14TB HDD for Gaming PC Backups/Imaging File(s) and File Backups?

[III_Slyflyer_III]

14TB HDD... WD UltraStar Data Center Drive or WD Red Pro for PC Backups & File Backups? Or any other better suggestions?

Honestly, can't tell the difference between these drives looking at the simple specs on the drive listing. Cache looks the same, all SATA III, etc.

Seeing if there are any Platter Drive experts around here that deal with NAS setups, what's your opinion on a good HDD backup drive that's decently fast for what it is?

FWIW, I use a Seagate IronWolf 7200RPM 8TB drive right now for backups on my gaming setup. Seems to perform alright and have not had any issues with it, so I am open to any brands really.

 

[BlueLineSwinger]

I'd think each will perform about the same for the job described. Single-system backups are fairly low-intensity. I'd probably just go off of other factors, such as warranty, cost, any given noise-level specs, etc.

 

[sphinx99]

I've had good luck with Seagate Exos drives - price is fairly good, performance is best-in-class and warranty is outstanding.

 

[MrGuvernment]

A single drive does not = backup if you are installing it in the same computer as your main stuff.

 

[mwroobel]

There is a good deal on the Seagate Ironwolf Pro 20TB for $339.99 at Newegg right now with a coupon code on their page (From them, not a third party), I just snagged a bunch for upgrades at home. 10^15 URE, 5 year warranty, a little quieter than the EXOS. You can read about the differences between the two here.

 

[BlindedByScience]

My home NAS solution has 2 WD 'Red' drives in it, in RAID0. So far, so good.....

Agree with MrGuvernment....putting a big drive in your computer isn't really a 'backup'. I've got a Synology NAS box, not expensive, very happy with it.

 

[III_Slyflyer_III]

I guess I should specify, I actually take the HDD out of my PC and put it in a safe. Still, not the most ideal solution, but it works for backing up vacation photos, documents and games well enough...

 

[mwroobel]

I guess I should specify, I actually take the HDD out of my PC and put it in a safe. Still, not the most ideal solution, but it works for backing up vacation photos, documents and games well enough...

One of the reasons that USM went nowhere is you were plugging your backup drive into the same device and power supply as your storage. This way when the power supply shits the bed (which the Seagate consumer NAS boxes are known for) and takes out your drives, it takes out your backup at the same time.

 

[Luke M]

You want a USB drive for this application. And they are cheaper than internals (at least when on sale).

 

[MrGuvernment]

You want a USB drive for this application. And they are cheaper than internals (at least when on sale).

Exactly, you do not want to be opening youe case and connecting an HD on and off, this increase your risk for data loss in several ways.

USB drives are the answer.
3-2-1 backup rule for important data. You would also be better to divide the data between multiple disks like 2 x 8TB vs 1 x 14TB if you can, at least split your risk vs a single 14TB, ideally, 2 x 14TB USB drives and you rotate them for backups. I know money becomes a factor, so first question to ask.

If you were to lose all of your data right now - what would be the most impactful to you?

if you say nothing, good on you, but it could also mean you have never lost everything, and thus do not know the impact yet if it did happen.

Then work down the least of what you could obtain again easily (movies / apps et cetera) - that is a "nice to have" backup. The items that come to mind first, think password manager data files, documents, pictures, scans, import things, those get backed up and preferable on 2 mediums external to your computer for redundancy.

 

[III_Slyflyer_III]

Exactly, you do not want to be opening youe case and connecting an HD on and off, this increase your risk for data loss in several ways.

USB drives are the answer.
3-2-1 backup rule for important data. You would also be better to devide the data between multiple disks like 2 x 8TB vs 1 x 14TB if you can, at least split your risk vs a single 14TB, ideally, 2 x 14TB USB drives and you rotate them for backups. I know money becomes a factor, so first question to ask.

If you were to lose all of your data right now - what would be the most impactful to you?

if you say nothing, good on you, but it could also mean you have never lost everything, and thus do not know the impact yet if it did happen.

Then work down the least of what you could obtain again easily (movies / apps et cetera) - that is a "nice to have" backup. The items that come to mind first, think password manager data files, documents, pictures, scans, import things, those get backed up and preferable on 2 mediums external to your computer for redundancy.

So money is not a large concern here; am I better off going with a basic NAS for backing up data at this point? If so, any recommendations? I understand my method might be a bit old school and basic and maybe it's time to move on to another solution for backups...

