External Hard Drive Buying Guide

Types of external hard drives

External hard drives come in large desktop models that contain a magnetic disk for storing data, and small “thumb drives” that store data in solid state on flash memory. If you own an iPod or MP3 player, you’ve already got an external hard drive.

Prices have dropped dramatically on solid state external hard drives in recent years, with 1GB thumb drives available for as little as $40. These external hard drives are excellent for carrying data from home to the office or for sharing with colleagues. These small external hard drives connect via a built-in USB port and work with Mac and Windows machines. All you do is plug them in and they’re ready to go.

Thumb drive advances

As external hard drives have gotten smaller, they’ve started to turn up in unusual places. One of the more popular models is a Swiss Army knife. External hard drives with built-in music players and biometric sensors to keep your data safe are also available.

When shopping for a thumb external hard drive, think about how much storage capacity you need, as this is the greatest influence on price. Additional features, such as built-in music players, fingerprint sensors to keep your data safe, and improved shock and water resistance will also add to the cost.

External hard drives with 1GB or more of storage capacity draw more power than low-capacity thumb drives. In general, these external hard drives need to be plugged straight into a PC’s USB ports or a powered USB hub, something to consider if USB space is at a premium. Mac users should note that while external hard drives are plug and play, the Mac OS does not like to have external hard drives removed before you eject them from the desktop. Simply pulling out an external hard drive can corrupt the most recent data transfer.

Almost every external hard drive supports the faster USB 2.0 connection, which can transfer data at around 30MB per second. Unless you’re transferring a lot of very large files, you won’t notice the increased speed, and you may still be able to find older USB thumb drives at steep discounts.

High-capacity external hard drives

Larger external hard drives can store up to 1.5 terabytes of data, but most users will find that it takes years just to fill a 250GB drive. These external hard drives are self-enclosed magnetic disks with a metal case that disperses the heat generated by the drive.

As with thumb drives, the biggest factor in external hard drive pricing is storage space. The more capacity, the more you pay. If you work with large video or multimedia files or you need an external hard drive to back up your PC for security, you’ll need a larger drive. If you want to save photos, documents, and music, you won’t need as much external hard drive space.

RPM and Connectivity. External hard drives can load files and run applications almost as quickly as an internal drive, but there are limitations. The first consideration is the external hard drive’s speed, which is rated in RPMs. A 7,200 RPM external hard drive is faster than a 5,400 RPM model, but only if you have the right connections.

Almost every external hard drive has a USB connection. If you’re storing music or documents on the external hard drive, you’ll never have performance problems with USB. If you’re dealing with large multimedia files or running complex applications, you’ll want a drive with FireWire or SATA connections, which are better suited to fast data transfer.

Some external hard drives include backup software that let you save the contents of your PC’s hard drive at the push of a button. At the highest end are dual-disk external hard drives built for video editing that deliver the fastest data transfer speeds available.

Partitioning

Searching the contents of a 250GB external hard drive can be taxing for many PCs. If you buy a high-capacity external hard drive, it’s a good idea to partition it into segments of 50 to 80GB. Partitioning assigns identities to each section of an external hard drive, such as F:, G:, and H:, which speeds searching and data transfer. It also limits disk fragmentation, which occurs when data is stored in several unconnected sections of the external hard drive.

Digital photo drives

The growth of digital photography has encouraged the development of specialized photo external hard drives ranging from basic USB powered models to high-capacity external hard drives with FireWire ports. High-end external hard drives are packed with features for professional photographers and have far more capacity than most families need.

If you’re saving photos of family and friends, look for an external hard drive with 160-250GB of space and a USB connection. Some of these external hard drives include built-in LCD screens, so you can preview photos, and inkjet printers. These external hard drives are meant to be all-in-one photo centers, so they’re not ideal for PC backups, but they can be used for documents, music, or other files you wish to save.

If you’re considering an external hard drive for photos, remember that LCD screens and faster connections will add considerably to the drive’s cost. For all-in-one photo external hard drives, consider the cost of ink cartridge replacement over the next three to five years to determine the lifetime cost of the drive.

Need to know more?

• USB Hard Drives
  http://www.prontotech.com/external-hard-drives-9t4ab
• PC Magazine Guide: External Hard Drives
  http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2130259,00.asp
• USB Flash Drives
  http://www.thetravelinsider.info/roadwarriorcontent/usbflashdrive.htm
• Photo Library Storage
  http://www.pcphotomag.com/gear/photography-tools/big-storage.html