Backup! External HD vs. USB drive vs. SDHC

I'm looking for a good way to back up my files and don't know which route to take. Most of you should know the advantages and disadvantages of each but I'll cover the major ones.

The hard drive gives a lot more space for the money but is large, slightly unportable and theoretically "slower and less reliable" than the flash memory options but realistically I have no super speed demands nor do I plan on using it enough to actually wear it out or cause it to fail. I'm looking at a 160 to 320 gb option for around 60-80 dollars.

The USB drive option would most likely be two 16gb drives for under $60 total. They are small but lack the huge space of a hard drive. I'm thinking since both these and the hard drive would be hooked up through USB, transfer rates would be nearly identical with the USB drives sporting a faster seek time? Correct me if I'm wrong. I could also splurge a little and get one 32GB unit for a slightly higher cost.

And lastly why not SDHC? I think the transfer rates would be about half that of a USB connected device but I'm not going to be using this regularly; I will occasionally sync my files to keep a sufficient back up. The advantage here is that they are very small, only about $10 more for the same 16gb x 2 purchase and would completely hide away in the side of my computer if i wanted to take it with me. Here I could splurge like the USB drives and get a single 32GB card for more money.

So what should I do? I have around 14GB of miscellaneous data and that is always growing ever so slightly. Any opinions and input are greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

Dollar per GB, nothing beats an external hdd. You can easily get a 2.5 inch 320 GB for 79.99 but there are other options.

The external hard drives typically down fall into a low price range, when a price is too low that size dissapears and then the sizes shift down the price scale. For larger non usb powered 3.5 inch drives you can probably find a 500 gb for less then 99 on sale.

You dont have alot of data right now, but I would still avoid the flash drives unless u want ultra portable. I have a few 4 gigs and an 8 gig lying around i dont touch them at all. Havent speed tested one in awhile but im sure they got atleast 25 MB/s. The 1 TB WD i tested recntly got 30 MB/s out of usb and firewire and 90 out of eSATA.

As far as SDHC where are you shopping? ALOT of fake cards on ebay, many you wouldnt even tell. Plenty of those fakes work pretty well too but thats no the point. Fake SD cards arent as bad as fake sony MS but i dunno about SDHC.

 

I would recommend a single 32GB SDHC card, they are slower but not half. it's one card and like you mentioned just sits nicely inside your machine. But do make a reqular back onto something else (like your Notebook Disk) as any media can fail.

This is the setup I use and it's been working great for about 4 months (Patriot 16GB SDHC card)

 

Well the USB drives are the only thing I was looking at on eBay. The Kingston 16GB is only 29 dollars with free shipping. I would be ordering any SDHC from NewEgg. I saw some fairly priced freeagent hard drives on eBay as well.

 

OOPS you said 10 dollars more, not 10 dollars lol. Upside too to the sdhc if you go that route, if it fails your back up needs down the road its a huge card for a camera!

 

USB drive for quick and light, but as with many posters an external drive is a better bet for backup.

cheers ...

 

I have never heard of anyone backnig up Data on SDHC or USB stick...
anyways, ++ for External HD
Maybe DVD/CD would have been a better poll option than usb stick

 

I personally would use an external hard drive for permanent back up and do it every week or month.

Maybe also get a small sdhc card for daily backups on current projects. It is always with you inside the computer where it won't get lost or washed. If you have a big paper you have been working on for a while that you can't afford to lose, consider e-mailing it to yourself. A fire, or flood, or theft, can take out both your computer and any backups you have made.

 

I've been looking around for a solution and I came upon this: OCZ Slate Series Express Card
which plugs into

I am looking for super-portable back-up as I travel a LOT and stay in foreign places sometimes for a couple of months. I already accidental dropped my external HD Back-up before I had a chance to reload a repaired and re-formatted laptop and lost 5 years of work.

This Express Card comes in 8, 16 & 32 GB -- I only found one review that was pretty positive. It can connect through a USB port but fits into your Express Card slot as well. (Honestly, I have no idea what that is or if I have one on my z70va -- a new technology for me to learn. )

Here is a review that explains it better: Everything USB Review

 

There are two kinds of disasters that can happened to your notebook: damage and theft.

If you travel a lot and there is a risk of damage to your backup device then I'd go with USB. You have to make sure to keep a laptop and USB in separate places/bags in case one of them gets stolen.

I backup on external HD that stays at home. If I damage my notebook or if it gets stolen while I am on the move I'll have my data safe at home.

I should also backup my data on DVD and keep it somewhere else out of house, maybe a safe deposit, in case of burglary. Mailing/giving backup DVD to a relative also is an option.