1 terabyte hard drive which is better. The most reliable HDD. Backblaze version.

To increase the memory capacity of their computers, more and more people choose external hard drives.

Of all the devices of this type now being manufactured, solid-state drives (SDD) are still quite expensive, and standard external hard drives connected to a PC using USB, on the contrary, are becoming more attractive for buyers: after all, their prices fall every year, and the volume stored information increases.

When buying an external drive, you must decide for yourself what size device you need. If this parameter is not important for you, then you can choose enough overall and heavy 3.5-inch wheels. For your money, you get a large amount and speed, which allows you to write and read information much faster than on other drives.

The disks installed in drives of this format are exactly the same as in regular, stationary PCs. But, as you will see below, buying them, you get a more powerful device ranging from 4600rub. for 2 TB (two terabytes or two thousand gigabytes). We do not know how much information you can put in it, but we can definitely say one thing - it’s a very, very large amount.

Portable, portable hard drives are usually the same size as laptop drives, but they are somewhat lighter in weight. Their advantages are that, firstly, they are fully portable, and secondly, they have excellent shock protection in case of a fall. Their prices are also falling. For example, you can buy devices with a capacity of 1 TB in less than 3,900 rubles, and the cost of a 2 TB storage device has only almost halved in the last couple of years.

All listed hard drives are connected to the PC outside. They are also compatible with Mac computers, however, we advise you to read the instructions for your computer before you buy to make sure that it is adapted to work with external storage devices. Finally, it should be noted that all such drives can be used with a faster USB 3.0 interface, and are also compatible with USB 2.0.

This disk looks like the main one, but the main one cannot boast a volume of 2 TB for only 4,600 rubles. In addition, you can purchase a 3 TB drive for 5,840 rubles. and 4TB for 7780rub .. This is the perfect combination of volume and simplicity. It seems to us that such a drive is best suited for storing files that are rarely used, for example, an archive of photos. In 2015, an updated version of the external disk appeared in a slightly modified design and at a higher price, but the technical parameters remained unchanged.

Verdict: if you are interested in an exceptionally large volume, you can continue without searching

Price: 5300 rub.

Compared to the Seagate Expansion hard drive, the purchase of which still hits your budget, the Samsung M3 is the best storage device in the portable device segment. A model with a volume of 1TB costs only 3580 rubles, and a 2Tb costs 5060 rubles. A 500 GB model is also available, but we would not advise buying it, since it is not much cheaper at a cost than a 1TB drive. Like many other models of portable drives, the Samsung M3 also connects to the computer via USB. It is also equipped with some kind of software, which makes it possible to set a separate password on the disk to gain access to it.

Verdict: a hit of sales and, without exaggeration, a remarkable quality.

Price: 3500 rubles.

The only 500GB drives that are much cheaper than 1TB drives. This means that you can buy a wonderful portable drive for a price of no more than 2300rub .. The device is 1TB in volume and cheaper than a similar Samsung drive, however, we placed it below Samsung in our list because it did not go out a bit and looks like To put it mildly, not very attractive. But you probably want to have such a hard external drive, which would not be ashamed to get out of the bag.

Verdict: cheap and cool, but unsightly.

Price: 3350 rub.

The WD My Passport Ultra drive is only 15 mm thick, with a capacity of 1TB and a USB connector, not only comes in a variety of colors (black, blue, red and gray), but also comes with a hardware encryption function and backup software (WD SmartWare Pro) for your PC. Optionally, using this feature, you can create a backup in your vault on Dropbox. A wonderful solution to sleep well. Mas owners will have to reformat the disk, since by default it is adapted for NTFS. Also available is a 2TB version, however, the Samsung M3 of the same volume looks preferable in all respects.

Verdict: excellent safety and appearance.

Price: 4300 rub.

If you travel a lot, then this external hard drive is for you. Similar to the WD Ultra in terms of cost and available volume (although the model is 2TB cheaper), this disc has two key advantages. The first is impact resistance. It is designed in accordance with the strength standards adopted for the US military. Outside, the case is enclosed in a silicone shell, and a cushion layer is created around the disc itself. The second is the ability to create a one-touch backup - a great bonus that is included in the price of the disk.

Verdict: excellent, shockproof.

Price: 3900 rub.

