What type external hard drive

Solid-state drives provide the speedy responses that gamers require, but that speed comes at a steeper price. Like the rest of your computer setup, choosing an external hard drive depends on your needs. These days, that may not be enough for what you need. Standard hard drives provide a plethora of storage for all of your needs, but they rely on slower data transfer speeds.

And if there are multiple people working on a project or if you need to access the storage space from multiple computer spaces, a network-attached storage device, or NAS device, would be a better choice, as it will deliver files to your local network and can be accessed remotely. Greengart also recommended this kind of external hard drive for storing videos.

While it may not make sense to purchase an external hard drive with a USB-Micro A, older computers and laptops may require this kind of connection — or a general USB-A connection — in order to function. This kind of connection also affects the speed of the hard drive. Some devices will provide encryption and other security measures for peace of mind. Others will simply offer password protection, which is still a way to ease security concerns. This one is the most widespread because it runs on most Windows applications, and Windows users will be pleased by its ease of use.

Why create a backup? To ensure that all your vital information is safe and secure, no matter what happens to your computer or internet connection. Send everything to an external drive and use the cloud as a secondary source. But with tons of options now available, where do you start? Read on to find out how to choose an external drive for better peace of mind. Arguably the most essential specification to consider when buying an external drive is storage space.

While the largest of those can stretch up to 2TB of storage space, they get costly and are unnecessarily big for simple transfers. You can get drives with double the storage for not much more.

A 1TB drive should suit most needs for the foreseeable future. Still, if you envision storing hundreds of movies — maybe you ripped your DVD collection — or just never want to run out of space, there are drives available today that offer multiple terabytes of space. We talk more in-depth about the differences between the two in a separate article and below where it affects specs.

Still, essentially they are two different ways of storing and accessing data. HDDs hard drive disk use spinning magnetic disks to store data. SSDs solid-state drives use tiny gate transistors in cells that can flip on or off based on electric pulses.

They have no moving parts, hence the name. HDDs are cheaper, but also larger, slower, and more easily damaged. Transfer speed is incredibly important. Two main factors play a role in how fast your drive can operate: The underlying storage technology and the connector it uses. With those caveats noted, our current top picks for the best external hard disk drive and external solid-state drive are below.

These or nearly identical models with less storage capacity have been used or anecdotally tested by CNET editors. We'll update our list of the best external hard drives and SSDs as we test new products. I like the design of this model a little better and it's technically ruggedized with an IP55 rating, meaning it can withstand a sustained spray of water. It's also shock-resistant and has a USB-C interface.

The cheaper "older" version has transfer speeds up to MBps while the next-gen version nearly doubles that speed with up to 1,MBps just over 1GB per second and only costs slightly more for the 1TB version.

Your speed will vary if you're moving a mishmash of files to or from the USB drive, but when copying a single large file you should be able to get close to those fast transfer speeds. It gives you portable storage for your coveted game collection. This external drive also comes with a digital code that gives you one month of Microsoft's Game Pass Ultimate if you're a new subscriber.

There's also a standard version of the portable hard drive, which also works with PCs and the PS4 for slightly less it's missing the Xbox branding but is otherwise the same drive. The portable drive can deliver speeds up to MBps. But you might as well spend the extra dough and get 4TB for this portable external hard drive. The PS5 has the same restriction -- you can only store full PS4 games on external drives.

The firm went above and beyond to protect HDD internals with a silicone casing, triple-layered construction and vibration sensing technology so it can withstand falls from 1.

We reviewed the earlier models when they were more expensive and less attractive, here. The firm provides this model in four colours which makes separating projects by color-coded drives a breeze, believe me you don't want labels in an outdoors environment.

It's "wrap-around" system means the cable is always with the drive so it doesn't tangle or get in the way. Super useful when taking the drive with you in a backpack. With an aluminum enclosure that ensures durability while providing great heat dissipation and a very portable size plus super fast speeds the aptly named Rocket leaves little reasons not to choose it. It is available in capacities of up to 16TB and with your choice of flash memory type. It supports the latest fastest standards like Thunderbolt plus you don't need to mess with ports as it's got only one: a USB-C connector in the back that automatically switches between TB3 and USB 3.

If however you connect it to a computer with a USB 3. The performance of flash based storage also depends on the kind of flash memory used: QLC flash memory is best suited to read-intensive workloads, while TLC flash memory is best suited to write-intensive workloads.

Sabrent wisely offers this drive in both QLC and TLC versions, letting you decide based on your work and usage requirements. It boasts an integrated temperature and health monitoring system that should prevent it from getting too hot. Something that worried owners of its "Nano" sibling.

Water-resistant and shock-proof, the MiniStation Extreme NFC from Buffalo isn't indestructible, but it's a nice change from some of the dangerously flimsy external hard drives available.

The rugged chassis stores a 2. It won't survive being dropped out of a window, but it'll be fine being knocked off a table. The IP5X certification means it is almost dust-proof, and the IPX3 certification means it can handle a water spray at up to a degree angle. A key feature is its bit AES encryption with near-field communication NFC capability, allowing it to be unlocked with a simple touch of a smartphone. Mode switching takes less than a minute and the drive must be reformatted after that.

Read the full review: Buffalo MiniStation Extreme. While cloud storage is convenient, your data is at the mercy of your wallet. If you stop paying, your cloud account is gone and your data sinks into oblivion with it.

The solution is to make a hard drive sitting at your premises its own cloud-accessible server. Western Digital is no newcomer to this field, we reviewed one eight years ago. The latest iteration has the same vertical format, but with a minimalistic and stylish design that combines white and some textured silver at the bottom.

It has great internal air flow thanks to ample vents at the top and bottom of the case. At its rear panel you will find a 5Gbps USB 3. Setup is as simple as plugging the power adapter, connecting the included network cable to the RJ45 socket and to your broadband router.

You can also access its contents by loading mycloud. With a single internal hard drive, it has no redundancy. WD's two-year worldwide warranty is the cherry at the top. It's not a shipping container but it looks like one, a black rectangle with ribbed sides and hex screws.

In includes the familiar small activity LED of many external drives. It features a USB 3. A inch What sets this drive apart aside from the gaming aesthetics is its total compatibility.

Inside it there's a 2.