# SSD xHDD recommendations



## Highlander II (Aug 18, 2018)

So, I'm looking into getting a new xHDD. I'm primarily looking at SSD, decent storage capability and wanting a not exorbitant price. 

I have a Buffalo now and it's fine, except that I think it got a little beat-up when it was hooked up to my desktop PC (it would regularly 'disappear' or not read), but it works mostly okay on my laptop. It's just slow.

Anyone have any good suggestions/recommendations?


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## Abernovo (Aug 18, 2018)

No suggestions, but I'm interested in the answers. I'm looking for a decent but affordable external SSD too.


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## HanaBi (Aug 19, 2018)

SSD has many benefits over traditional HDD, but it all hinges on what you intend to use your computer for?

For example for gaming and/or multitasking with lots of local applications open such as Excel, Word and similar processing/data intensive programs, then a SSD is the way to go, especially if your processors are not to at least i5 standard or above.

On the flip side, if you're not using your machine that intensively then a standard 500Gb or 1Tb HDD will suffice.

Personally from own experience installing drives, I would opt for SSD every time: they're more expensive, but you do get the superior response times, especially during boot-up and data reading/writing. 

However, be aware there are two primary SSD formats out there - standard SATA and the new guy in town, PCIe SSD. The latter, as might expect of an evolving technology, is faster and more stable than standard SSD SATA - anything up to 6x faster in some bench tests. But they're also quite expensive and very specific to a particular motherboard.

Most PCIe SSDs only fit motherboards with an M2 interface slot; and they come in a certain size (I can't recall dimensions); but you have to make sure from the user manual of your motherboard that there is sufficient space for the SSD to fit into.

Basically PCIe SSDs, are a bit of a faff, especially on older laptops and PCs. As a consequence I would be inclined to focus on the tried and trusted SSD SATA because they've been around for years, relatively cheap and rock solid.

In terms of manufacturers -  I have always gone with either Western Digital or Samsung: rarely had a problem with either, and generally last years (especially in a RAID set up). I can't really recommend specific models because it all hinges on your particular hardware, but a simple Google for best WD SATA SSDs will give you some pointers.


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## TheEndIsNigh (Aug 19, 2018)

I've noticed that hybrid drives are now available.

You get a fairly large SSD with a stonking great normal drive that lives in the background. So all the commonly used stuff filters into the SSD but the photo of your Granny that you took twenty years ago gets shove to the back of the 2TB 4TB rotating disk. A little bit more expensive though.

I think the mix I saw was 128GB SSD 2TB hard drive.

Obviously you have to do backups (as I'm sure we all do) so you don't lose old Granny when the PC crashes.

But to my mind this is the best of both worlds.


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## Highlander II (Aug 19, 2018)

This is great - but I'm looking for an external HDD. I dunno that I can upgrade my laptop. It's about 4 yrs old and next stop in that direction is a new laptop.

I need an external storage device. I've had both old skool and ssd (current one is ssd, but I'm afraid it's corrupted-ish).


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## TheEndIsNigh (Aug 19, 2018)

The problem with external HD is that unless you have a USB3 the access times are rubbish.

There's always something like this

*Seagate 500GB 2.5 inch Laptop Solid State Hybrid Drive*

which is a hybrid for laptops. Others do others if you know what I mean.

For external I find the Hitachi quite good and cheap and slimmer, but WD USB3  My Passport (think they come with free Acronis) has always worked for me.


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## Edward M. Grant (Aug 20, 2018)

What do you want this external drive for?

If it's just a backup, get a hard drive. You won't see much benefit from an SSD, and the hard drive will cost a lot less. If it's online storage, you might want to consider the SSD option.


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## Highlander II (Aug 22, 2018)

Storage more than back-up. 

And space is a factor, so portability/small-ness is preferred.


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