VKontakte Facebook Odnoklassniki

USB 3.0 interface is becoming increasingly relevant day by day. Multimedia files, whose sizes are constantly increasing, help him in this. New camera or smartphone? Pictures, as a rule, take up even more space, not to mention the increasing distribution of the RAW format. Video content is not far behind: for example, in early April, the first Quad-HD Ultra High Definition TV with a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels appeared on the Russian market. To help the user to save, and most importantly - to easily transfer large amounts of multimedia content called modern portable hard drives.

The fact that the USB 2.0 interface is already two feet in the technological grave is not in any doubt. Devices with USB 3.0 are coming out more and more, and ports that support this version of the interface appear even in inexpensive laptops and motherboards. And from a technical point of view, this is fully justified. As our testing has shown, USB 2.0 has long limited the data transfer rate of portable HDDs. Often the drives worked 3-4 times slower than they could. The story of USB flash drives is slightly different, because there the speed of writing or reading very rarely reaches a threshold of 20 MB / s, so flash drives are not in a hurry to transfer to a new USB version. Finally, USB 3.0 solved one of the long-standing problems of external drives, which often leveled all the convenience of using them - now no external power is required, because the maximum current that a single USB 3.0 connector can provide is 900 mA, which is drive mechanics enough with a margin. However, for the purity of the experiment, we still checked each disk in USB 2.0 mode, because no one wants to be in a situation where the USB 3.0 port of the laptop is not two years old, and the external disk with the new port cannot unwind or is not detected at all.

We compared the drives by three parameters.:

· Performance;

· Convenience and functionality;

· Price justification.

Performance

The performance of an external disk, in contrast to a flash drive, depends strongly on which area of ​​the plate reads / writes from. One of the most significant parameters here is random read and random write. By and large, this is the average rate of speed that the disk will show in real life. As we have repeatedly written, the speed of the USB 2.0 interface has long been a limiting factor for hard disk drives, and USB 3.0 is a real way if you do not use your own speed of hard drives 100%, then at least come close to it. In addition to the speed of writing and reading, we also measured the average access time in these modes: the smaller the last indicator was at the “drive”, the higher the score he received. As a test utility, we used the popular program AIDA64 Extreme Edition version 2.30.1900. All disks were tested by the built-in utility, the size of the test block was equal to 32 KB.

Convenience and functionality

This characteristic is relevant for external drives, since the relatively large dimensions of these devices make it possible to integrate more different functions. We considered the most useful features a shockproof case, a complete case and the possibility of additional power. Now we explain in order. The shockproof case is not even an additional feature. After all, if you actively move around and take such a drive with you, then protection against falls is almost a mandatory attribute. The mechanics of the disk still requires very careful handling, especially given the fact that some models are equipped with disks with a rotational speed of 7200 rpm. This greatly increases the risk of damage if the device is in working condition. Finally, additional power will not be superfluous, as it helps to avoid a situation when you are away from your computer, and an affordable laptop / netbook cannot unwind the drive. The case is also useful for maintaining a decent appearance of the case: a shabby drive looks untidy. In addition, the cover is able to absorb some of the impact energy in the fall. Other features, such as encryption, were not forgotten. However, with regard to external disks, this is often an additional, rather than a necessary function, because such drives are usually used to store photos and multimedia files that are valuable only to the owner of the disk.

Price justification and Hard "n" Soft rating

The justification of the price was calculated taking into account the estimates of “Performance” (weight factor 50%), “Convenience and functionality” (20%), and “Cost of 1 GB of space” (30%). The latter was introduced into the calculations in order to single out those discs that do not have excessive functionality, but nevertheless offer a large amount at a low cost. Also, this feature helps to see the most expensive disks per 1 GB and before buying, consider whether you need such a disk and what you actually pay for.

Overall rating Hard "n" Soft  Traditionally, it was calculated as the arithmetic average of estimates for performance, convenience and functionality, price justification. The device that scored the maximum final score was awarded the “Editor's Choice” award.

A warning. Focusing on our estimates, we must remember that they are relative. A low score does not indicate unsatisfactory qualities of the device, but only shows its place relative to other models of testing. Since our final scales are not tied to absolute indicators, they cannot be used to evaluate models that are not included in testing. The prices we quoted were relevant at the time of testing and are given mainly for comparison.

