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Hard Drives ExternalExternal hard drives can come in different sizes and shapes. You can also connect them by USB and Firewire. Speeds are not as important as internal hard drives since you will rarely use an operating system on an external hard drive. Many of the same manufacturers that make internal hard drives also offer external hard drives. Sometimes this can mean just putting an existing internal hard drive model into an enclosure for attaching as an external hard drive. External hard drives have become very popular since it's an easy and cheap way to add a lot of storage to any computer, especially laptops. Most laptops don't offer large hard drives out of the box due to cost, weight, and size. So attaching an external hard drive can offer a tremendous increase in storage space. Some people want to have a stationary unit while others may have an interest in carrying the external hard drive with a laptop or maybe between office and home. Depending on your particular needs, there are different models to fit most scenarios. Storage capacities have increased in recent years on both desktop and portable style external hard drives. The most popular size for the desktop units is 1 TB (terabyte, which is 1000 gigabytes) and the portable models of 320 GB and 640GB are the best selling units. Desktop units go for around $80 and the portables are around $100. Best Selling Desktop Models The
Western Digital WD Elements USB 2.0 external hard drive is a great
value, it weighs about
2.2 lbs and is 7 x 4.9 x 1.4 inches (about the size of 5 X 7 photo that
is an inch thick). This model is pretty much plug and play, and costs around
$80 at most retail stores. The enclosure is pretty basic and won't win
any design awards but has a rock solid reputation. You can learn more about specs and read
customer reviews here: Western Digital WD Elements The
Iomega Prestige 1TB External Hard Drive is slightly larger at 4.4 x
6.1 x 8.9 inches. With 7200 RPM speed and an 8MB cache buffer this hard
drive is fast. This provides performance that results in fast access
speeds and low latency and is only limited by transfer speed of USB
connection. It also has a nice looking burnished aluminum finish and
runs around $90. You can learn more about specs and read
customer reviews here: Iomega Prestige 1 TB Best Selling Transportable Models The
Seagate Expansion 640 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive is
powered by the USB connection so has no need for separate power supply.
It weighs just 5.6 ounces and is about 5.6 inches by 3 inches and less
than an inch thick. It has built in power management so it's Green all
the way and retails for around $110. You can learn more about specs and read
customer reviews here: Seagate Expansion 640 GB The
Toshiba 640 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Dive is also powered
by the USB connection and weighs in at 6 ounces. It's about 5 inches by
3 inches and less than an inch thick so it's very portable. It has shock
sensor and ramp loading technology that provides extra protection
against damage. and retails for around $98. You can learn more about specs and read
customer reviews here: Toshiba 640 GB Software Included: By most people's remarks in the many reviews, the free backup software included with most hard drives is pretty bad. Between using proprietary compression methods that can damage files to taking twice as long to do regular backups, no one seems happy with any of the software. I would have to agree based on my own experiences. You can check our Backup Hard Drives web page to find some excellent free or very low cost backup software. Warranties: All of the hard drives external models come with at least a one year warranty, the Toshiba models have 3 years. I don't pay too much attention to warranties on hard drives. Having made a claim once it was a long and difficult process and I got a refurbished hard drive after about 3 months of emails and calls. Hard drive quality control is somewhat hap hazard and I've found that they usually go within a month if they are going to fail and that is often covered by retail outlet. The bottom line on picking the best unit for you is to look at the amount of data you need to store or backup. Then look at the features as far as power, speed, and capacity. Stick with the major brands if your budget allows and remember that the mean failure on any hard drive seems to be 3-5 years so you might want to replace any unit within that time period to play it safe. |
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