Top 8 – Best external hard drive

The simplest and most affordable way to increase your storage capacity is using the best external hard drive, whether you need more room for a growing video library or to back up your computer. Because portable drives, such as the Western Digital My Passport Ultra (5 TB), must be connected to your computer via a single USB connection, they are easy to use and take around with a laptop. Desktop drives are better suited for regular file work rather than sporadic access or backups since they typically run quicker and require a USB cable and a power outlet.

Best external hard drive

For space enthusiasts, the finest external hard drives are essential for the safe backup and preservation of various digital information, such as astrophotography, Astro video, and other data.

All creatives, including photographers, videographers, and content producers, understand how crucial data backup is. Anything might occur, including thefts, device malfunctions, and cyber attacks.

Many individuals are moving from offline to online backups as cloud storage has rapidly become more widely available, reasonably priced, and dependable. Nevertheless, those who work with big volumes of data, such as astronomers and skywatchers who image the night sky, continue to have a strong need for portable data storage and backup.

There is a wide selection of the best external hard drive, and portable hard disks available. To save you the trouble, we’ve sifted through the top options and put up this helpful guide.

We’ve highlighted bigger desktop hard drives, keychain-compatible portable drives, and safe versions that are either almost unbreakable or come with encryption and password security.

As well as hard drives, we provide guides for a myriad of devices, from the best cameras, best telescopes, and best binoculars to lights and power banks.

What is the Significance of buying the best external hard drive?

We put a lot of effort into taking pictures as photographers. You could have taken hundreds of pictures on a once-in-a-lifetime trip overseas, or you might take headshots, portraits, and fashion photos for clients daily. Making a backup of your photos is essential to avoiding an unplanned loss of your productivity.

Because computers are not infallible, you could ultimately get into a situation where your hard drive fails, you drop your laptop completely over the side of a boat, or anything unforeseen ends up erasing all of your data. It takes place.

However, having a backup of your work can reassure you that any unintentional loss of your photographs will be prevented.

As creatives, we must acknowledge that in the digital age, our work is vulnerable to loss, corruption, and other forms of harm. We face the danger of losing all we have stored since laptops and computers don’t endure forever.

An external hard disk can be used for business backups. A safe place to save extra copies of significant images, films, music projects, or any other material we want to keep secure. Having two copies of projects and files on hand is always a smart idea, especially when working on client work.

The best external hard drive is a crucial part of any digital workstation since it serves as our workstation’s backup drive and overflow storage for programs.

How to choose the best external hard drive

Before searching for the best external hard drive, there are a few important aspects to consider. It’s easy sailing from here on if you’ve made it past the desktop vs. portable hard drive dilemma! Many of the questions that come up when looking for the ideal hard drive should be answered by you, but here are some crucial factors to consider.

Capacity of Storage

The most crucial consideration for the majority of consumers when buying an external hard drive is its storage capacity and price. Everything depends on how much data you need to back up and how much extra space you want to have.

Remember that HDDs can offer bigger capacity for less money, whereas SSDs typically peak around 4TB and can be rather pricey.

Features of Security

On our external hard drive, we occasionally keep private data. Drives may include built-in security software, such as fingerprint or password protection, to safeguard that data. If you think you might need them, keep a look out for sophisticated security features like hardware and software encryption.

Suitable for Your System

The majority of hard drives arrive preformatted for a particular operating system. Fortunately, a disk may be reformatted to function properly on your system using either Disk Management (Windows) or Disk Utility (Mac).
Finding a drive that is specifically compatible with your computer is the best option, though, if you want to limit any potential problems and prevent the legwork.

Compatibility with gaming

Over time, games have grown significantly in size, and buying a hard drive to supplement your system’s internal storage has become customary.

To perform effectively under certain circumstances, several hard drive manufacturers provide hard drives designed specifically for consoles or gaming. If you are searching for a drive to increase the storage capacity of your console, look for that logo.

Best external hard drive

Western Digital My Book

You likely need cheap, large storage to accommodate everything if you’re hooked to downloading movies and buying every game you can find online. The Western Digital My Book (8TB) is available for $249.99 and can store millions of MP3 songs or hundreds of hours of video.

Its backward compatibility with both older and newer Macs and Windows PCs is a benefit given the ongoing changes in USB standards. Given its excellent balance of features, cost, and capacity, it is an obvious choice for our most recent Editors’ Pick for desktop external hard drives.

SanDisk Extreme

For those looking for a tiny, high-performance portable SSD that can withstand bumps and vibrations and is sealed against water and dust with an IP55 rating, the SanDisk Extreme is the best external hard drive option.

It would be glad to be used “out in the field,” so there’s no need to fear if you find yourself in bad weather. And it can fit in your back pocket because it is smaller than the majority of smartphones. It also has a lanyard attachment point.

Most importantly, it is dependable and has quick write rates, which make it the ideal partner for demanding tasks like editing 4K video or high-resolution pictures.

