You have run out of space on your PC
Your hard drive is old and obsolete
You need more space for photos and videos
Your available storage space on your computer is slowly running out
You don’t want to overload your PC with too many files
Then buy a external hard drive might be an excellent idea.
On the other hand, who has never had a PC failure with consequent loss of important files
It is a classic to lose travel photos and videos, perhaps made several years ago and now irrecoverable.
Buying a hard drive is also a great idea to always have the files you need at your disposal at all times.
In short, if you want to safeguard your data and photos, buying a hard drive seems to be the safest method at the moment, and also the cheapest.
The hard disk models available today are very many. Below you will find the best models, selected on the basis of the quality / price ratio. Comparative table of external hard drives
Contents
- Comparative table of external hard drives
- The best external hard drives: top 4 ranking
- Hard disk esterno WD Elements
- Features
- Editor’s Note
- Customer Opinions: What Consumers Think
- Benefits:
- Disadvantages:
- Hard disk esterno Toshiba HDTB420EK3AA
- Features
- Editor’s Note
- Customer Opinions: What Consumers Think
- Benefits:
- Disadvantages:
- WD Western Digital external hard drive
- Features
- Editor’s Note
- Customer Opinions: What Consumers Think
- Benefits:
- Disadvantages:
- Hard disk esterno LaCie Rugged Mini
- Features
- Editor’s Note
- Customer Opinions: What Consumers Think
- Benefits:
- Disadvantages:
- Hard disk esterno WD Elements
- How to choose your external hard drive
- Storage capacity
- Transfer rate
- Cache space
- Access times
- Usury
- The types of external hard drives available on the market
- How much does an external hard drive cost
- Buying an external hard drive is a good idea
- Differences between HDD and SSD
- Difference between internal and external hard drive
- Conclusions
External Hard Drive 1tb Portable USB3.0 SATA HDD Storage for PC, Mac, Desktop, Laptop, MacBook, Chromebook (1tb, Blue)
WD 4TB My Passport Wireless Pro, Wireless Portable External Hard Drive, Wi-Fi AC, USB 3.0 – WDBSMT0040BBK -EESN
Western Digital WD My Book USB 3.0 Desktop Hard Disk with Password Protection and Automatic Backup Software, Black, 10 TB
TOSHIBA HDTB410EK3AA Canvio Basics, Portable External Hard Drive, USB 3.0, 1 TB, Nero
WD 2TB Elements Portable, Hard Disk Portable External, USB 3.0
Seagate Expansion Portable, 2 TB Portable External Hard Drive, USB 3.0 for Desktop PC, Laptop PC and Mac, 2 Years of Rescue Services (STEA2000400)
Price not available
€
288.68 226.63 €
43.00 €
61.00 €
62,00 €
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External Hard Drive 1tb Portable USB3.0 SATA HDD Storage for PC, Mac, Desktop, Laptop, MacBook, Chromebook (1tb, Blue)
Price not available
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WD 4TB My Passport Wireless Pro, Wireless Portable External Hard Drive, Wi-Fi AC, USB 3.0 – WDBSMT0040BBK-EESN
€ 288.68
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Western Digital WD My Book Desktop Hard Disk USB 3.0 with Password Protection and Software Automatic Backup, Black, 10 TB
€ 226.63
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TOSHIBA HDTB410EK3AA Canvio Basics, Portable External Hard Drive, USB 3.0, 1 TB, Black
43,00 €
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WD 2TB Elements Portable, Portable External Hard Drive, USB 3.0
61,00 €
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Seagate Expansion Portable, Portable External Hard Drive 2 TB, USB 3.0 for Desktop PC, Laptop PC and Mac, 2 Years of Rescue Services (STEA2000400)
62,00 €
Buy Amazon The best external hard drives: top 4 ranking WD Elements external hard drive Features
The WD external hard drive Elements has a storage capacity of up to 14 TB and is compatible with USB 3.0 and 2.0.
It features a simple and compact design and will help you improve the performance of your PC.
Its dimensions are 8.89 cm, so it is also suitable for those who usually travel often and with data to follow. Editor’s Note
This hard drive is supported by Windows and Mac operating systems. Customer Opinions: What Consumers Think
Customers who bought this product were satisfied above all with the great quality. But not only.
Users have reviewed it positively due to its robustness, design, speed, and price.
Some Mac users have complained of problems starting their computer, but this is a negligible percentage. Benefits:
- Excellent value for money;
- Solid and sturdy;
- Rapid.
Disadvantages:
- Some problems starting up, for those who use a Mac.
Buy on Amazon Official Site Toshiba HDTB420EK3AA External Hard Drive Features
The Toshiba HDTB420EK3AA external hard drive is a device with USB 3.0 interface, but also compatible with USB 2.0.