Today, there are few as well-deserved old-timers on the hard drive market as Western digital. The classmates of this company have either already fallen asleep in the Bose (for example, Quantum and Maxtor, dissolved in the depths of Seagate, or Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, which has just united with WD), or have taken up a completely different business, like IBM. It should be noted that the personal experience of the author of the article on working on a PC began with the configuration, which included the Western Digital disc with a crazy (then) 850 MB. This HDD served six years without the slightest failure, after which it was sent to retire.

When testing the WD drive, I didn’t want to be disappointed, especially since, at first glance, WD My Passport Essential didn’t really stand out from the other participants. He did not stand out for a second glance. As it turned out, we have a completely typical, good-quality drive without any special features or accessories. Plastic glossy body with smooth contours (available in five colors), a modest LED on the side, which, by the way, is not very well visible, but at first it is completely invisible. Included with the disc are instructions and a cable for connecting to a computer - nothing superfluous.

So far, the disc description from WD is similar to the description of the most modest participant in the test, and so it would have been if it were not for one detail - this is the most accessible test drive. When calculating the unit cost of volume, it turned out that WD My Passport Essential is an absolute record holder. 1 GB of space will cost you only 5.4 rubles. Yes, the speed and functionality of WD My Passport Essential leave much to be desired, but in any case, the WD My Passport Essential data exchange rate is up-to-date (38.7 MB / s on average when reading and 27.9 MB / s when writing ). Therefore, its slowness will be noticeable only when compared with more expensive and fast competitors. Summing up, we can say that WD My Passport Essential is just a high-quality external drive, in the case of which you pay mostly for the disk itself and a little more for backup software and an interface cable.

Products Buffalo  long to get to our market. In fact, they started selling in Russia only from mid-2011. At first glance, it may seem that another supplier of storage devices and wireless equipment will only complicate the selection process. But Buffalo devices have a number of advantages over other market participants, and we will look at them in more detail.

The first of these refers rather to the image of the company and does not directly affect the characteristics of the equipment: most Buffalo devices are made in Japan. This means that they are not just developed and then sent for assembly to China, but undergo the entire production cycle in Japan, which, of course, has a positive effect on the overall quality of the product. The company has factories in other countries, particularly in Eastern Europe, but all premium models are assembled in Japan.

The second advantage of Buffalo is the well-thought-out design and high functionality. The latter is manifested both in the functions of the devices themselves and in the quality of software. Buffalo is the market leader in Japan and the USA, and in these countries, consumers are very demanding.

Finally, the third advantage is accessibility: in general, Buffalo devices are in the same price category as the competitors, which means that the choice for the buyer is obvious. But from the general words we proceed to our model.

Buffalo MiniStation Extreme can be attributed to the class of drives for those who move a lot and mostly not in limousines and without personal porters. The drive is packed in a shockproof case, which will protect against damage to the insides when falling from a height of 2 m (of course, this is a non-working disk). The design of the drive only underlines this feature: the edges of the Buffalo MiniStation Extreme are finished with durable matte plastic, on which scratches do not remain, the front part of the case also gives the impression of good quality.

The second feature of this drive (at first glance, not so important) is a flexible interface cable that retracts into the case so that it does not interfere when carried. Those who actively use external drives will understand our delight: a common problem with such drives is that there is no room for cables in the covers, if there are any (in fact, the main problem with external drives is that they often fight, but with this Buffalo MiniStation Extreme is all right). They have to be stored in pockets and pockets, and God forbid that this cable you do not forget before you go (for USB 3.0 it is not found in every store).

And finally, Buffalo MiniStation Extreme comes with a sturdy and clear backup software, compatible with Apple Time Machine technology and has hardware encryption with a key length of 256 bits according to the AES standard. The performance of this disk turned out to be at a very good level, in the rating the drive ranked third, after Freecom and Transcend (average read speed is 44.5 MB / s, average write speed is 37.9 MB / s). Given the above, the Buffalo MiniStation Extreme is a good choice for those who do not chase after a thin case or a strict business design.

Another new player in our market is the company. Freecom. At this time, the participant claims on the site of German origin, although technically the brand belongs to the Japanese giant Mitsubishi. To be precise, according to official information, the design and development of the disk took place in Germany, but the assembly fell on the shoulders of a factory located in China.

