Today, information can be calculated in terabytes, and therefore the most convenient way use it for transfer or storage is an external hard drive.

Also, the device will help out a lot if something happens to a personal computer, if you first download all the necessary data or an operating system to an external hard drive. parameters for each specific model enough to get confused in choosing the right device.

drive size

To achieve maximum usability, it is necessary to determine the size of the device. The model range is represented by external hard drives of 2.5 and 3.5 inches. The first type is compact and lightweight, its maximum weight reaches 180 g. And a USB cable is used as a power source.

The disk is 3.5 inches larger and practically does not differ from the built-in hard drives of a desktop computer. This means that such drives are quite heavy, their weight reaches one and a half kilograms. The disadvantage is the need to connect to the network. But despite this, the 3.5-inch type of external drive is still popular due to its very large volume memory and affordable price.

Having determined for yourself what is more important in using such a device, you can make a choice. If this is mobility and small dimensions, then preference should be given to the first type of 2.5 inches. When you need an economical option without losing device capacity, then a 3.5-inch removable hard drive is the most suitable option.

External hard drive capacity

First of all, you need to consider what exactly is supposed to be stored on such a device. If the video materials are in large quantities, then a 3.5-inch model will certainly fit.

This is explained by the fact that the capacity of such devices can reach terabytes, and this is a very impressive figure. The average capacity of 2.5-inch drives typically ranges from 250 to 500 gigabytes.

Type of memory used

There are only three types:

• HDD - most commonly used in personal computers. Its disadvantage is the presence of moving parts in the structure. That is why this type of memory is least suitable for a portable hard drive due to low reliability as a result of possible damage.
• SSD - unlike the first type, it is more reliable, since it does not have moving parts, which means that during transfer and various kinds of influences, the likelihood of avoiding damage increases. In addition to everything, the read speed of the hard disk will increase if you select this type of memory. The power consumption of the device is reduced.
• SSHD is an average version that combines the functions of the previous types. Such a combination of properties makes it the most attractive to the user, given the affordable cost.

Device speed

This parameter is understood as data transmission, their processing, as well as the speed of finding the information of interest. The most common option for connecting an external hard drive to a PC is USB 2.0. But this type of connector also provides the slowest overall drive speed - up to 480 Mb / s. It was replaced by the USB 3.0 standard, providing the device with a higher operating speed (4.8 Gb / s). However, the disadvantage is the impossibility of connecting it to the 2.0 standard connector. By the way, it will be said that the reverse connection is quite possible.

At the USB 2.0 level, eSATA is used, which provides speeds up to 3 Gb / s. As you can see, such a standard can provide a high speed of the device. A clear disadvantage is the shape of the connector, which is not so common and is not available in all drive models.

Tunderbolt is the fastest format, the speed of work, if available, can reach 10 Gb / s. The only downside is the restriction on use, since this type of data transfer is used only in Apple products.

And finally, there are models with the ability to connect via Wi-Fi. Depending on the technology used, data can be transferred at 6 Gb/s or as low as 450 Mb/s.

Also, the speed of work depends on what are the capabilities of the drive when the spindle rotates in the design of the device. The 2.5-inch removable drive accelerates to 5400 rpm, while its larger 3.5-inch counterpart reaches 7200 rpm. Accordingly, the priority of these features of the operation of devices depends on the purpose that the drive will serve.

Selecting the file system of an external device

PC compatibility is very important, because if you do not take into account all the possibilities, you can only access the files of the drive in read mode. So, the most common file system today is FAT 32. It can only be attributed to the minuses of the small size of the opened files - 4 GB. The NTFS system is less whimsical here and through it much more capacious files are opened. The advantage of FAT 32 is compatibility with even the most outdated operating systems.

External drive case material

Do not focus solely on the technical capabilities of the device. After all, if you have to carry a disk with you often enough, then the probability of dropping or damaging the drive increases, and therefore the choice of case material is important.

The model range is represented by the following types of materials:

• plastic;
• rubberized surface to provide a better grip on the surface on which the device is placed, thereby reducing the likelihood of it falling as a result of slipping;
• the metal case is more reliable, as it takes on the greatest load when it is hit or dropped.