It has a USB power supply of up to 900mA and a transfer rate of up to 5Gbps.
It is practical and compact, making it ideal for transport and travel, as it can also be stored in a pocket. Editor’s Note
It’s simple to use with its plug-and-play technology and you can start using it right away, without any installation. Customer Reviews: What Consumers Think
The product has earned excellent user reviews.
They appreciated it above all for the excellent quality / price ratio, ease of use, lightness, efficiency, speed, super portability given its size.
On the negative side: it tends to overheat. Benefits:
- Excellent value for money;
- Light;
- Compact.
Disadvantages:
- It tends to overheat.
Buy on the official Amazon website WD Western Digital external hard drive Features
It is a portable external hard drive, with wireless connection and the capacity of 4 TB.
It has a reading speed of 800 megabytes per second and a long battery life, up to 10 hours.
It has a portable USB battery to charge mobile devices and thanks to the My cloud app it can be accessed from iOS and Android devices.
In addition, thanks to the Plex media server, you will be able to stream files to any supported device such as smart TV, tablet and more. Editor’s Note
This device features USB 3.0 for ultra-fast transfers and USB 2.0 for transferring multimedia files from an external device. Customer Opinions: What Consumers Think
This product has garnered mostly positive feedback from customers who especially appreciated its efficiency and ability to handle large amounts of files.
In addition, it is easy to use and very fast in transfers.
Someone has complained about slowing down the device with automatic media scanning. Benefits:
- Rapid;
- Efficient;
- Long battery life.
Disadvantages:
- With some functions it can slow down.
Buy on Amazon Official Site LaCie Rugged Mini External Hard Drive Features
This hard drive has a capacity of 4 TB, is shock resistant and is supported by Windows and Mac operating systems.
It is very fast in reading and writing, up to a maximum of 540/500 mb / s.
It features USB-C technology and a fully reversible USB-C cable.
The hard drive features a modern design and is lightweight and shock resistant.
Thanks to its size it can be easily carried even in your pocket. Editor’s note
This hard drive with an unmistakable design is not only shockproof, but also rain-proof and pressure-proof.
Apparently it could work even after enduring a one-ton car. Customer Opinions: What Consumers Think
This hard drive has been very well reviewed by those who have tried it.
It has been praised for its excellent quality / price ratio.
Its characteristics of resistance to shocks, water and pressure have been appreciated.
The speed of reading and writing, the silence, the portability and the design.
Small flaw: it seems that the rubber coating prevents the cable from remaining well connected. So it can happen that it comes off. Benefits:
- Excellent value for money;
- Speed;
- Resistance to shocks, water and pressure.
Disadvantages:
- The USB cable could come off.
Buy on the official Amazon site How to choose your external hard drive
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Choosing an external hard drive is not as simple as it seems.
As we know, choosing the most expensive option is not always the right way.
This is because, first of all, you need to understand what your needs are.
Generally, however, capacity is the most important factor to consider, and can cause the cost to rise or drop dramatically depending on your needs.
Other factors include the physical size of the hard drive, since you can choose between real portable models and models more suitable for sitting on a desk.
But let’s see what to expect from a hard drive in terms of performance.
Here are the features to look out for: Storage Capacity
Hard drives come in a wide range of capacities, with a maximum limit of 16 TB per drive due to physical limitations.
SSDs can’t hold that much space, in fact they currently have a maximum limit of around 5TB per drive. Transfer speed
The performance of a hard drive is determined by many factors, but the revolutions per minute (RPM) are among the most important factors.
A higher RPM means faster data transfer to and from the drive. Cache space
When a hard drive needs to transfer data from one section of the drive to another, it uses a special built-in memory area called the cache (or buffer).
A larger cache allows data to move faster because more information can be stored at one time.
Modern hard drives can have cache sizes ranging from 8MB to 256MB. Access Times
Traditional hard drives have a couple of factors that affect performance, such as the time it takes for the reader to position itself and to read or write data to the drive.
While two 7200RPM drives might have different performance, there is no standard way to compare access times.
Also, most hard drives work the same way, so don’t worry too much about this particular detail. Wear
Hard drives have moving parts, so they will wear out over time, but not all hard drives wear out at the same rate.
Some models are subject to failure within 12 months, while others have an average life of more than six years.
It is your responsibility to research on an individual basis before making a purchase.
Overall, modern SDD hard drives tend to last longer than hard drives.
However, for long-term storage of data that remains disconnected for months or years, traditional hard drives are more durable than SSDs.Types of external hard drives available on the market
There are different types of external hard drives.
The first difference is between HDD and SSD.
In the first case it is a device characterized by a metal disk, which writes and reads data by turning.