The key feature of this drive in a non-removable case, which is made of thick specially treated leather. The solution is rare for an external drive, but this makes it even more interesting. We did not carry out tests for wear of the cover: it is obvious that if you transfer such a disk together with keys or plastic objects with sharp corners, then the outer gloss will disappear very quickly. But it is unlikely the manufacturer prepared such a fate for his brainchild. Freecom XXS Leather can be called an ideal candidate for the role of an external drive for a calm business person who likes to keep style to the last detail.

Like other participants, Freecom XXS Leather has only one connector - USB 3.0 itself, and just like most other participants, the interface cable cannot be removed anywhere, it must be worn separately, which is always fraught with loss. Among other features, it can be noted that the bundle includes a very useful program Nero BackItUp and Burn.

To our surprise, the external drive Freecom XXS Leather was not only the most original in appearance, but also the fastest, because often the manufacturer focuses either on the design or on the characteristics. The average read speed of the disc was 46.6 MB / s, and the maximum - 110.7 MB / s (linear read, start of the disc). An important parameter is random reading, here the disk showed a result of 94.5 MB / s. In terms of speed of data recording, he took the third place with a slight lag from Kingmax and Buffalo, showing a result of 37.2 MB / s (random recording).

Summarizing, we can say that Freecom XXS Leather will not disappoint. This is the case when in life the device looks at least as good as in press release photos.

Company Kingmax  known to most Russian consumers with flash drives with good performance and low price (as well as with cards and memory modules). The range of external hard drives of this company is small and, apparently, is intended to cover the needs of those consumers who need large capacity, albeit to the detriment of compactness.

By and large, in addition to the design Kingmax KE-71 is not much different from other typical drives. It does not have any special functions or accessories in the set, except for a medium-quality leatherette case. But in appearance you can see originality. The glossy black case has an unusual shape: in the center of the front face there is a metallic polished circle mounted, resembling a large button. However, no function other than decorative, this element does not carry.

Included with the disc is also an interface cable, which, by the way, compares favorably with all the others presented in the test. At the end, intended for connection with the computer, two connectors are mounted. One - with plastic characteristic blue color is responsible for the transfer of information and the main power, the second - only for additional power. And although such a cable looks less aesthetic than, say, Buffalo, such thrift can play a very good service if your netbook suddenly refuses to give sufficient power to the main connector. And the last feature, which is difficult to be called substantial, is a rather large LED located on the front side of the drive. Its color signals the mode in which the drive is running. A blue light indicates the full speed of the USB 3.0 interface, red indicates USB 2.0.

Finally, let's talk about two more features of the disc, positive and negative. Positive - it has one of the lowest cost of 1 GB of space (according to this parameter, only the disks from Verbatim and WD bypass it). Simply put, this 500 GB disk will cost you about 2.9 thousand rubles. Negative - unimpressive performance in the test. But here, as they say, the buyer will have to decide: “checkered” or go. ”

About the new series of drives Seagate goflex  we already wrote. Their distinguishing feature is that, in fact, such disks allow you to replace the interface connector without any difficulty. This is implemented like a Lego designer. The part of the case where the connector is located is detachable. Accordingly, having bought a similar interface module, but with a FireWire or eSATA connector, you can upgrade your Seagate GoFlex in seconds. Of course, on paper it looks attractive, but when testing, we encountered several problems that cast doubt on the high demand for this approach. Firstly, due to the fact that the module with the interface is detachable and is not attached in any particular way, a backlash can form over time. This is confirmed by the banal mechanics: the transverse size of the module is quite large, while the mounting area is small, and the created lever will obviously not play in favor of the reliability of the whole structure.

The second drawback of the accumulator follows from the first, or rather, from the complexity of the design. Obviously, the decision with removable modules had a negative effect on the price of devices, as a result we have the highest cost per 1 GB of space. For comparison: most of the other participants, it is about 6 rubles. for 1 GB, while at Seagate GoFlex Slim - about 10 rubles. Yes, the manufacturer on the site states that the drive used a disk with a rotation speed of 7200 rpm, but, again, this did not give a competitive advantage in the performance test: the score gained was the second from the bottom.

And finally, we have doubts about the high demand for detachable modules. When buying an external drive, hardly anyone thinks about whether it will be possible to upgrade it. And it is unlikely that many will attend to finding the right module, even if the need for it appears. Most likely, they will simply buy a new drive - it’s no secret that, with the ever-declining cost of disks in terms of 1 GB, this type of media has now practically passed into the rank of consumables. And yet, despite the above and not the highest ratings, we liked Seagate GoFlex Slim. This is without reservation image thing. His design is strict and concise, and thanks to the metal case it is nice to even hold in your hands. For some, it will be a noticeable plus and ultra-low thickness of the drive —9 mm (it is already impossible to make thinner because of the size of the HDD itself).