When choosing a removable hard drive for your own use, you can pay attention to stylish models. For example, the manufacturer Transcend represents a wide the lineup attractive and functional devices.

Additional software

When choosing a drive, even greater opportunities are often acquired for it. For example, there are a number of programs that provide security when copying data, as well as reduce the power consumption of the device. For the same purpose, you can install software, which allows an external removable drive to "sleep" if it has been idle for a certain amount of time. For security purposes, data backup is configured at user-defined intervals. In the event that it is required to protect information from prying eyes, special programs allow you to encrypt data using a 128-bit key.

There are models equipped with an additional button. Its purpose is to backup data, which is performed automatically when pressed.

Which external hard drive should you choose?

The above parameters reveal the functionality of almost all removable devices. After studying this information, you can highlight the most important parameters for yourself, as well as arrange them in order of importance, in accordance with the purpose of using the device.

The volumes of modern Flash drives easily allow you to carry a couple of high-definition movies in your pocket, but before moving or Reserve copy terabytes of data, their capabilities have not yet matured. For these purposes, devices of a different class are required, comparable in capacity to conventional HDDs, and the best solution here are external hard drives. As a matter of fact, they differ from the usual hard drives only in the way of power supply, interface, as well as the presence of an additional case and controller. Even the option is not ruled out when HDDs of the same model are used inside the system unit and external drive.

In most cases, connecting a 2.5" portable drive is as simple as connecting it to a laptop or system unit using an interface cable. External drives based on 3-inch HDDs also need additional power.

Main selection criteria

Data interface

Here the choice is quite wide: eSATA, USB 3.0, FireWire (IEEE 1394) and Thunderbolt. The latest standard has the maximum bandwidth, but completely covers the speed capabilities of modern hard drives they are all, so you should be guided by the presence of connectors of the appropriate type on a PC or laptop. You just need to keep in mind that among the offers there are many devices with an outdated USB 2.0 interface, which will slow down the exchange at least twice. The choice of such external hard drives is impractical, even if your computer does not have connectors of the third revision of this standard. You should focus on eSATA and FireWire interfaces only if you expect additional power for the drive. For 2.5" portable drives, USB 3.0 is the best option.

Volume

The physical dimensions of the device impose their limitations on the volume. If you need an external drive with a capacity of more than 2 TB, it is almost pointless to look for it among 2-inch drives. The exception is a few devices, but their price cannot be called low. The choice will have to be made among larger devices, while you should be prepared for the presence of additional power and an appropriate adapter.

Hardware encryption features

If external HDD will be used for temporary storage of confidential information, efforts to protect it will be useful. It makes sense to select a portable device from among those with hardware encryption functions. A simpler data security feature is access to the drive with a password. In any case, to use these features, you will have to install special software that comes with the kit or downloads from the manufacturer's website yourself.

Photo: newtechnoit.ru

No less important selection criteria

• Dimensions portable device is primarily determined by the form factor of the installed HDD: 2.5 or 3.5 inches. Within the same category, hull thickness depends on the number of plates and increases with volume. A special place is occupied by self-powered drives - depending on the design solution, the built-in battery can increase both the thickness and other linear dimensions.
• 3" external drives require an additional nutrition, their smaller relatives get by with the interface controller capabilities, with the exception of wireless models. The latter have a special battery for offline operation and an adapter for charging it.
• If you do not take into account USB 2.0, then work speed interface capabilities are not limited, it is typical for installed hard drives and is proportional to their spindle speed. The maximum performance is demonstrated by devices based on HDD with a speed of 7200 per minute; faster hard drives are not found in portable drives. There are models organized on the basis of a zero-level RAID array of two physical hard drives with corresponding speed indicators.
• Some external drives provide wireless connectivity. Embedded module Wi- fi operates as a hub of a separate network segment, providing end-to-end switching if necessary mobile devices to another access point. As a rule, such models are equipped with a built-in battery and are able to work autonomously for several hours.

The most popular manufacturers

In addition to direct hard drive manufacturers such as Toshiba Corporation, Western Digital or a combined division of companies Seagate Technology and Samsung Electronics, brand products are very popular among users ADATA and Silicon power. Creating their portable devices based on the HDD of the previously listed companies, they compensate for someone else's technical advantage by using better materials and clear algorithms for the operation of control circuits.

