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In today’s digital and social media world, we need huge storage space to store our data. External devices offer good possibilities for data portability and backup of our computer’s data.
We are all digitally connected and focused on the desktop or laptop. We use computers for communication, sharing photos, videos, editing documents, project activities, professional activities, and more. All this data is stored on the internal or external hard drive of a laptop or desktop computer.
In other words, the hard drive is the component where all the data is stored. Unfortunately, this device is limited in space, and if you frequently use all the applications and software of your computer, sooner or later, you will most likely run out of space. External hard drives are used in such situations.
External hard drives are portable, let you back up data from your computer, and you can take them with you wherever you go with the data loaded.
Benefits of using external hard drives
Whether you use your computer for personal or professional use, you will need an external hard drive for the following reasons:
#1. Data portability
The main purpose of an external device is to store data.
You can even connect smartphones, tablets, and other devices, transfer your data, and store it on external devices. Technically, when your internal hard drive is almost full, your system slows down, and that’s because the processor uses space to store temporary files for reading (this is called cache).
So if the CPU doesn’t find enough space, the reading process will slow down, thereby lowering the performance of your entire computer. In such cases, the user transfers the old data to the external device and makes space on the internal device
#2. Security
One of the benefits of external devices is that they can be used as security devices to store personal information. To protect personal information such as financial data or sensitive information, content may be transferred to an external device, and the device may be stored in a secure place.
Whenever you want to access this data, you can connect your device to your computer and retrieve the information.
#3. Faster Data sharing
No matter how fast your Internet or intranet is, large amounts of data transferred over the network take time. One method of transferring large amounts of data is connecting an external device to a computer, copying the data, and physically transferring the device and retrieving the data.
It also helps avoid network congestion or high bandwidth usage. The latest external drives are equipped with high-speed connections such as USB 3.0, USB 3.2, and Thunderbolt, which significantly boost the transmission speed.
#4. Intensive applications
Modern computer games, high-end applications, high-end computing activities such as video creation and editing, film screenings, advanced simulations, etc., require more graphic detail, and the system takes up a lot of space on your hard drive.
In such a scenario, the external device plays a key role in storing data, files, and other information, which will take up a lot of space on the internal drive.
If you are a dedicated computer gamer and your hard drive is full of games, an external hard drive for storing games will make things easier. External hard drives can improve your gaming performance.
Let’s look at the features review of the top 10 Internal and External Drives in the following section.
Seagate Portable 2TB HDD
This Seagate external drive is designed to work with Windows and Mac computers. It has a USB 3.0 port for faster storing and retrieving of data. It can easily store 2 terabytes of content, and its can plug n play feature easily connects to the system without any installation of the software.
Integrated and user-friendly software helps you plan automatic backups. Its drag and drop compatibility allows the user to store and transfer the data with simple mouse clicks. It is compatible with PS4 and other game consoles.
The device comes with one year of data recovery service in case you accidentally lose your data.
WD 2TB Elements HDD
This Western Digital external drive offers high-capacity storage and high-speed data transfer rates. It supports the latest USB 3.0 devices and also provides backward compatibility with USB 2.0.
The drive is known for its durability, impact resistance, and long-term reliability. The device will be formatted with the NTFS file system for Windows 8.1 and 10. If you are using another operating system, you will need to format the device.
Seagate Portable 5TB HDD
The Seagate Portable External Hard Drive is one of the most versatile devices designed to support PC, Mac, PS4, and Xboxes. This massive 5TB device is plug and play, just plug it into the device, and the firmware will automatically detect and install it.
It integrates with USB 3.0 for faster read/write operations and offers personalized folder backup and mirroring. The automatic sync and drag-and-drop capabilities make this drive suitable for all types of users for both personal and professional use.
Toshiba Canvio Basics 2TB HDD
The Toshiba Canvio Basics is slim, compact, and portable. It fits in a pocket or small pouch and can store data, music, movies, and photos.
The exterior of the device has a matt and smudge-resistant surface. The Canvio toolkit makes it easy and convenient to manage files and folders with a simple drag-and-drop function.
The device comes in the NTFS format that Windows computers support. If you want to use the Mac operating system, you will have to reformat it. This device is equipped with USB 3.2 Gen 1, which supports ultra-fast data transfer up to 5 Gbit/s.
SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable SSD
This 1TB Scandisk SSD is convenient to travel with because it is equipped with a durable silicone case that enhances the protection of the outer part of the drive. You don’t have to worry about the drive being damaged in unknown incidents as the device is drop protected (up to 2 meters) and has water and dust resistance.
In addition, the device comes with a 5-year limited warranty.
This device is equipped with the latest USB 3.2 Gen 2 port that supports data transfer rates of up to 10 Gbps. Also compatible with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports.
This SSD runs at a read speed of 1050 MB/s and a write speed of 1000 MB/s, one of the highest in this category. To protect data and files, the device is equipped with 256-bit AES hardware encryption.