Seagate GoFlex Slim can be a great gift for a person versed in technology.. The logo of the largest producer of disks guarantees quality and reliability, and the original function of changing modules will interest those who still stare at the designers.

Transcend  - one of the brands that some users mainly associate with products based on flash memory. However, this manufacturer has long (over 9 years) released external drives with HDD. The design of the device is absolutely standard: the plastic case consists of the lower matte and glossy upper parts in black, no frills or special external features. The device view is animated only by a dual-mode LED. When connected to the bus of the third version, it lights up in blue, and the red color indicates operation of the USB 2.0 port.

The case is quite soiled, the prints on the glossy cover remain immediately. Its main difference from most other participants is a special design that protects the disc from damage. But we should make a reservation that we should not rely entirely on this kind of protection and it’s better not to drop the disk. Another feature of the Transcend StoreJet 25D3 is that in the test it is the only external drive with a dedicated connector for additional power. It is no secret that USB 2.0 can not always provide the current required for spinning a disk, especially if the plates rotate at a speed of 7200 rpm.

Most often, such problems occurred with netbooks and inexpensive laptops of previous generations. The reason is that even if the device had several USB ports, the power supply was sufficient for only one device; if several were connected, the current was divided between them. But during our test, all the disks connected to the USB 2.0 port did not receive additional power, and there was never a similar problem. Nevertheless, the ability to further power the disc does not hurt. By the way, the drive bundle has the necessary cable, just for connecting to the second USB connector.

In conclusion about performance. The speed of this drive ranked second in the test. The average read speed of the disc was 38.7 MB / s (in USB 3.0 mode), the random write speed was 31.5 MB / s with an access time of only 8 ms. In terms of convenience and functionality, this disc turned out to be the best, and all thanks to the possibility of additional power supply, a shockproof case and a case included. Transcend StoreJet 25D3 received an award for “total points scored” Editor's Choice».

In our country, the company Verbatim  very well known as a producer of all kinds of media. It gained popularity a decade and a half ago, releasing the highest-quality recordable compact discs of the characteristic gold color available then. They enjoyed stable demand from both “pirates” and ordinary users, happy owners of rare recording drives. But it was not so easy to find external hard drives under this brand, although with this type of product the company entered the domestic market not yesterday.

Except for this moment, there is nothing more to complain about, in our Verbatim Store "n" Go Executive HDD test showed itself from the best sides. This, although not the most common "drive", but quite affordable. We have no doubts about the quality of its manufacture. In addition, this model has several advantages, which will tell you more.

Of course, the “touch panel”, which is stated both on the website and on the product packaging, immediately draws attention to itself. It is made in the form of a large, slightly recessed into the top panel of the drive round button.

The bottom line is that when you touch it, a predetermined action is activated, and the following options are offered:

· Perform 256-bit AES encryption;

· Run automatic backup;

· Start synchronization;

· Open your favorite website.

Any of the above functions may be in demand, so the touch panel is a rather useful innovation.

The speed of the Verbatim drive is “middling”: the average read speed is 43.9 MB / s, random reading is performed at 84.6 MB / s, and the record is 29 MB / s. In short, this disc will not disappoint with the quality, and speed for everyday purposes will be enough.

According to the results of tests and calculations, we have identified three devices worthy of receiving awards. The highest performance among portable disks showed a participant from the hitherto little-known company Freecom. Without exaggeration, the chic appearance of the Freecom XXS Leather, which was achieved by a high-quality leather case, did not prevent the drive from showing the highest speed result and receiving the Best Performance award.

The award “Justification of the price” went to the Buffalo MiniStation Extreme drive, which was fast enough, well-equipped functionally and is available at a price comparable to other participants.

Finally, according to the sum of the final points, the “Editor's Choice” award received an inconspicuous, at first glance, disc produced by Transcend Technology, which turned out to be the most balanced in all characteristics.

In conclusion, we repeat the idea that any of the participants in this test, by virtue of being equipped with a fast USB 3.0 interface, is able to provide the owner with a noticeable increase in the speed of exchange of frequently transferred data. True, the computers used must be appropriate - they must also have a third version USB interface.

