Adding an external hard drive to your computer is a fantastic way of giving yourself somewhere to store your most valuable files or a way of taking some extra storage space wherever you go. However, before you buy one you need to bear in mind that they often have to suffer a lot more bumps, bangs and overheating problems than the main hard drive in your PC.
Because of this, it makes sense to look at getting the best possible deal you can. This usually means trying to find a way of combining size, storage room and durability with a decent price. Thankfully there are a few models around which meet this demanding list of criteria.
Freecom Sq
This is quite possibly the slimmest external hard drive you will come across, as it measures up at just over 10mm, and it weighs less than 200 grams into the bargain. Despite these modest dimensions the Freecom Sq model gives you 500GB, while a slightly bigger version allows for 1TB. The price is also rather reasonable, so the only question we need to ask is whether there is a drawback with this device. Well, it isn’t the fastest around, although it isn’t the slowest by any means. If you want a hard drive which is incredibly easy to carry around and doesn’t break the bank then this one is worth looking at.
Western Digital My Passport Studio
For a slightly higher price than the first model we looked at you could get a whopping 1TB of storage space with this portable drive. The design offers a lot of style and durability but there is a catch which comes with this. The sturdiness of the drive means that it weighs a bit more than many of its rivals. It weighs in at well over 300 grams and would perhaps be best suited to someone who wants a reliable and good looking device which they aren’t planning on moving around that much.
Buffalo MiniStation Extreme
The choice here is between a 500GB model and a 1TB one. It looks good in a smooth black finish and includes very handy 256 bit encryption to keep your data as secure as possible. The price is similar to the last one we looked at and the big plus point here is the sturdiness of the device. It can stand up to being dropped from over 2 metres and while this results in a fairly chunky look that is a small price to pay. If you carry around data which you simply can’t afford to lose then this is a good way of making sure that it stays safe. The read and write speeds are also pretty good, and overall it is a sound product.
There are a number of other rivals to these which are also worth taking a look at. The most important thing is to remember what issues are of most concern to you. This should be pretty clear if you just consider whether you are going to be moving the drive around a lot and how essential the data you plan to store on it is.