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Need Cheap device to backup SD-cards on the go. Ideas?
  • fatpigfatpig

    I have been looking at the WD MyPassport Drives for some time to backup SD cards to a 2.5 in HDD on set or on travels. They have an inbuilt SD slot and can do a backup without a Computer.

    But: It only copies at around 55mb/s speeds and its still quite expensive ( 160$ for 2TB version ) Has anyone looked at cheaper, smaller devices like Raspberry Pi, android devices, etc - that feature USB3.0 for data backup to an external HDD? Obviously, Usb2 speeds are not of interest here.

  • 3 Replies sorted by
  • turbojeffroturbojeffro

    I'd recommend a small laptop plus external drive. If you value your work I wouldn't trust anything that doesn't let you verify your data backups. This includes checking file sizes and playback, if you can run checksum software even better.
    If you're on a small budget or really trying to slim down look into netbooks or chromebooks.

  • eatstoomuchjameatstoomuchjam

    The newer Passport Wireless Pro drives have faster SD slots (various reviews say 65-75MB/s) and you can get a 3TB version for about $180 from Amazon. They also have a built-in battery. I'd be surprised if you found a lot of other devices with a better mix of portability, speed, and price.

    https://www.amazon.com/Passport-Wireless-Portable-External-Drive/dp/B01F5LVTPS/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1488758693&sr=1-1&keywords=my%2Bpassport%2Bwireless%2Bpro&th=1

    FWIW, there are very few Android tablets with USB 3 and the Raspberry Pi only has USB 2 (as do most other small SBC's).

    Otherwise, you could look at a small laptop with USB 3 (~$100 for something used/cheap) and a portable drive ($30-40/terabyte). The price will be similar to getting the WD and the performance won't be substantially better.

    If the speed of the newer WD isn't high enough, you could just consider buying two of them.

  • fatpigfatpig

    thanks. I like the my passport v2 - still not very fast. Since this is still too expensive for me RN, I will wait for the prices to come down on those and use a verbatim mediashare wireless for travel. Slow as hell, but supports all formats and is very cheap used.

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