Samsung 870 QVO SATA SSD 2TB
Samsung SSD is built using innovative Multi-Stage-Cell (MLC) technology that delivers undisputed performance, reliability, and compatibility. The device offers a consistent performance of up to 560 MB/s for reading and 530 MB/s for writing.
It is ideal for all types of users, including home users, IT professionals, or everyday users, as it is compatible with major chipsets, motherboards, network storage, and applications.
The SSD comes with a 3-year warranty, and its reliability can be increased up to 720 TBW (terabytes recorded). The device is integrated with the “Samsung Magician software,” which helps manage the device with the latest updates and monitor the health and condition of the device.
Seagate BarraCuda 2TB Internal HDD
Seagate 2TB lets you save music to video for photo editing and computer gaming. It also speeds up computations by 6 Gbps at 7200 RPM with a 256 MB cache.
Seagate has been manufacturing hard drives for the last 20 years. It is a device built using multilayer caching (MTC) technology. Read and write performance is enhanced by the latest cache technologies, including NAND flash and DRAM.
This Barracuda device comes with Seagate’s DiscWizard software, which allows adding new devices, partitioning, cloning, data transfer, archiving, and more.
Crucial MX500 1TB SATA Internal SSD
The crucial internal SSD is an award-winning drive. This 2.5-inch device uses dynamic recording acceleration technology, which creates incredible speed and starts your system in seconds, loads files fast, and improves application performance.
This SSD drive is 45 times more energy-efficient than a regular hard drive. The data content is protected by built-in immunity against power failure and is protected against unexpected power failures.
This Micron 3D NAND improves device efficiency from start to finish with minimal power consumption and offers a high price-performance ratio. Read/write speeds of up to 560/510 MB/s and transfer speeds of 6 Gbit/s.
WD 500GB Blue 3D NAND Internal SSD
If you are looking for an SSD device for your high computing needs, this internal WD SSD Blue offers speed and enhanced reliability with higher capacity.
It is designed to ensure high security of the stored data by testing it with 1.75 million hours MTTF (average time to failure) and up to 600 TBW (terabytes recorded) and multiple error correction technologies.
The device is certified by the Laboratory for Functional Integrity Testing for compatibility with a wide range of desktops and laptops. The design is slim and shock-resistant, and you can work longer hours without charging your laptop because it draws 25% less power than the previous generation WD devices.
Its free Acronis software can be used to monitor the status of your devices, such as operating temperature and other attributes.
Kingston 480GB A400 SATA Internal SSD
The Kingston 480GB SSD is powered by a state-of-the-art controller for reading and write speeds of up to 500MB/s and 450MB/s. The operation of this SSD is 10 times faster than a traditional HDD, resulting in ultra-high multitasking and an overall increase in performance.
The unique 7mm form factor makes it suitable for a wider range of systems, especially laptops with limited space. It is shock and vibration resistant for uneven use, especially for mobile computing devices.
Difference between HDD (Hard disk drive) and SSD (solid-state drive)
If you’re looking to replace your fast filling drive and aren’t sure which one to buy, this section highlights the differences between a traditional hard drive (HDD) and an SSD:
General difference: Traditional hard drives have mechanical parts such as platters and heads that are used to store and access data. This method is slower, less efficient, and less expensive.
SSDs use memory chips to store and access data. It is the latest technology, and it is faster than the traditional one. Although these devices are expensive, they are more efficient than regular HDDs.
Read/Write Functions: HDD read/write tasks take 30-150 MB per second (MB/s), while the same process takes about 500 MB/s for normal SSDs and 3,000-3500 MB/s for new NVME SSDs.
4K data: 4K data is stored in blocks, HDD speed varies from 0.1 to 1.7 MB / s to access this data, while SSD and NVME-SSD speed from 50-250 MB / s to Use 4K read/write.
Lifespan: The higher the wear on parts, the shorter the drive life. Hard drives have mechanical parts that keep moving while data is recorded. SDDs store data evenly across all cells, and newer SSDs use bad block management, which replaces bad cells with new ones. In general, SSD life is much longer than HDD.
Price: Obviously SSD, comes after HDD at a premium. Even with the higher prices, consumers prefer to use SSDs because of the increased performance, high integrity, and data security.
We hope these factors will help you choose the right system for your system.
Conclusion 👨🏫
If you are looking for a device to store your old files and data and don’t want to spend a lot of money, you might prefer to buy an HDD. You get a great selection at an affordable price.
On the other hand, if you need to speed up system startup and want all your applications, programs, and data to be available faster, you can opt for an SSD. SSD significantly improves overall speed and performance.
If you are looking for more storage space and better performance, it will cost more, while hard drives, an older technology, are usually cheaper than SSDs but slower in terms of efficiency and performance.
Regardless of whether you are using an SSD or HDD, you should keep your device clean. Your operating system requires a lot of storage space to function, and a small amount of storage space can slow down your computer and even crash it.
