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6 days ago · Our deep-dive reviews help you track down the right external hard drive. By Tony Hoffman. Updated July 2, 2024. Despite the popularity of slim, speedy external SSDs, external hard...
- Best External Hard Drives
Laptop drive almost full? Need to back up your photos?...
- Best External Hard Drives
- Overview
- The best external hard drive of 2024 in full:
- 1. Seagate Backup Plus
- 2. Silicon Power Armor A66
- 3. ADATA HD710 PRO
- 4. Buffalo MiniStation Extreme
- 5. Aegis Desktop
- 6. WD BLACK 5TB P10 Game Drive
- What is an external hard drive?
Best
By Fernando Cassia
Contributions from
Collin Probst
last updated 13 February 2024
Top portable hard disks for your desktop or laptop
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Specifications
Capacity: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 5TB Interface: USB 3.0 Dimensions: 7.62 x 11.43 x 1.9cm Weight: 0.58lbs (265g) Today's Best Deals View at Walmart (5TB) View at Newegg (Black) View at Amazon (5TB)
Reasons to buy
+ Excellent value for money + Adobe Creative Cloud offer + Mylio Create offer + Data recovery warranty
Reasons to avoid
- No built-in encryption/security features - Seagate has six different external hard drives families, and the Backup Plus is certainly the one that grabbed my attention the most. It combines the strengths of Seagate's Basic range (affordability, no-frill approach) with some unique features of its own like a plethora of colors - seven in all - and a 1-year data recovery warranty. Remember that this is a portable hard drive, which means that you can easily carry it around. It is not bulky as a desktop hard drive and doesn't need an external power supply. The drive we reviewed is the largest of the range and features Seagate's Dashboard software, compatible with Windows and Mac OS. Compared to rivals, this drive has three unique selling points, a free data recovery warranty (up to two years, terms and conditions apply), a 1-year subscription to photo cloud storage service, Myliocreate (worth $99.99) and a 4-month subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud photography (worth a tidy $39.96). Read our full Seagate Backup Plus 5TB review. •^ Back to the top
Reasons to buy
+ Three-year warranty + Cheapest high-capacity rugged hard drive + Good performance
Reasons to avoid
- Male-to-male Type-A USB cable - No IP68 rating The Silicon Power A66 is the equivalent of an Olympic Heptathlon specialist. It is a portable hard drive that combines three important attributes in anyone’s quest for external storage nirvana: It is big - in terms of absolute capacity, it is cheap compared to other rivals (like the Sandisk Professional G-Drive ArmorATD) and your data will be better protected as long as you don’t intend to immerse it in water (it is only IPX4 rated). The A66 doesn’t come with any bundled software and the cable it comes with is a special one (Type-A both ways which makes replacing it problematic). In real world tests, it performs in line with the rest of the HDD-based competition; expect to spend far more on a rugged SSD if you want something speedier, more resilient, smaller and which can be used with a mobile device. •^ Back to the top
Specifications
Capacity: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 5TB Interface: USB 3.0 Dimensions: 9.6 x 13.21 x 2.56cm Weight: 0.86lb (0.39kg) Today's Best Deals Check Amazon
Reasons to buy
+ Speedy + Very rugged silicone case + Good cable management
Reasons to avoid
- Design may not appeal to all users With tiny moving parts, Hard disk drives (HDDs) are fragile. All your data can be inaccessible in a second just by a mishap. Most of the failures can be attributed to damaged disk surfaces caused by physical shocks; being hit, falling over, or being dropped. Sudden shocks, especially while in use, can cause the head to crash or damage the platter. Just exposing it to the elements can ruin your data and your day. That's why if you use external drives while outdoors a regular external hard drive becomes a risky proposition. An IP68-rated device can withstand dust, dirt, and sand, and can be submerged up to 1.5m underwater for 30 minutes. Sounds good? Well, that's the kind of certification rating the ADATA HD 710 Pro packs up its sleeve. The firm went above and beyond to protect HDD internals with a silicone casing, triple-layered construction, and vibration sensing technology so it can withstand falls from 1.5m. It’s fast with a 5Gbps USB 3.1 interface and with its 4TB capacity it’ll suit the needs (and then some) of the average mobile worker on the go. The firm provides this model in four colors which makes separating projects by color-coded drives a breeze, believe me, you don't want labels in an outdoor environment. Its "wrap-around" system means the cable is always with the drive so it doesn't tangle or get in the way. Super useful when taking the drive with you in a backpack. The icing on the cake comes in the form of ADATA's three-year warranty. Read our full Adata HD710 review. •^ Back to the top
