Storage devices using desktop based components are likely to be the quickest but only when matched with an equally capable interface for even faster performance, some manufacturers like LaCie, even allow two hard disk drives to be configured in RAID-0 mode which should significantly boost performance.
BEST PORTABLE HARD DRIVES FOR WINDOWS 10 PORTABLE
Your budgetĮxternal hard disk drives are slightly more expensive than their internal counterparts and your allocated budget will help you decide whether you should go for a desktop bound solution or for a more portable one.Īll in all, the cheapest external hard disk drive solution costs under $30/£30 while the most expensive 16TB external drives currently on the market is available for around $350/£330.
BEST PORTABLE HARD DRIVES FOR WINDOWS 10 MAC
Firewire is often relegated to niche and high end platforms like content creation but offers the best performance of the three as well as superb compatibility with the Mac environment. USB 2.0, as well as its faster cousin USB 3.0, are by far the most prevalent versions and offer great transfer speeds as well as quasi-universal compatibility.ĮSATA is the newest kid in town and offers improved performance and consumes less resources than USB. There are currently three major connections on the market – eSATA, USB and Firewire. Which drive will you be going for? Which of your files are the most important to backup? How often will you be backing up crucial files? Let us know.If portability is a priority then you may want to opt for a flash drive. This can’t compete with more basic drives in terms of GB per dollar, but it offers far more advanced security and durability features. In the event of your drive enclosure becoming physically damaged, ioSafe will help you recover any data from it at no additional cost. This drive, in addition to a 1-year warranty, also includes 1 year of data recovery service. You can also physically protect this drive by bolting it down to any surface, helping to protect it from theft. It is also rated as waterproof, so any kind of spillage, or if the drive gets submerged, will not destroy your computer backup. If you have important files that you want to protect even against domestic fires, this drive is an option that provides an extra layer of protection that regular drives will not. IoSafe said that this drive is fireproof, and can withstand heats of up to 1550☏ for half an hour. This is a far more robust and durable drive, for anyone who wants to have the ultimate peace of mind, or who is dealing with extremely sensitive or valuable files. Keeping a hard drive connected will protect you from technical faults preventing you from accessing files that would otherwise only be saved on your computer, or storing the hard drive in a separate location can protect you from losing those files in the event of a burglary or fire.Ĭloud backups are one option, but you can’t match the security of having physical control of access to those files since cloud backups can and do get compromised in cases where hackers have been able to gain unauthorized access to your account. You can keep it connected for regular backups, or for the most sensitive data you can connect it to perform a backup, and then easily take it to a remote location or a safe. Whether it’s family photos and videos, creative projects, financial records, work documents or other important personal files, we keep more and more of our crucially important files on our computers, and to ensure those files are properly protected, it’s an extremely good idea to have some kind of external backup for those files.Īn external USB hard drive is one of the quickest and most secure ways of storing your files away from your computer.