# Cheap & Reliable External / Portable Storage in the 2026 Market **URL:** \ **Category:** Hardware\ **Tags:** hardware, storage, question\ **Created:** [October 5, 2026, 5:57pm UTC](https://jtechforums.org/t/cheap-reliable-external-portable-storage-in-the-2026-market/10254 "2026-10-05T17:57:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sh7411usa](https://jtechforums.org/user_avatar/jtechforums.org/sh7411usa/32/4389_2.png) [@sh7411usa](https://jtechforums.org/u/sh7411usa)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2026, 5:57pm UTC](https://jtechforums.org/t/cheap-reliable-external-portable-storage-in-the-2026-market/10254/1 "2026-10-05T17:57:15Z")
Looking for at least 4TB dependable portable storage (really want way more) but for very cheap. Thinking going for older HW would bring down cost? Is it really a viable long term option to keep a SATA CMR HDD in an external USB casing? What does the oilam think about doing storage FOR CHEAP (like not necessarily rock solid enterprise grade, just dependable for personal use) in the current (10/26) out of wack memory market? ---
**Author:** ![ars18](https://jtechforums.org/user_avatar/jtechforums.org/ars18/32/11805_2.png) [@ars18](https://jtechforums.org/u/ars18)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2026, 5:58pm UTC](https://jtechforums.org/t/cheap-reliable-external-portable-storage-in-the-2026-market/10254/2 "2026-10-05T17:58:31Z")
> **[Security Measure | eBay](https://www.ebay.com/str/serverpartdeals?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=cMVgVGLbSiy&sssrc=3418065&ssuid=pZBybFiRTIK&stype=1&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY)** I bought these in 2024, still good. GODO USB 3.0 to 3.5 Inch Hard… [Amazon.com: GODO 3.5" SATA HDD Enclosure, USB 3.0 Docking Station, Aluminum, 24TB | 5Gbps Data Transfer, UASP Support, 12V/2A Stable Power, Aluminum Heat Dissipation, LED Indicator, Vertical Stand Design : Electronics](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B9MVWFRG?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share) ---
**Author:** ![sh7411usa](https://jtechforums.org/user_avatar/jtechforums.org/sh7411usa/32/4389_2.png) [@sh7411usa](https://jtechforums.org/u/sh7411usa)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2026, 6:06pm UTC](https://jtechforums.org/t/cheap-reliable-external-portable-storage-in-the-2026-market/10254/3 "2026-10-05T18:06:13Z")
Ty! I wonder if I should risk a 2 bay thingy because i found two 4 TB drives at total 1/3 avg price of 8 TB. How many of the GODOs are you using concurrently? if each needs its own pwer supply - wouldn’t a 2 or more bay solution minimize the wire mess? Anyone using multi bay can report on performance? ---
**Author:** ![ars18](https://jtechforums.org/user_avatar/jtechforums.org/ars18/32/11805_2.png) [@ars18](https://jtechforums.org/u/ars18)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2026, 6:07pm UTC](https://jtechforums.org/t/cheap-reliable-external-portable-storage-in-the-2026-market/10254/4 "2026-10-05T18:07:04Z")
I used two. Had them running for a few months maybe more ---
**Author:** ![sh7411usa](https://jtechforums.org/user_avatar/jtechforums.org/sh7411usa/32/4389_2.png) [@sh7411usa](https://jtechforums.org/u/sh7411usa)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2026, 6:28pm UTC](https://jtechforums.org/t/cheap-reliable-external-portable-storage-in-the-2026-market/10254/5 "2026-10-05T18:28:41Z")
Ordered! Toshiba 10TB + Single bay GODO you posted, for approx. $275 total! Anyone else looking for storage - this seems great price for the times… ty @ars18 ---
**Author:** ![ars18](https://jtechforums.org/user_avatar/jtechforums.org/ars18/32/11805_2.png) [@ars18](https://jtechforums.org/u/ars18)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2026, 6:29pm UTC](https://jtechforums.org/t/cheap-reliable-external-portable-storage-in-the-2026-market/10254/6 "2026-10-05T18:29:44Z")
What’s your host? ---
**Author:** ![sh7411usa](https://jtechforums.org/user_avatar/jtechforums.org/sh7411usa/32/4389_2.png) [@sh7411usa](https://jtechforums.org/u/sh7411usa)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2026, 6:36pm UTC](https://jtechforums.org/t/cheap-reliable-external-portable-storage-in-the-2026-market/10254/7 "2026-10-05T18:36:18Z")
Well, drive is going to live in the USB chassis. Will usually be connected to Home desktop (cheap dell optiplex) - which i just use to manage my offline backups. all my stuff from many years scattered across multiple external drives - hope to consolidate and index in one place. will directly connect to my laptop to sync i guess. ---
**Author:** ![ars18](https://jtechforums.org/user_avatar/jtechforums.org/ars18/32/11805_2.png) [@ars18](https://jtechforums.org/u/ars18)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2026, 6:39pm UTC](https://jtechforums.org/t/cheap-reliable-external-portable-storage-in-the-2026-market/10254/8 "2026-10-05T18:39:03Z")
Windows on host? Make yourself a smb share and use tailscale. I do from Linux but I’m sure you can figure it out. I also mostly use SFTP but for windows… ---
**Author:** ![sh7411usa](https://jtechforums.org/user_avatar/jtechforums.org/sh7411usa/32/4389_2.png) [@sh7411usa](https://jtechforums.org/u/sh7411usa)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2026, 7:07pm UTC](https://jtechforums.org/t/cheap-reliable-external-portable-storage-in-the-2026-market/10254/9 "2026-10-05T19:07:42Z")
> [@ars18](#): > > but I’m sure you can figure it out 🤣 > [@ars18](#): > > I also mostly use SFTP but for windows… Actually, windows officially supports SSH ![image](https://jtechforums.org/uploads/default/original/3X/c/2/c28ee1ab50022b8f95bcb6a2f93b7cd4c42b59e0.png) I’ll figure something out once I get set up.