Specifications
Capacity: 1TB, 2TB Interface: USB 3.0 Dimensions: 8.99 x 14.10 x 2.1cm Weight: 0.66lb (0.30kg) Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (1TB) View at Newegg (Black) View at Walmart (2TB)
Reasons to buy
+ Portable + Lock/unlock via NFC + Hardware encryption + No power adapter to carry around + Three year warranty
Reasons to avoid
- Larger than most 2.5inch portable drives Water-resistant and shock-proof, the MiniStation Extreme NFC from Buffalo isn't indestructible, but it's a nice change from some of the dangerously flimsy external hard drives available. The rugged chassis stores a 2.5-inch laptop hard drive enclosed in shock-absorbent bumpers designed so the HD can survive drops from up to 1.2 meters (4 feet). It won't survive being dropped out of a window, but it'll be fine being knocked off a table. The IP5X certification means it is almost dust-proof, and the IPX3 certification means it can handle a water spray at up to a 60-degree angle. A key feature is its 256-bit AES encryption with near-field communication (NFC) capability, allowing it to be unlocked with a simple touch of a smartphone. With NTFS pre-formatted, it can be used immediately with a Windows computer. Mac users can format it into HFS+ if they wish so, of course. Better yet, if you format it as exFAT, it will support Mac, PC, and the Playstation 4 and 5 game consoles all at once. The drive comes preloaded with Buffalo's "ModeChanger" utility for Windows and Mac that switches it from Open to Secure and vice-versa. Mode switching takes less than a minute and the drive must be reformatted after that. The LED lights at the front of the drive light up green for USB 2.0 and blue for USB 3.0 connection. Its wraparound USB cable -permanently attached at one end saves you from losing the cable but if you need a longer cable you'll have to use a male/female cable in between. Read our full Buffalo MiniStation Extreme review. •^ Back to the top
Specifications
Capacity: 2TB, 4TB, 6TB, 8TB, 10TB, 12TB, 16TB, 18TB Interface: USB 3.0 Dimensions: 11.43 x 18.28 x 3.81cm Weight: 2.5lb (1.13kg) Today's Best Deals View at Amazon (3.5-inch) View at Newegg View at Walmart (2TB)
Reasons to buy
+ FIPS 140-2 certification + Brute-force defense and self destruct + Locks if unplugged from USB + Compatible with an OS + Software-free setup + Solid Aluminum enclosure
Reasons to avoid
- Not USB powered - Only one year manufacturer's warranty If you deal with any sensible information leaving it in an unencrypted drive is risky. While encryption can be done in software with a high degree of fine-tuning, nothing beats a purely hardware-based solution that frees you from the software-configuration complexities. The Aegis Desktop 4 TB drive from Apricorn is an encrypted external hard drive available in capacities from 2TB up to 18TB that comes in a sturdy aluminum casing 4.5”x7.2” and 1.5” thick. Its Padlock button panel at the top resembles the familiar cashpoint or ATM layout with 0-9 digits plus Cancel and a Lock/Unlock key. Three clear indicator lights show the status: locked (red), unlocked (green), or Admin Mode (blue). All the configuration is software-free. There is a perforated ventilation panel on the front of the drive, on the back, there’s its USB 3.0 port, power connector, an On/Off switch, and a lock slot for anchoring the drive to a desk. It comes formatted with an NTFS file system but you can use any file system. Internally it uses a 3.5-inch encrypted hard drive, and the circuitry doing the encryption is covered by a layer of epoxy coating protecting it from physical attacks. After the initial setup with a 7-digit to 16-digit code, the operation of this device is worry-free and configuration-free. If you lose your password there is no way to access the drive, and if the internal drive is removed and inserted into another PC its contents are unreadable as the data is encrypted before being sent to the drive for storage. It has handy features like an unattended auto lock, and the drive can auto-lock as soon as the USB connection is lost - e.g. if the USB cable is removed. It is exceptionally suited for scenarios where software-based encrypted devices can't function such as diagnostic machinery or any embedded system. •^ Back to the top