Author: Denis Sivichev

Older personal computers do not have enough memory to hold music, video, games and other information of large volume.

Previously, PC users had two ways out of this situation - to install other hard drives with increased memory, or to purchase a new computer. Each of them has a big minus - too high a price. But the development of technology has led to the emergence of a more rational way to eliminate the problem - the purchase of an external hard drive.

What it is?

An external hard drive is a storage device that allows you to store any type of information. Its main feature is that it connects to a computer like a regular flash drive. As a result, any computer that supports a USB connection can recognize it. The device works separately from the built-in hard disk. The first models required the installation of special software. New models do not need this.

Please note: the transfer rate of the integrated and external hard disk is completely different. The reason is simple - different technologies are used to transfer information. But if your computer supports the standard USB 3.0 or 4.0, do not worry about it.

Where can I use an external hard drive?

Most often, external hard drives are used to connect to personal computers and laptops. Included with each such device is a USB cable. However, USB HDD drives are not limited to computers alone. They can easily be used to connect to tablets, smartphones, TVs (subject to the availability of a USB input port) and a number of other products.

As you know, smartphones do not have the usual USB-jack, as in laptops and computers. But it's not a problem. There is a huge amount of OTG USB cables on the market. On the one hand, they have an adapter slot for connecting a standard USB input (in other words, a cable from the drive can be connected to the cable), and on the other, a miniUSB connector. Do not forget that external hard drives do not have a built-in battery, so the charge on your smartphone or tablet will inevitably increase. In addition, based on excessively strong energy consumption, not all hard drives can be connected in a similar way.

The question of choosing the best version of the hard disk should drive you into a stupor, because at the moment there are more than twenty manufacturers of these products. What can I say about the number of models - there are hundreds of them. Therefore, we will briefly introduce you to the top best external drives released in 2016.

Average price: 7 887 rubles.

Pros: price / quality

Cons: lack of FireWire port

One of the most affordable options on the market. The low price is not due to poor technical characteristics (there are models with 500 GB and 1 TB of memory), but rather mediocre appearance. A good cheap solution for those who connect it to a computer, hide it in a convenient place and forget it.

External hard drives can be very useful for transferring data from one computer to another, when it is often necessary to transfer data or if you need storage media to drop data from the camera when you do not have access to a computer or laptop. An excellent solution may be the choice of SSD drive. But if you need a carrier with a large volume and at a low price, you will have to stay on the HDD. You can find hard drives up to 4 TB.

Most external hard drives work via USB and are powered by a computer, so you do not need to connect them separately to the network. In this article we will look at the best external hard drives in 2017, which you can buy for your computer. But first we will discuss what to look for when choosing.

How to choose an external hard drive

The choice of a particular model will depend on your needs and the purposes for which you want to use this device. Let's look at the main categories.

1. Capacity

The smallest external drives are 128 GB in size, which is enough for storing music and video, or creating backup copies of very important data and the operating system itself. You can even create a complete copy of the hard disk of the computer and restore it if necessary. The most popular solutions for such tasks are 1 TB disks.

2. Performance

Most external hard drives are connected via USB. The previous version of USB 2.0 is already a thing of the past, and now most devices use fast USB 3.0 connectivity. In some cases, you can get a write speed of up to 100 MB / s, the read speed will be the same, while the speed for USB 2.0 will be limited to 35 MB / s. It is worth noting that such a speed you get for large files, small files will be processed more slowly. The fastest SSDs can give speeds of up to 550 MB / s.

3. Protection

For external hard drives, damage protection is very important. You have to transport and transport them very often, so you need to be sure that nothing will happen to the data. Pay attention to the shock tests carried out. SSD drives are more durable and able to withstand falls, because there are fewer moving parts.

4. Security

The larger the disk, the more data you can store on us and the more valuable information the attacker will have if they steal it. There are two ways to protect data - use hardware or software encryption. Nowadays, many hard drives and solid-state drives support hardware encryption.

Top external hard drives 2017

1. Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC

This is a great external hard drive from Buffalo. In addition to standard features such as USB 3.0 connectivity, NFC technology is supported. Your data is stored in a shock-proof case, and also supports 256-bit AES encryption to improve security. Of the minuses can be noted not the highest speed, it gives out 7200 revolutions per minute (RPM). Price: $ 125.

