSD, if they even make them that large).

Get CarbonCopyCloner (or SuperDuper).

Use either CCC or SD to do a cloned backup (and then an "incremental backup" each night). Both can create bootable backups, even with the latest Mac OS versions.

Now the backup clone can serve in an emergency to boot the computer if necessary.