Our Picks for the best external hard drive

Western Digital

Our Rating:

Voted Best External Hard Drive Overall by Gean-Edwards.com

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Seagate FA GoFlex

Our Rating:

Voted Best Budget External Hard Drive by Gean-Edwards.com

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IoSafe Solo

Our Rating:

Voted Best Heavy Duty External Hard Drive by Gean-Edwards.com

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Protecting your data

When looking to back up data, or simply trying to find something to use as a storage device, external hard drives are great, but are not the “be all end all”, and should not be looked at as a 100% fail-safe plan. Writers at tomshardware.com say that all hard drives (regardless of it being internal or external) will eventually fail somewhere down the line.

When looking to store data that is extremely important, its recommended that you use two storage devices instead of using one alone. By using two different devices to back up the same data it will get rid of any potential chances of you losing any of the data that you’re trying to store, and will make threats of drive failure less bothersome. Whether you use an internal hard drive, or an external hard drive is not relevant. Regardless of the manufacturer, using 2 different hard drives to back up the same data can be a life-saver.

Hard Drive Features, and other important factors:

1. Types of External Hard Drives – There are two main types of External Hard Drives, portable, which can be used when traveling, and compact, which are mean to stay on your desktop and require a power source in order to be active. The sizes vary between the two, with them being as small as a pocket book, to being as big iPad. According to experts, the bigger the hard drive is, the slower its going to be (especially when compared to smaller, more compact drives). The portable external hard drives are small, usually no bigger than a cassette tape. They connect to your computer via USB, and can be as large as 2TB’s. They’re small size is great because they can fit in your pocket, and they don’t require any electrical power supply source.

2. Disk Speed – According to expert reviews, you shouldn’t consider any external hard drive with a RPM (disk rotation speed) of less than 5,400. Most of the smaller portable external hard drives meet these requirements. The larger the external hard drive, the higher RPM’s you’ll need (7,200 being the “norm” for most of the larger units).

3. Buffer Size – Buffer size is the amount of stored data a hard drive will be able to handle while waiting on the next request. So depending on how big the buffer size is, will determine how much data will be held and delivered in a timely manner. Some of the lower end hard drives will have a 2MB buffer, but it sometimes can be larger. Look for an external hard drive with a buffer size of about 8MB’s if you can. More expensive units will have buffer sizes of about 30MB+, and are incredibly fast.

Connectivity and Port Styles: Determining which external hard drive will work for you

Connection Ports – The common connection port styles are USB 2, and 3.0, Firewire, and SATA, and these port styles will determine exactly which external hard drive will be compatible with your computer. Some computers have more than one connection port, and this is good because you will have more of a choice on what kind of hard drive you’ll want to use.

1. Thunderbolt – Thunderbolt ports are currently the fastest of all the external hard drives in regards to speed. Currently Thunderbolt ports are primarily seen on Apple machines, but are boasted to be as fast as about 10GBps, which is almost twice the speed of a USB 3.0 connection.

2. USB 3.0 – USB 3.0 connects have a range of about 5GBps, and are the 2nd fastest connection next to that of Thunderbolt. It is backwards compatible, meaning that if your current machine has a port for USB 2.0, then it will work with that port with no problems. One drawback to the backwards compatibility though is that you will suffer from slower speeds, even though your using the 3.0 connection.

3. Firewire – Firewire is the next fastest port, being comparible to the speeds of USB 2.0. Firewire is great for multi-media files, and it reduces buffering.

4. eSATA – eSATA stands for: External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment, and is faster than that of the older SATA version. eSATA boasts speeds of about 3GBps, which is slightly slower than USB 3.0, but is faster than USB 2.0. As noted above, the drawback is that unless your computer has a USB 3.0 Port, or an eSATA port, you will suffer in slower speeds unless a newer, upgraded card is installed on your computer in order to accommodate the new connection.

As mentioned before, external hard drives are not the end all be all source, so depending on a single hard drive may result in a loss of stored data. Using two drives to backup identical data is always best. Below is a list that of the most important factors when shopping for an external hard drive according to consumer and expert reviews:

1. Storage Needs – Try to find a drive that will satisfy your CURRENT needs. If your only looking to back up data files, and no media (I.E Video, Songs, JPEGs, etc.), then getting a Thunderbolt connection isnt absolutely necessary (a USB 2.0 would handle that just fine). If your looking for storage space for multimedia files then look for speeds of at least 3GBps.

2. Simple Backup – Try to find an external hard drive that makes backing up your data as simple as one click. According to consumer reviews, the backup software that comes with the hardware isnt a requirement ,and any backup software will do just fine.

3. Drive Failure – As mentioned earlier in our write up, all drives are going to fail eventually, regardless of make, model, or cost. In order to thoroughly secure and store your data, look to store the same, identical data onto two separate hard drives.

4. DIY Approach – We’ve read that this is an option that a lot of people take. They buy a separate casing, and store the extra drive externally. This method does not come with supporting software, and it is not cheaper than just buying a brand new drive.