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FinMac

Looking for a good Silent HD that will work well for back up on a mac. Would rather not have the reoccurring cost for online back up.

Would prefer something that is mac friendly. Any suggestions ?
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Yonie · CM Joined: 31 Aug 2011 Posts: 906

An external drive with flash memory for back-up. That's dead silent and works across both PC and Mac, provided some formatting first. All internal mechanical drives have a degree of hum as the platters start spinning, unless you're going for an SSD which tilts the price way up.

FinMac · Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 5:50 am Post subject: Thanks Yonie

Thanks Yonie for your reply.

I am wondering if anyone uses anything like the Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt and if it is quiet enough to be in the recording space ?

Or, does anyone use the Airport Time Capsule ?

One option is the G-TECH G-DRIVE slim SSD USB-C 1TB, but I can get almost 2 MiniStations for the price one of these.
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"If you want to get to the top, you have to get off your bottom". (Unknown)

Bish · Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 6:47 am Post subject:

I think it all comes down to what is a cost-effective solution... and this is partly down to the physical construction of the drive, and its location. Flash/SSD in an enclosure without a cooling fan is the only way to get "silent" in your recording environment. I'm lucky... I've been able to punch cable-ways through a wall from my studio into an adjacent "equipment room". The only computer in the studio is an iMac with an SSD... and as long as I'm not doing any background processing, the internal fan stays off... so I have silence. I have a flash drive connected to the iMacs slot for temp backup if I ever need... but I don't use it because of everything else is behind the wall.

On the upstairs Mac, I have a Time Capsule... it is not silent. If you want a lot of storage (1TB+), then spinning drives are still the most cost effective... but do not even consider keeping them in your recording environment unless you can buy/build something like an IsoBox. If I had no alternative and had to keep my backup drive in my "quiet space"... I'd bite the bullet and get the SSD option.

I just did a count of the active HDDs in my equipment room... 17. Yes, I have a problem! I have a MacPro (4) acting as my house media server/iTunes and utility machine... a network Drobo (5), a USB3 Drobo (4) backing up my production iMac and client files, and a USB2 Drobo (4) backing up the MacPro. As you can see, I believe in redundancy Smile

Practical suggestions:
1) Go SSD
2) HDD with an enclosure
3) Relocation of HDD outside the studio
4) Consider a network drive which may be easier to relocate depending on your router location. As you are Mac, you may have an Airport Extreme which has a network addressable USB port (as do many other routers)
5) Just get a HDD in the studio and spin it down during the day. If you are using Time Machine (set to daily) or any scheduling software like ChronoSync for backup, it will spin-up when needed at (say) 3am and will spin-down when completed. Check the drive's capabilities. It may be the cheapest option.
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todd ellis · Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 7:37 am Post subject:

i use these for backup ... plug it in - run time machine (or back up however) then unplug. unplugging also protects data from lightning & internet tomfoolery.
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Bish · Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 7:52 am Post subject:

I like those!
4TB seems to be the sweet-spot for price at the moment... two of those rotating... one for backup, and one for alternate day backup would be a cost-effective redundant solution for $200. I like having data in three places!
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Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

FinMac · Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 8:25 am Post subject: Thanks guys

Thanks for your suggestions:)

Been pondering the trade off of the higher cost of SSD, or having an airport time capsule in another room.

Todd has a good alternative solution, just plug it in on off times.

Found this link on the internet...

https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/eSATA_FW800_FW400_USB

These look interesting too
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www.scottsvoiceover.com - An American voice in Finland

"If you want to get to the top, you have to get off your bottom". (Unknown)

todd ellis · Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 9:31 am Post subject:

editing = SSD, storage/backup = high volume spinning drives (imho)

i have an internal 500gb SSD "sandbox" that i edit on & once a project is in the can it moves to a storage drive. i have 13 of them sitting in my gun safe at the moment + one on the shelf.

in truth - there is probably not a lot of difference in major brands. i went with seagate 6 years ago because, well, that's what i went with. i HAVE found that you don't want to buy the biggest available at the moment. for example, when the 5tb drives came out, i started buying the 4tb drives, etc.

4k video fills up a hdd pretty fast, audio --- not so much. my partner & i store on identical drives - so we each have an off-site copy. if you watch newegg, tigerdirect, amazon - they go on sale pretty often. btw - there is an 8tb seagate on amazon right now for $170.
_________________
"i know philip banks": todd ellis
who's/on/1st?

FinMac · Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 9:47 am Post subject: Thanks again Todd

Thanks again Todd,

Great tips. Smile

But I live in Finland, and shipping and importing from the US, not to mention the power difference, usually means that I purchase stuff on this side of the pond.

Sometimes I can find a good deal, and Amazon.de (Germany) is better than most places here in Finland price-wise.

Will continue to scrounge around, but I have found some reasonably priced options not too far away.
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www.scottsvoiceover.com - An American voice in Finland

"If you want to get to the top, you have to get off your bottom". (Unknown)

Yonie · CM Joined: 31 Aug 2011 Posts: 906

I should've asked this first: are you using it as a failsafe and constantly refreshing copy, or do you just want something that you can refresh manually? The first one rules out an external drive, and the second one rules out an SSD on cost vs. return.

FinMac · Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 1:10 pm Post subject:

I want to back up the system so if there is ever a problem all of my work will be able to be recovered.

So, it would be periodically backed up, either every day or few times per week.
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www.scottsvoiceover.com - An American voice in Finland

"If you want to get to the top, you have to get off your bottom". (Unknown)

Yonie · CM Joined: 31 Aug 2011 Posts: 906

Automatic back-ups handled by software or manually done by fleshy hardware?

FinMac · Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 10:11 pm Post subject:

Don’t want those monthly costs !

This is for a Mac mini and an iMac.
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www.scottsvoiceover.com - An American voice in Finland

"If you want to get to the top, you have to get off your bottom". (Unknown)

Lee Gordon · Posted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 12:27 am Post subject:

FinMac · Posted: Mon Oct 16, 2017 12:46 am Post subject:

Good point, Lee! Hate those reoccurring costs Cry

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www.scottsvoiceover.com - An American voice in Finland

"If you want to get to the top, you have to get off your bottom". (Unknown)