2. Western Digital My Passport 4TB

The new generation of external hard drives Western Digital My Passpor has options from 1 to 4 TB. It supports AES 256 encryption and has its own WD backup software.

The disc has excellent data transfer speeds, it bypasses many of its competitors. It’s far from SSD speeds, but it’s just a regular hard drive.

3. Seagate 5TB Expansion

The Seagate 5TB Expansion is larger in size, but for the same price you get more memory. There is 64 MB of fast cache and the necessary external power supply for operation. The disc gives out 7200 revolutions per minute, which is a very good result for external drives.

4. Freecom mHDD Slim 1TB

This is an external hard drive on a terabyte, which has a beautiful and stylish appearance. It is made in an aluminum case, only 9 mm thick and weighing 150 g. The disc also has a good read and write speed. Freecom mHDD Slim is capable of delivering 5400 revolutions per minute, which is much slower than the above considered options. Read speed 124 Mb / sec.

5. Seagate Innov8 8TB

It is also worth mentioning the Seagate InnoV8 line. This external hard drive 2017 has a standard size of 3.5 mm and does not require an external power source to operate. Another feature of this disk is the use of a USB Type-C connection interface. Also, the disc has a beautiful metal case.

6. Seagate Backup Plus Desktop Drive 5TB

If you need a fast, high-capacity disk, then Seagate Backup can be a great solution. It comes in a range of sizes up to 8 TB and outperforms competitors in reading and writing speeds. The drive is connected using USB 3.0

7. Maxtor M3 4TB

This is an external hard drive that works without an external power supply and connects to the USB 3.0 interface. This is the largest 2.5-inch drive you can find. It has a three-year warranty and a beautiful case.

8. Western Digital Passport Ultra Metal 2TB

WD manufactures hard drives for various applications. For consumers is a series of MyPassport. The body of the disk is made of metal, but only the upper part, at the bottom only plastic. The read and write speed is 114 MB / sec.

9. LaCie Porsche Design Mobile Drive 4TB

This external hard drive supports both USB 3.0 and Type-C connector. Which already makes it an interesting decision. The disk consists of five magnetic plates of 800 GB each and has a form factor of 15 mm. The case edging is made of aluminum to protect the disc from shock.

10. IStorage diskAshur 2TB

This disk is ideal for government and various organizations that care about data security. It supports 256-bit AES encryption, and if anyone tries to intervene, then there is physical protection. You can even configure automatic data destruction in case of a hacking attempt. But it costs more than other options. But you can not access your data. This is the best external hard drive 2017 with protection function.

11. Toshiba Canvio Basics 2TB

Most manufacturers try to integrate as many features as possible into their hard drives, but Toshiba creates the simplest and cheapest external hard drives. Option 2 TB can be found for $ 97. If you need to save your data somewhere, it can be a pretty good option. The body is made of black plastic, length 111 mm, height 21.4 mm. The speed of reading and writing fluctuates around 110 MB / s.

findings

In this article, we looked at the best external hard drives in 2017, which you can now buy to solve your problems. We considered both super fast and secure, but expensive solutions, as well as cheaper ones, but with less top-end features. I hope this information was useful to you and now you know which external hard drive is better than 2017.

An external hard disk drive (HD) is a removable device. It can store and transfer information from a computer. The prototype of an external hard disk drive (HD) is a hard drive. At first, this type of device was intended only for the internal arrangement of the PC. But over time, it became possible to store information not only inside the computer, but also transfer it from one computer to another.

Currently, VZhD can be connected to tablets, TV, set-top boxes, projectors and other devices. Connect the gadget can directly through a standard USB cable or through an adapter. This is exactly what distinguishes the modern device from the prototype. To connect one device to another you do not need to open the lid of the system unit. Just do the docking with the USB port.

The composition of the standard set of hard disk:

• HDD;
• USB cable;
• Boxing.

The HDD device resembles a box with internal contents. Filling - this is the drive (hard disk). A USB cable is connected to it, which is inserted into the corresponding slot of the receiving device.

Do you need an external hard drive?

Try to answer the following questions:

• Do you have a great music library with high-quality music?
• Do you like to watch movies with friends?
• Do you have a lot of information to transfer (work-home; home-office)?
• Need to save a lot of photos?

If you have found at least one item for yourself, then you should continue to get acquainted with the parameters and firms of external hard drives. They are presented below.

