I need a new large capacity storage drive to backup my projects, masters, softwares etc. in Windows 11. I wont be using it daily for music making or anything, so not too worried about speed if it makes a huge difference in price. I haven't bought one in a few years so I don't know whats new, reliable, good bang for buck today? Thanks guys!

 

I have been using a WD Elements 5TB for years now for my sample libraries, and it has never failed. It’s USB 3.0, backward compatible with USB 2.0, and it’s not that expensive.

 

4tb Lacie Rugged hds for my externals. They are maybe 20 bucks more expensive than other manufacturers but there is no way I would consider switching other than to 5tb. I'd rather get 2 four or five tb than one ten tb for redundant backup and bulk storage.

 

Here are some options. I use RAID 0 drives personally - pricier but safer for important backups.

1. SanDisk Pro-G40 SSD (5 year warranty) - not RAID 0
   
   
2. LaCie Rugged SSD4 4TB (3 years but with data recovery)
   
   
3. LaCie Rugged RAID Pro (3 years but with data recovery)

Or go to the G-Technology store on Amazon, and pick the best (mobile, portable, or desktop) SSD for your budget. Some examples:

• G-Technology 8TB G-RAID with Removable Dual Drive Storage System
• SanDisk Professional 12TB G-RAID Mirror with Redundancy
  
  
• G-Technology 28TB G-RAID with Removable Dual Drive Storage

If in doubt, give Mac Hollywood a call - they're right in the thick of it and help out a lot of us in the creative community with our needs.

I know, I know, you said Win11, but a drive's a drive. Call them.

 

Since 2025 may it's running excellent
I'm using this everyday so it already had like 230 power cycles (turning it ON/OFF)
Right now it has like 13TB left free space and all of my stuff is on there since 2015 (I backed up everything from my older laptops, old PC, etc)
I also own an 8TB Seagate from like 2021 it's the same zero issues & running and no failure for 5 years now (it's nearly full)
Read & write speeds are alright on the 24TB I get like 300MB/sec-180MB/sec so it's not constant but fast enough for my needs
Highly highly recommend & never run out of space for years

 

WD Elements-Desktopfestplatte - 8 TB --> 179,99 €
Modellnummer: WDBWLG0080HBK-EESN
www.westerndigital.com/de-de/products/external-drives/wd-elements-desktop-usb-3-0-hdd?sku=WDBWLG0080HBK-EESN

 

check before buying that the drive IS NOT SMR. If you buy a SMR drive, you will curse your life. Usually those cheap Seagate drives are SMR 100%.

 

there isn't much difference, apart from garbage SMR type, make sure disk is CMR (!)
reliability is more a matter of luck, it's usually either dead-on-arrival, dies within 2 weeks, or works fine for 6+ years,
good bang for buck is about capacity, I'd say 8-12TB is the sweetspot nowadays, but always check local deals

 

It's a bit odd that no one suggested portable SSDs (pre-made or not) yet.