The SSD, on the other hand, is a system made up of several interconnected memory cards.
The latter types of hard drives are still relatively rare, as they are expensive in terms of cost per gigabyte.
They are currently limited to smaller capacities, especially over 64GB. Generally, it is recommended to purchase SSDs to use as internal rather than external drives.
Some manufacturers also supply software along with external hard drives.
These softwares include online backup functions and some even offer additional space on the web.
This space can be used to store a backup of your most important data.
Some manufacturers also provide password protection software, with which you can restrict unwanted people from accessing data stored on your hard drive. How much does an external hard drive cost
Doing a little research you will find that the price range of hard drives varies a lot from model to model, even though they all look very similar in reality.
It is up to you to decide which factors and features are most relevant to your needs, so choose a hard drive that fits those needs.
Although there is a way to determine the value of the model in question, which is to divide the price of the drive by its storage capacity, to get its price per gigabyte. Buying an external hard drive is a good idea
Buying a hard drive is always recommended, especially to safeguard data from oblivion.
It is always important to determine what it will be used for: will it stay on your desk or backpack, around the world
This is an important question to consider before buying a new hard drive.
If you plan to use the hard drive only for space requirements, the size, weight and probably the overall design of the device will not matter much.
But if you plan to take your hard drive around the world to keep photos while traveling, for example, weight can be a problem.
You will need to make sure that the hard drive is not so heavy that you do not want to carry it.
We also recommend that you take the design into consideration.
The thinner and smaller the hard drive is, the easier it will be to take it with you wherever you go.
Look for thin and slim devices if you plan to travel frequently, with the hard drive in tow.
Either way it’s a great way to carry around large amounts of files or to keep them safely for some time.
External hard drives are portable, easy to use, and can provide a large amount of storage space whenever you need them.
You can store the actual device wherever you want and take a large number of files with you everywhere.
Another benefit of owning such a device is that you can move data from one computer to another, making it great for sharing large files.
Due to their usually high storage capacity (often in terabytes), external hard drives are often used to store backup files.
It is common to use a backup program to back up music collections, videos but especially photos, to keep them safely, separate from the originals in case they are accidentally changed or deleted. Differences between HDD and SSD
On the market you can find two types of hard drives: HDD and SSD.
The first is the traditional hard disk, the second uses a different system.
These are essentially two different ways of storing and accessing data.
HDDs (short for hard drive disks) use spinning magnetic disks to store data.
The read / write heads modify this data as needed, so you can hear their iconic spinning sounds.
SSDs (short for solid-state drives) use tiny gate transistors in cells that can turn on or off based on electrical pulses.
They have no moving parts, hence the name.
SSDs are significantly faster than HDDs in many cases, but they can get very expensive.
HDDs are much cheaper, but also larger, slower and easily damaged.
For external drives, it is usually best to choose an SSD, generally. Difference between internal and external hard drives
One of the main things to note about external hard drives is their difference from internal hard drives.
They are both storage units, but are used in different ways.
Internal hard drives are built into the hardware components of a computer and are not something you can easily remove from your system.
These disks are also used by the system to store key elements of the computer software such as the operating system, installed applications, and so on.
Unlike internal hard drives, external hard drives are independent and can be disconnected from a computer.
Furthermore, they are not dedicated to a single system, but are independent and can be used with many different systems, as long as the system can support the format of the files stored on the disk.
Their hard drives are encased in a protective shell that prevents physical activity from damaging stored information.
Probably the biggest difference between the two types of units is the cable connection they use to transfer information to and from the computer.
Internal hard drives typically use a SATA connector that plugs directly into the motherboard.
External hard drives can use a number of different connections, for example:
- USB
- USB Type-C
- eSATA
- Firewire (400 o 800)
- Thunderbolt
Each of these ports offers the user a specific reading and writing speed and should be taken into account when preparing to purchase a hard drive.
If you want to reduce the time it takes to retrieve information from the drive, you should choose a drive that offers faster read and write speeds and a higher RPM.
If you don’t care about speed, then you can ignore this last piece of information. Conclusions
Regardless of the application, we generally find external hard drives with acceptable characteristics on the market.
Poorly crafted devices not only pose a danger to the user, they also shorten the expected life of the storage disks.
Considering your needs and your budget, find an appropriate compromise in order to obtain a good quality / price ratio.
Take into account its impact resistance properties, price, sturdiness, portability and ease of use.
Don’t forget to take a look at the product warranty as well.
Some manufacturers offer a one year warranty, but others may also offer up to three years of warranty.
Armed with the information you need, you should be able to choose the right drive for your needs.
Before placing your order, you may want to cross-check product descriptions and specific reviews before deciding which hard drive will save your life… and data!
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