# USB HD's -all created equal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 29, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usb-hds-all-created-equal/483566 "2009-01-29T16:24:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usb-hds-all-created-equal/483566/1 "2009-01-29T16:24:39Z")
I find myself in need of a big hard drive to store my CD’s. USB is fast enough for this purpose, and I certainly don’t need 7500 rpm. I can probably get by with a low end HD, but how cheap should I go? Are the mechanisms in these things all made by 2 or 3 manufactures these days, regardless of price? Are the control boards and power supplies all sold as commodities? Does brand name matter anymore? Is an $89 X 640 gig drive any more likely to crash than a $99 X 350 gig drive? (possibly IMHO material) ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usb-hds-all-created-equal/483566/2 "2009-01-29T16:32:47Z")
Look at the manufactures warranty on the drive to judge what you want. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usb-hds-all-created-equal/483566/3 "2009-01-29T17:23:39Z")
The bare drive itself is probably going to be made by Seagate, Western Digital or Hitachi. I don’t think there are any other significant competitors to these three any more. The USB to drive electronics are pretty much a commodity item. The main differences in USB drives comes down to the case and whatever software is bundled with it. Drive mechanisms have only gotten more reliable over the years. At the same time, drive capacities have increased, so failures are relatively rare, but when they happen, they’re huge. If you want to make your own, you can pick up a 1 terabyte drive for about $100, and an enclosure for $50. Just be sure that you get the right kind - almost all drives now use the SATA connection (the cable is about 3/8" wide) , but older enclosures might be old-style PATA - the 2" wide ribbon. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usb-hds-all-created-equal/483566/4 "2009-01-29T17:28:08Z")
As mentioned above: have you considered picking up an enclosure instead? Personally, I have a NAS device enclosure running on my network. It supports two drives with RAID 0 and 1 as options. I’m running it now with two $100 terabyte drives in RAID 1. Total cost was more than the average USB drive by a couple of hundred bucks, but it’s worth the piece of mind. Some of the data resides on that raid only, and not on my two PC’s. And the redundancy means unless there’s a fire, my data will be safe. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usb-hds-all-created-equal/483566/5 "2009-01-29T21:54:16Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > Seagate, Western Digital or Hitachi. > … > drive electronics are pretty much a commodity item > … > pick up a 1 terabyte drive for about $100, and an enclosure for $50. That’s what I thought, but wasn’t sure. Now I need to decide on putting together a mirrored system, or just getting a cheapie and backing up on one or more of my _other_ drives. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usb-hds-all-created-equal/483566/6 "2009-01-30T16:43:49Z")
Assuming your motherboard supports SATA keep in mind that SATA is much faster than USB and you can get a hard drive enclosure that supports both formats. I use a [Antec MX-1 USB/e-SATA 3.5-Inch Hard Drive Enclosure](http://www.amazon.com/Antec-MX-1-e-SATA-3-5-Inch-Enclosure/dp/B000NZVR3Q). Choose your own hard drive. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usb-hds-all-created-equal/483566/7 "2009-01-30T16:52:16Z")
> [@Turble](#): > > SATA is much faster than USB I’m in Mac world, with Airport extreme, so that’s probably not an option. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usb-hds-all-created-equal/483566/8 "2009-01-30T17:29:18Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > And the redundancy means unless there’s a fire, my data will be safe. If someone breaks in,they’ll take every electronic gizmo you own—including the NAS :(. It might be a good idea to put your photos and essential documents on a USB drive that you can keep at a friend’s house or at the office, in addition to the NAS. I probably have the same NAS you do and I still worry about this kind of stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usb-hds-all-created-equal/483566/9 "2009-01-30T19:13:28Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > … or just getting a cheapie and backing up on one or more of my _other_ drives. If the data is that important to you, don’t shortchange yourself with a “cheapie.” Buy the best quality you can afford. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usb-hds-all-created-equal/483566/10 "2009-01-30T19:24:49Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Buy the best quality you can afford. That’s the question; is there any correlation between quality and price anymore? The answer appears to be no. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usb-hds-all-created-equal/483566/11 "2009-01-30T19:47:40Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > If someone breaks in,they’ll take every electronic gizmo you own—including the NAS :(. > It might be a good idea to put your photos and essential documents on a USB drive that you can keep at a friend’s house or at the office, in addition to the NAS. > > I probably have the same NAS you do and I still worry about this kind of stuff. Damn you. Now I’m worried about that too. I’m going to stop by best buy and get one of those 16 gig USB drives. But t whom do I entrusts my pictures? Do I leave in the naughty ones too? Encryption might be necessary 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2009, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usb-hds-all-created-equal/483566/12 "2009-01-30T19:56:23Z")
I am sure glad all my stuff is hanging on the wall. _::: Don’t need no stinkin enclosures. :::_