Specifications
Capacity: 2TB, 4TB, 5TB Interface: USB 3.0 Dimensions: 11.81 x 8.79 x 2.08cm Weight: 0.51lb (250g) Today's Best Deals View at Newegg (Black) View at Walmart (2TB) View at Lenovo USA
Reasons to buy
+ Ample storage + Compatible with all game consoles + Pre-formatted as ExFAT
Reasons to avoid
- Adapter for USB-C devices isn't included It's not a shipping container but it looks like one, a black rectangle with ribbed sides and hex screws. In includes the familiar small activity LED of many external drives. It features a USB 3.2 Gen-1 interface at 5Gbps connected via a USB Micro-B connector at the back side. A 18-inch (45.7 cm) A-to-Micro-B is also included. What sets this drive apart aside from the gaming aesthetics is its total compatibility. Since it comes pre-formatted with the ExFAT file system in addition to being compatible with PCs and Macs it's plug-and-play compatible with the Sony PlayStation 4, PS5 and the Microsoft Xbox One. Inside it there's a 2.5" 5,400 rpm SATA drive so don't expect SSD speeds, but 140MBps at most. This is intended mainly for storing downloaded games to move back and forth to your console's internal storage. For PC users, the WD Drive Utilities app and the WD Security app can be downloaded to set passwords, check the drive's health and perform maintenance tasks. It is also well suited as long-term multimedia storage hooked up to a PC or large-screen smart TV from Sony or a recent Samsung as well - some smart TVs support NTFS and FAT32 or NTFS and ExFat, very rarely do they support all three file systems. WD sales literature will tell you this stores 150 games, but game sizes vary widely. The firm puts the average size per game at 36GB while some reviewers claim it's 80GB nowadays. In any case, it's a lot of storage to expand your gaming system. •^ Back to the top We've also featured the best rugged hard drives. Best external hard drive FAQs
In a nutshell, it is a storage device that contains an internal hard drive. The fact that there's two types of hard drives - 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch - means that there are also two types of external hard drives: larger desktop hard drives and smaller portable hard drives.
•Desktop hard drives are cheaper per Terabyte, offer capacities above 20TB, usually perform better but they are much larger and require an external power supply unit.
•Portable hard drives have had a maximum capacity of 5TB for the better part of a decade and are usually more expensive than their bigger counterparts. On the other hand, they can easily slip in a jean's back pocket and doesn't need an external power supply as it draws its power from the client.
Note that various vendors use different nomenclatures. WD confusingly has two categories - external drives and portable drives - but includes products in the latter category in the former one while archrival Seagate categorizes them as desktop drives and portable drives. You will note that they removed the word "hard" and that's for a good reason: increasingly portable drives are based on flash components and in a near future - given the rapid drop in hardware pricing - we wouldn't be surprised to see multiple SSDs combined in a "desktop drive"
- John Loeffler
Jun 11, 2024 · The Best External Hard Drives. Need an ultrafast drive for backing up data or video editing, or a rugged option to back up your photos in the field? We’ve got a solution for every situation.
6 days ago · Laptop drive almost full? Need to back up your photos? Desktop-size and portable platter storage has never been cheaper. Our deep-dive reviews help you track down the right external hard...
- Senior Analyst, Hardware
Jun 3, 2024 · The best portable hard drive for most people is the Western Digital My Passport Ultra (5 TB), whose capacity and cost per terabyte make it a better value than most. It connects to USB-A and...
- Joel Santo Domingo
Jun 26, 2024 · 1. WD My Book (WDBBGB, USB 3.0, 4TB) The best external hard drive overall. Specifications. Capacity: 3TB to 18TB. Interface: USB 3.0. Size: 6.7 x 5.5 x 1.9 inches. Weight: 2.2 pounds....
May 28, 2024 · The best external hard drive option is a compact solid-state drive, or SSD, that uses flash memory. To get all the space offered by hard drives can be a bit pricey even with prices decreasing...
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