External Hard Drive Review

In this digitized day and age, external hard drives have become a staple in most electronic repertoires. Such drives are ideal for creating data backups, storing large multimedia files and adding extra storage capacity to any computer. While external hard drives come in all shapes and sizes, portable hard drives are typically small, compact drives with storage capacities of 500GB or less. On the other hand, desktop external hard drives are larger in both size and storage capacity and (as the name implies) designed to sit fixed on a desktop. Pocket-sized portable drives boast convenience and mobility, allowing users to store and access information without the limitations of a desktop hard drive, fixed computer or limited-capacity flash drive. From college students to corporate professionals, anyone can use these drives for on-the-go or multi-computer access to specific documents and files.

External Hard Drives: What to Look For

The market is saturated with portable external hard drives. While all will adequately store and transfer data, there are important differences in design, performance and features that differentiate superior mobile drives from the mediocre ones. We've established high-level rating criteria to discover the best drives money can buy and have outlined the criteria below. The best portable hard drives on the market are the Western Digital My Passport Essential, Clickfree C2N and Transcend StoreJet 25M3. For more information on these devices, peruse our articles on external hard drives.

Performance
Performance entails the transfer speed and storage capacity of each drive – essentially the specifications that determine the overall capability and operation of the drive. Transfer speed refers to the rate at which data is transferred to and from the drive and is usually expressed in megabytes per second (MBps) or gigabytes per second (GBps). While comparable drives have similar (maximum) transfer speeds, actual transfer speed can often fluctuate, depending on the size of the files being transferred. Storage capacity refers to the maximum amount of data (expressed in gigabytes) the drive can hold. We focused on models with a storage capacity of 500GB; however, most of the products in our lineup are available in different storage capacities ranging from 120GB to 640GB.

Design
The physical design of a pocket-sized drive is just as important as its storage space and transfer speed. Built for portability and convenience, portable drives should be durable yet compact and lightweight. As such, we assessed the weight, dimensions and casing material of each drive in our lineup. Additionally, we looked for bus-powered drives, meaning they are powered through the same cable that provides data transfer and do not require a supplementary power supply.

Another important factor that falls under design is the interface connectivity of each USB hard drive. Interface connectivity is defined as the method or specification used to establish communication between devices and a computer. Most drives have a USB (2.0 or 3.0) interface and connect to a computer via USB cable. Other less common interfaces include FireWire and eSATA.

Features
While performance and design may be the top priorities, available features are still something to consider. Perhaps most important are any security features the drive boasts; mobile drives are inherently more susceptible to theft and being lost than desktop external drives. Subsequently, we sought portable drives with data encryption and password protection. We also looked for any additional features that enhance the usability of a drive, including backup software, drop protection and plug-and-play operation.

Help & Support
The best external hard drives are those that come with beneficial, comprehensive help and support options offered by the manufacturer. Most important is the warranty on each drive; a lengthy warranty (two years or more) that protects against manufacturing defects is ideal. Additionally, we looked for what type of troubleshooting support and customer service options were available through the manufacturer's website.

The search for the right USB hard drive isn't easy, but our side-by-side comparison and exhaustive reviews can help make the buying process a little easier. Our top 10 portable external hard drives make transferring and storing information a cinch with reliable performance, innovative features and creative, durable design.

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