Ton's of ssd externals one the market all aizes .You can boot from them or just add them as extra space when your hard drive fills up.

And yes you can back up your current system to them, been dong it for a raccoon's age.":O}

Interesting... I never backup my systems... just my important files.
Guess I still have that Windows XP habits:

• The system is corrupted - Vanilla Install
• There is too much fragmentation - Vanilla Install
• Too many random files from apps - Vanilla Install
• Too many temp files - Vanilla Install
• Starting over makes my systems faster - Vanilla Install

At work its totally different, we will image instead.
Did I mention that you can re-install Mint and with an existing /home it won't overwrite it?
Yeah, tried it once, all of my /home/booman was intact and the Operating System was refreshed. Pretty cool.
Now if you create a new /home during the partitioning process, then it will be erased. So be careful if you attempt this.

I can restore my entire system, and my content in under 15 minutes.
Without my music. (Music 35 gigs) I keep on a separate drive to speed up my backups and restores.

Back ups right now are running 17 gigs.

There's nothing like a backup to stiffen your spine and put steel in your eyes!

Back up save heaps of time. I use images as well. TR turned me on to Clonezilla a few years back and I've used it ever since.

Not bad. I guess I don't have the space for an image. Not to mention 6 images for all of my PCs. One day I'll purchase 6 or 7 identical computers (like a SteamBox) so I can have one image for them all.
Until that day comes, I'll just use the Mint installer as my image. Updates are pretty quick and I have a small list of software I use:

Internet:

• Chrome

Productivity/Media:

• Gimp 2.8 - (Batch: sudo apt-get install gimp-plugin-registry)
• VLC
• IcedTea Java
• xterm

Gaming:

• Nvidia PPA - ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa
• PlayOnLinux
• Wine
• Simple Screen Recorder -
  sudo add-apt-repository ppa:maarten-baert/simplescreenrecorder
  sudo apt-get update
  sudo apt-get install simplescreenrecorder
  # if you want to record 32-bit OpenGL applications on a 64-bit system:
  sudo apt-get install simplescreenrecorder-lib:i386
• DosBox
• Scrot (Set PrintScreen)
• Steam

LIbraries:

• ia32-libs (multi-arch)

Mint Themes:

• Windows7-Aero

Desktop Managers:

• Openbox

As a rule I try and match them up...but that's just me. I'd say that as long as your backup drive can hold everything you want to back up your fine.

As you have only use a small percentage and SSD are a mite expensive
I'd go for a 256 gig drive. You can back up to it now. and later if you want to you can switch them so the larger drive can hold several back ups.

I like to have at lest two. just in case.

For me speed = frequent back ups as they don't take much time and are easy to do.

With two SSD's your back up will take you around 5 mins after you make all you selections as to what you want backed up and to where.

I just got a USB 1 TB mechanical drive, with spindles I needed to fix a PS4 screw up...long story...

I benched it.

It has an average read time of 71.Mps USB
My 500gig SDD back up benches at 542 Mps SATA

So if time means anything to you be sure to go with an SSD drive.
As for USB. Be sure you go with a USB 3.0 drive.

To be honest I don't know the comparative speeds on USB 3.0

But some one here must have a hold on this info. My guess would be that it is nearly as fast as a Sata drive. But I'm just guessing as who would use USB if it could not compete with Sata?

But if speed is a concern be sure you Get an SSD drive,

When you back up from an SSD to another SSD it is very fast..

Once I tell CloneZilla what I want to back from and the drive I want to back up to it takes under three minutes to back up or restore. that's 17 gigs of transfer in under three minutes, really just over 2 minutes.

Do you have a reason for wanting USB external over a SATA internal drive?

as you like my self, occupy a small space, get an internal SSD.

I use my 256 gig SSD as my main drive. I back up to a 500Gig SSD.

I keep 4 or 5 back ups as well as copies of my Music. GOL stuff pictures and any thing I want to add to a new fresh install.

When over time the 256 grows small I'll buy a TB drive for back up and use the 500 gig as my main. Remember your backup drive goes practically unused just sitting there awaiting your next back up. It will be like new when you get around to using it as a main drive,

I use my backup drive to keep other things I don't wish to lose if my back-ups go wrong. Hey it happens especially when you first starting out with your back up program.

Here a pic of the contents of my back up drive,



Keep your main drive on your 256 and back it up to your new 500. I know I'm changing my advice about keeping two of the same size, I did that for years, but now get A bigger drive for backups than I need...for future use as a main drive,

If any of this is unclear to you, just ask.

I have 16 gigs of ram, have never seen it use even half of that.The slowest thing on your machine remains your hard drive, even your SSD hard drive.
If you have a 500Gig drive just get a 256 gig drive,

AS your using so small a percentage you can choose either one for your main drive.

Externals are the same as internal drives. They just come in a external case. Very useful if your out and on the go. One more thing to find a place for if your short on space.

But the quality is the same. Some very good and some just so so.

I recently bought this 500gig. Very very fast. quite happy with it and it seems to be priced fairly. Samsung Devo

It's half of my back up drives the the is an OCZ 256 gig, very fast and am also happy with it.

The larger the SSD the slower they become or so I am told.
I'm also told (Don't know this is a fact) that they start to slow up after 500Gigs.

These guys are rated at 100,000 hours of use. So think long term when choosing one.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-lis..._child?ie=UTF8&mv_size_name=4&mv_style_name=0

It's amazon so look below on the page for best pricing and watch for free shipping or no.

PS. I only bought the external non ssd drive because stupid Sony requires an external back up drive to hold all your games while you reinitialize your PlayStation.
Or you lose all your progress in the games. Unacceptable!!

I had to try a initialization because it kept losing touch with it's controller.

Didn't work. turns out my less than 6 months old controller is faulty.

Will be hounding Sony about this very soon.":O}

You can do just as well on Ebay

"Give unto Caesar what is Caesars and give unto God what is God's."

The meaning is that there are two realms. The scared and the profane.

If an evil master owns the well does this mean we and our families should not drink? No we should drink and pay his tax and then give thanks to God for the water we receive.

We who seek God must live in two worlds. One we are tied to by the needs of our bodies. The other we aspire to in our souls.

I was not put here to judge the deeds of men I do not know. I feel rather I was meant to search out the God I wish was my own...and make him so.

To sustain my soul long enough to accomplish my task in this world I must sustain my body. To sustain my body I must pay the man who owns the well
remembering always the the water flows not from the man nor from the well. the water flows from Gods will.

"So have no fear of atomic energy cause none of them can stoppa the time."

I have found that it really isn't worth my time to try and sort out the profane world. None of us is without sin. All men fall into error.

But what lies with and in the scared world is the only salvation of the profane world. It is from the scared world that forgiveness flows like water.

Water does not judge the container it finds it self within, it conforms.
It meets it's fate with total equanimity and without judgement nor complaint.

And so we are able to drink.