 

[BlindedByScience]

I've been very pleased with my basic Synology NAS and WD Red drives. Easy to recommend. Here's the one I bought:

Synology 2 bay NAS DiskStation DS220j (Diskless), 2-bay; 512MB DDR4 https://a.co/d/aCzxH4K

 

[MrGuvernment]

So money is not a large concern here; am I better off going with a basic NAS for backing up data at this point? If so, any recommendations? I understand my method might be a bit old school and basic and maybe it's time to move on to another solution for backups...

Many options, but to keep it simple, a better option that adding and removing drives from your main tower, as BlindedByScience put there, a simple dual bay NAS set in RAID 1 (or equivilent to what Synology may call it) will at least get your important data off your main system as a copy, and made redundant in the Synology. Now, this is where the 3rd number comes in the 3-2-1 rule...

Do you use any cloud storage services, like OneDrive or Dropbox? As you could (if concerned and you should be) encrypt your data and then upload it to a cloud provider to store, that covers your 3 copies of your data and 1 being off site....

Your main computer and the 2 different media, would be with the Synology.

https://www.veeam.com/blog/321-backup-rule.html

The 3-2-1 Rule, as I like to explain it, states the following:

• There should be 3 copies of data
• On 2 different media
• With 1 copy being off-site

In the end it comes down to how important is your data, what can you lose vs what you know you could not lose and be sure the "could not lose" data is what is backed up in the 3-2-1 method.

 

[psy81]

Exactly, you do not want to be opening youe case and connecting an HD on and off, this increase your risk for data loss in several ways.

How does this increase risk of data loss? I've been connecting/disconnecting my backup hard drive in my case for a few years with no issues although I do not physically remove the HDD from the case. Just connect and disconnect the power and sata cables.

 

[mwroobel]

How does this increase risk of data loss? I've been connecting/disconnecting my backup hard drive in my case for a few years with no issues although I do not physically remove the HDD from the case. Just connect and disconnect the power and sata cables.

Because most consumer SATA cables are shit. I have seen internal SATA cables go bad never having been touched since installation, let alone one that is constantly moved, flexed and bent.

 

[psy81]

Because most consumer SATA cables are shit. I have seen internal SATA cables go bad never having been touched since installation, let alone one that is constantly moved, flexed and bent.

So you mean SATA cables can go bad but that would not result in data loss or damage to the hard drive.

 

[rhkcommander959]

The cables can be bad, but the connectors can break too. If you're very careful you can still connect to it but it's not something you'd want to connect to repeatedly at that point.

I have a hybrid setup. I'm a big fan of raid 10 if you can afford the space lost. A lot of people do parity raids, but I've heard horror stories about that with our huge HDDs, and that parity is best on SSDs. One issue is time to rebuild being day(s), and a chance for a failure in that timeline. Now a few companies are doing some odd JBOD-like parity where you can mix drive sizes, but I have to wonder how reliable it is. Raid 1 or 10 is dependable!

I have a NAS setup with raid 0, and a separate drive on the same NAS for backup of the files I don't want to lose, skipping the files I can re-download. Raid 0 gave me full speed over thunderbolt, but it is overkill if you're doing a gigabit connection, but if you're on thunderbolt3/4 or a 10G... And a USB drive copy in a fire and water proof box, a few other copies on other drives of the most important, etc, and another NAS. And more than that, but the list would be excessive, the story is redundancy!

As for drives, I always recommend the enterprise grade because they have better warranties, ratings, etc, and are usually price competitive anymore. Seagate exos, western digital gold being the top two I've opted for lately, honorable mentions for hgst whom were bought out by WD, and Toshiba - I can't remember the enterprise lineup but I've used their X300 with good results. It can be tough to choose and justify between price by the time you go from an ironwolf to an ironwolf pro to an exos, especially with sales going on, but I've seen the exos within $20 of the other two for the same capacities around 14-20TB.

If you're on a budget though, a lot of data centers are dumping their used but still good drives for a song and a dance. I believe they were mostly 8tb HGSTs but I could be wrong. Used enough to know they won't fail you soon, new enough to last you many, many years.

 

[mwroobel]

So you mean SATA cables can go bad but that would not result in data loss or damage to the hard drive.

No, I mean they suck in general and can cause all sorts of problems even if left alone. Screwing with them increases the chances significantly.