Some devices may also connect via Firewire or Thunderbolt only, though these are few and far between nowadays. As well as storage space, you should also take into account the physical size of the external hard drive. Physically smaller hard drives will tend to be more expensive, especially at higher storage capacities, but this might be a price worth paying if portability is an important factor.
Hard drive storage is typically measured in gigabytes GB or terabytes TB. There are 1, megabytes MB in a gigabyte, and 1, gigabytes in a terabyte. The smallest external hard drives on the market today tend to hold around GB. Others hold 10TB — an almost 10, percent difference! However, the most popular capacity is 1TB or 2TB. Although a file of any given type can vary wildly in size, here are some typical sizes of various file types:.
Of course every case is different, but the list below should give you some idea of the average external hard drive needed, depending on what kinds of files will take up most of your storage:. Storage is relatively cheap these days. Two main factors play a role in how fast your drive can operate: The underlying storage technology and the connector it uses.
In terms of the connector between your external drive and your PC or mobile device, there are several standard options to consider. Most drives today use a USB interface, but the most recent generations have some distinct differences — most notably with transfer speed.
USB 2. The port is typically not color-coded on PCs. USB connections beyond 2. You may see specifications listed as USB 3. All three are essentially the same, providing speeds of up to 5Gbps and typically color-coded blue. Meanwhile, USB 3. USB-A is the most common read: old school connector type, featuring a rectangular box and a this-side-up-only connection.
USB-C is newer, smaller, and more rounded, offering a reversible connector. Piggybacking this port is the DisplayPort protocol for video output. Some older devices use alternative connectors like eSATA and Firewire, but due to their reduced relevance, they should be avoided. That all said, you ideally want a Thunderbolt 3 connection. If you simply want an external drive for backups stored in your home, network-attached storage NAS devices may be a better bet.
They typically sit as a stand-alone wired device on your local network, packing multiple drives and storage modes. However, if you want to keep your drive on you when out and about, portability is essential.
External hard drives, especially solid state drives, are an excellent way to store large amounts of information for years without needing to be concerned about losing the files or the drive. They are also a very cost effective way to digitally store information that may otherwise be kept in physical file folders in cabinets.
Some of the things that you may want to have a digital copy of for years to come are:. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. All rights reserved.
Close Search. Internal vs. External Storage One of the major things to note about external hard drives below left is their difference from internal hard drives below right. External Hard Drive Types. Solid State Hard Drive External solid state drives a. Portability External hard drives are lightweight and can fit in almost any backpack or travel case. For people who often travel in airports, cars, trains, etc. Easy Connectivity External hard drives can be easily connected to any computer system with compatible ports.
Some even offer multiple port connection options making them even more compatible. Cost-Effective External hard drives are an affordable way to expand the storage space of your computer without having to spend money on upgrading the internal components of your system. Just plug-n-play.
Efficiency To some, saving files or data in multiple places or having multiple locations to store different information may be inefficient.
If you are someone who prefers a centralized storage location, then one or several external hard drives is not for you. Mainly, the two most common types of storage are the hard drive and the solid-state drive. In a nutshell, hard drives make your computer run slower but have high-capacity storage for archiving high-resolution photos and important videos.
Solid-state drives provide the speedy responses that gamers require, but that speed comes at a steeper price. Like the rest of your computer setup, choosing an external hard drive depends on your needs.
These days, that may not be enough for what you need. Standard hard drives provide a plethora of storage for all of your needs, but they rely on slower data transfer speeds. And if there are multiple people working on a project or if you need to access the storage space from multiple computer spaces, a network-attached storage device, or NAS device, would be a better choice, as it will deliver files to your local network and can be accessed remotely.
Greengart also recommended this kind of external hard drive for storing videos. While it may not make sense to purchase an external hard drive with a USB-Micro A, older computers and laptops may require this kind of connection — or a general USB-A connection — in order to function.
This kind of connection also affects the speed of the hard drive. Some devices will provide encryption and other security measures for peace of mind.
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