Parameters and characteristics of the railway

So, as for the railway box, it works according to the standard and is invented so that it can be connected via USB. In addition, it contains additional food. It is necessary for the full functionality of the drive.

Externally, hard drive enclosures may look different. Design and colors of different companies are arbitrary. You may come across a hot pink drive or a white one with some pattern.

From the characteristics of the drive should pay attention to the shape of the device. Depending on the volume, the size of the box varies. The larger the disk, the larger the memory size of the device. Accordingly, he will have a more spacious box. The smaller the capacity of the disk, the less will be his box.

Form factor To be measured in inches. It can be 2.5 or 3.5 inches.

The magnitude of the speed of rotation of the disk. High speed is 10,000 rpm. The average value of the speed of rotation of the disk is 7200rpm. If you come across drives with a value of 5400 rpm, then this is also a suitable unit. This speed will be enough to complete the work.

Connection Type:

• SATA;
• PATA or EIDE.

SATA connection has a serial interface. PATA or EIDE have a parallel interface.

Buffer size. The clipboard directly affects the speed of the disk. 16 and 32 GB are the most suitable characteristics for a modern buffer.

Disk capacity. Depending on the form factor 2.5 "or 3.5" volume will vary. For example, a 2.5-inch disk volume will be about 500 GB. While the 3.5-inch can hold 1.5 TB and 4 TB, and even more.

Cooling system An option that is often needed for long-term work. This applies primarily to desktop units. A device that is prone to overheating can quickly fail. Therefore, when a device equipped with a cooler is found on sale, one should prefer it.

USB interface. Standard USB 2.0 connector. Suitable for docking all PC devices. But recently, drives with USB 3.0 input appeared on the market. They have a significant difference in data transfer rates. The device works many times faster. If you are in doubt whether the connector 3.0 will work with your PC, you can be sure that it will do. Since they have the same type of input. An example of HDR is a high-performance ASUS DL Externla HDD.

Also on sale are gadgets with LAN and FireWire connections. LAN has a standard of 10/100/1000. Each value represents the maximum transfer rate of MB per second of time. A significant advantage of such a device is that it can be connected according to the type of drive to the network. And it will work as a standalone device. With it, you can organize a library or use as you like as a data warehouse.

FireWire is similar in type to USB. It has little popularity. But its purpose is the same: storing and transmitting a large amount of diverse information. A typical representative on the market of railway models of the company Macintosh.

In addition to other parameters and characteristics, you should know that the kit should include a cable and an adapter (if necessary).

Important! No hard drive maker will give you a 100 percent guarantee for the safety of your data. Therefore, to avoid loss of information, back up to other media.

What external VZD to buy for use?

There is already a very personal question. Each user must decide what he needs this removable disk for. For storing music that can be listened to at work or mobile file storage for all the same work. Then you should pay attention to less capacious models. Up to 500 GB.

If you are planning to use the drive as a photo storage, then it is better to choose models 3.5 ”in size from 1.5 TB. Especially if you have a reflex camera that produces high-quality photos. It should be borne in mind that the volume of one photo on the disk will take at least 3-4 MB.

Next you should decide on the type of connection. Since soon all PC devices will have a USB 3.0 connector, you should choose it. In the future, you will appreciate your choice, besides data transfer speed will be several times higher.

To collect a disk in parts - it will be one of the options for a quality device. To do this, you will need to purchase the case, as well as the disk itself. And of course, accessories. Body material and appearance should please their user. It does not affect the transmission speed in any way, but pleasant sensations from use should still remain. As an example, we can consider the following models of boxes:

• Agestar 3UB2P for 2.5 ″;
• Agestar 3CB3AH1T / 3CB3AH1 for 3.5 ″.

With regard to the direct selection of models of railway, the most popular, according to experienced users, are the following companies:

• Samsung;
• ASUS;
• Seagate

As an example, you can consider such models: HGST HTS721010A9E630 (2.5 ″) or Western DigitalWD10EZEX (3.5 ″).

There is another option to purchase an external hard drive - buy a ready-made model. For example, Transcend TS1TSJ25M3.

Council When choosing capacitive models, it should be borne in mind that in order for the disk to fully function, it is necessary to have a cooling device - a cooler.

Each buyer determines their own necessary parameters. This article contains only approximate models and manufacturers. Buy proven products with the right features!

How to choose a removable hard disk: video