Your workflow will be improved by the quickness because there won’t be any latency when transferring or editing data. It comes in three colors—Monterey, Sky Blue, and Black—and four capacities—500GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB. A three-year warranty is also included.

Top External SSD with 10Gbps Speed & best external hard drive: Crucial X9 Pro

Even though 20Gbps USB drive performance is more expensive, not everyone wants it. Most users should find the Crucial X9 to be a tempting combination of top-notch performance and cost.

It shared top ratings in our benchmark testing with the SK Hynix Beetle, which is our choice for runner-up below, but at a far cheaper price. Making it a clear-cut win-win situation for customers.

It’s also quite attractive. More significantly, you won’t need to take care of this portable drive when you take it out because it seems well-made and is rated for IP55 dust and spray protection.

One Touch Seagate

Though it lacks a waterproof grade like some versions, the Seagate One Touch is still the best external hard drive because it is a sturdy, shockproof storage device that you can carry in your luggage and not worry too much about. Its small size and light weight make it the perfect design for a minimalist.

Seagate Toolkit is a Windows and Mac-compatible program that facilitates planned and on-demand backups.

A 6-month Dropbox Backup subscription is included when you buy the Seagate One Touch, allowing you to back up the external hard drive to Dropbox for extra security. A six-month subscription to Mylio Photos+ is also included. There is also a USB-C and USB-C to A cable included.

SK Hynix Beetle X31 – Best external hard drive

The best 10Gbps external SSD runner-up is the SK Hynix Beetle X31. As previously mentioned, the SK Hynix Beetle X31 performs just as well as our top choice in the 10Gbps category, easily defeating the competition and winning an equal amount of our benchmarks.

However, the pricing is where SK Hynix falls short. Currently, the 1TB model costs around $13 more than the Crucial X9.

It’s also got more glitter. Peep that gold scarab-inspired exterior. It will look great on any desk, which may be worth the extra money for certain customers.

Gamers’ Seagate FireCuda Hub – Best external hard drive

Designed with gamers in mind, the FireCuda is a straightforward desktop hard drive with RGB LED illumination that can be customized to match bespoke workstations or gaming settings. With its four tiny rubber feet, it may be positioned in any direction to protect your surfaces, both vertically and horizontally.

In addition to allowing for faster game loads, the high spin speed boosts productivity for creative professionals like photographers and video editors by facilitating the rapid transport and manipulation of huge data.

While the Seagate FireCuda Gaming Hub isn’t as quick as most external SSDs, it is still rather quick for a spinning external hard drive, and its enormous capacity more than makes up for it.

Crucial X6 Portable SSD

The best affordable 10Gbps external SSD and the best external hard drive is the Crucial X6 Portable SSD (2TB).
You may find Huey Lewis on the Crucial X6 Portable SSD, which is stylish and trendy. Or, anyhow, tucked inside your hip pocket. The tiny, rounded-edge X6 is a breath of comfort amid a sea of portable SSDs whose form and occasionally sharp edges make them a literal pain when located in your shirt or pants.

Although it’s not ultra-speed, it’s still rather reasonable and fast enough for most people.

SSD Envoy Pro Elektron from OWC

OWC drives are the ideal option if you require a drive that can withstand being dropped into hard surfaces, being wet, or fitting into a backpack or camera bag. Although there are many good possibilities, it’s difficult to choose a winner in this case.

However, in benchmark testing, OWC’s Elektron drive just barely defeated its rivals. Another feature I appreciate is that the metal enclosure can be easily unscrewed to replace the drive. This means that in two years, you may replace the Elektron’s disk with a faster naked SSD.

For those seeking a drive with greater capacity, both in terms of size and storage, OWC’s Envoy Pro FX, priced at $250 for 1 TB, is an excellent option. It is even speedier and available in capacities of up to 4 TB but for $480.

Although it costs $300, the 2-TB model is plenty for most users. It is certified IP67 and is drop-proof to some extent.

Be wary of any claims of “military standard”—no independent testing has been conducted, which is not meant as a slight on OWC—since other manufacturers of “rugged” drives make similar claims. The thing that most amazed me about this drive, though, is how exceptionally cool it remains—even when editing 4K video footage directly from the disk.

FAQ | Best external hard drive

Which is superior, HDD or SSD?

Solid state drives (SSDs) outperform hard disk drives (HDDs) in terms of speed, durability, and data storage capacity. Because of this, all external drives produced nowadays are SSDs.

How do I create an external hard drive backup of my computer?

Go to Start then File History (Windows 11) or Backup settings (Windows 10), and choose Add a disk to make an external PC backup. Time Machine may be used to create a Mac backup.

How can I make an external hard disk backup of my iPhone?

Go to Finder then Locations, now choose your iPhone, and click Manage Backups on your Mac to create an external disk backup of your iPhone. Select a backup, choose Show in Finder, and then drag the backup file into Locations to the external device.

In what way can I externalize an internal hard drive?

Installing an external enclosure over an internal hard drive allows it to become external. After that, you may connect it to a computer and set it up by following the plug-and-play directions.