Best External Hard Drives: What you need to know

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But if you need some more information before narrowing making a final decision, this site can help.

Deciding which drive is right for you can be a daunting task even for the most tech savvy among us. It’s a challenge to wade through all those specs and data, let alone make sense of it.

To assist you even in your search, here is a synopsis of several excellent external hard drives along with reviews and ratings. Included are:

• Western Digital Elements 2TB
• The full line of WD My Passport external hard drives
• Western Digital My Book Essential 2TB
• Seagate FreeAgent series

Summary of the Best External Hard Drives

Compiling a “best of” list can be tricky. Think of any product… There are certain characteristics it must have to be considered a quality product while other characteristics are simply a matter of preference or need.

For example, a toaster that doesn’t brown the bread evenly on both sides would not make a “best of” list. But the number of slices that can be toasted at the same time is more a matter of preference or need. A large family might want a more expensive toaster that can toast 4-6 slices simultaneously while someone who lives alone or has limited space would think otherwise.

With that in mind, the information below is presented in such a way as to help guide you to an external hard drive that is deemed to be a quality drive, but one that also best suits your needs and preferences. Pros and cons are presented along with a “decide for yourself” category. Here, features are listed that some people would put in the “positive” category while others would lump them in the “negative”. You’ll be able to judge for yourself.

If you find enough information to help you make your final decision, you’ll find links to online retailers from which to buy the drive. If you need a little more information, you’ll also find links to other pages on this site and to external pages.

Bear in mind that this is not a “top 10 list” and the drives are presented in no particular order.

Basic specs

Here are basic specs for external hard drives covered on this site.

Best External Hard Drives
Drive	Type	Operating System	Capacity	Interface	Warranty
Western Digital Elements 2TB	Desktop	Windows/Mac	2 TB	USB 2.0	1 yr Limited
WD My Passport*	Portable	Windows/Mac	Various	USB 2.0/3.0 FireWire	2 yr Limited
Western Digital My Book Essential 2TB	Desktop	Windows/Mac	2 TB	USB 2.0/3.0	2 yr Limited

*The WD My Passport is a line of portable hard drives.

If you’re wondering about the Serial Bus Transfer Rates, they are as follows:

• USB 2.0 is 480 Mb/s (Max)
• USB 3.0 is 5 Gb/s (Max)
• FireWire is 800 Mb/s (Max)

Here is some more information on our choices for best external hard drives (for those interested):

Western Digital Elements 2TB

(Model #: WDBAAU0020HBK-NESN)

Pros

• Easy to set up (plug and play)
• Can be used with PCs, Macs (must be reformatted), and other non-computer devices (like DVRs)
• “Green” design includes sleep mode (spins up when activated and down when not in use), reduced power consumption, turns on and off with your computer
• Very quiet
• Smaller than most external hard drives (4.59”W x 1.42”H x 7.01”D) and very lightweight (2.24 pounds)
• Emits little heat

Cons

• One year warranty
• No power button (it’s always “on”, but is uses energy-efficient technology as noted above)
• Attracts fingerprints on the glossy side panels (yes, this is important to some people)

Decide for yourself

• Does not come with its own backup software, which most people consider a plus.
• The LED is small and located in the back, which is nice if your computer is in your bedroom

Final analysis

The price point on this hard drive is great, but the trade off is that it only comes with a 1 year warranty.

WD My Passport

(Model #: WDBACX0010BBK-NESN)

Just one of the WD My Passport models is included here. You can find information on the full line elsewhere on this site.

Pros

• Perfect size for portability (3.2”W x 0.7”H x 4.3”D) and very lightweight (0.45 pounds)
• Powered from the USB cable, so no additional AC adapter is needed
• Security features include hardware encryption and password protection
• Automatic continuous backup captures new and updated files

Cons

• The USB cord is very short (only about a foot long)

Final analysis

• Small, fast, and reliable – one of the best portable external hard drives.

Western Digital My Book Essential 2TB

(Model #: WDBACW0020HBK-NESN)

Pros

• Long power cord
• Security features include hardware encryption and password protection
• Great size (1.9”W x 6.5”H x 5.3”D) and very lightweight (2.6 pounds)
• Can be used with PCs, Macs (must be reformatted), and other non-computer devices (like DVRs)
• Automatic continuous backup captures new and updated files

Cons

• The printed instruction manual that comes with the drive does not contain much useful detail. You’ll have to rely on the online manual, phone support, or Googling your way through any setup or other issues you might encounter.

Decide for yourself

• The drive comes with software that many refer to as “bloatware”. Something is referred to as “bloatware” if it contains unneeded features and/or takes up an inordinate amount of disk space. The upside is that it doesn’t auto-install, so you can use all, some, or none of the software.

Final analysis

• This is a great desktop drive that is fairly easy to install and configure.

What are the best brands for external hard drives

Generally, the more popular a manufacturer, the more you can rely on the quality of their product (unless they have a monopoly). Some of the more popular makers of external drives include:

• Western Digital
• LaCie
• Seagate

Where to get the best prices on external hard drives

Several online retailers consistently have great prices on external hard drives. They are:

• Amazon

Note: Even though external drives are intended to provide you with data portability, you should be careful when moving a drive to avoid damage that can cause issues with future data access.

Think a little bit about what’s important to you and consider those preferences and needs before making a final decision on a drive. But don’t agonize over it too much – you can’t go wrong with any of the choices listed on this page. Remember that when you’re looking for a listing of best external hard drives, don’t rely solely on someone else’s picks.