Photo: smages.com

By purchasing portable disk, do not consider USB 2.0 options. Without getting practically any gain in price, you will noticeably lose in the speed of data exchange.

When planning to use an external drive without additional power, connecting it via a USB 2.0 connector on personal computer or laptop Special attention should be given to the amount of current consumed. Some interface controllers of the second version may not provide normal operation of the portable device. This is especially threatening external drives large capacity when connected to very old PCs.

Losing important data is always quite unpleasant, but it is especially bad when confidential information somehow falls into the hands of competitors. Maximum security of use portable devices without a noticeable decrease in performance, only strong cryptographic protection methods implemented at the hardware level will help.

Introduction

It does not matter what exactly you do - study, work as a top manager in a large company or have a personal business.

AT modern world, without having the maximum amount of useful information in your piggy bank, there simply cannot be success. And in order to store this information as compactly and comfortably as possible, it was invented.

The sale of these devices is steadily growing - more and more people buy them as a gift.

There are several reasons.

• First of all, this is a very stylish accessory that attracts attention and once again emphasizes the style of the owner.
• Secondly, it is rather difficult to overestimate its benefits - there is never enough space for storing information. You can store on it both your favorite series and important work information.
• Thirdly, is a very mobile thing. You can easily bring it home from work and vice versa. Agree, this is much easier than constantly carrying a laptop with you.

However, in order to make the right choice, many people do not have enough knowledge.

There are dozens of questions that arise in the minds of buyers.

For example, consultants of our store are very often asked which is better: or? Also, ask questions about the type file system(there are NTFS and FAT 32 on the market).

All this and more in our article today.

Size matters

External form factor hard drive- one of the key indicators from which you should build on when choosing.

Most discs on the market today are sized or .

Of course, the disks of the first type are as compact as possible, and due to this, they are more convenient. Winchesters that fit the size are no longer so mobile: they weigh up to 1.5 kilograms and they need to be connected not only to a computer, but also to a 220-volt outlet.

However, both types have sustained popularity. By the way, in addition to the banal storage of dozens of films, thousands of photos and many games, external hard disk can be used as an external bootloader operating system. This feature will come in handy when something bad happens to Windows.

Here you should first of all understand how often you are going to transfer the hard drive. If this is rarely planned, it is quite possible to stop at the 3.5-inch option. Moreover, such hard drives are larger in volume. The main disadvantage is the weight of up to one and a half kilograms and the need to connect to an outlet.

How fast will the drive be?

Of course, this is very important parameter. It depends on him how quickly information will be written to the disk and how quickly he can give this information.

The speed of work depends on two parameters: on how fast the spindle will rotate and on how long it will take to access and transfer data through the interface. In short, if you want to maximize it, choose discs with eSATA interfaces and .

Another indicator depends on how fast the spindle rotates - the speed of finding the necessary information.

Usually, external rigid disks in size have a rotation speed of 5400 rpm.

Of course, do not forget that your computer must also support the external drive interface.

Incompatibility Issues

Additional programs

For many hard drives sold in stores, additional programs are sold.

They provide improved data protection when copying information and improve energy savings.

There are hard drives made in bright, spectacular colors. They immediately catch the eye and are suitable primarily for bold and creative people who are not afraid to draw attention to themselves. For example: .

There are also concise models that will suit even reputable businessmen. There are discs, the case of which is made using aluminum - they look very stylish and have increased strength compared to conventional plastic models.

Buy an external hard drive. Issue price

In principle, almost everyone can afford to buy an external hard drive.

The cost of models with a form factor starts on average from 1,500 rubles. For this money you will receive 320 gigabytes.

The most common option is an external 1 TB hard drive that will cost you about 2,500 rubles. For example .

More expensive form factor options can cost up to 11,000 rubles (and even more). But this is already for a volume of 4 or 6 terabytes.

What is the conclusion?

An external hard drive is a great device that will allow you to make access to your information even more secure and mobile.

A large selection of external hard drives is always waiting for you!

The 21st century is the century of digital technology. Electronic devices have entered people's lives so much that without them, in fact, it is no longer possible to organize a normal life process. This factor gradually leads to the fact that human activity is actually replaced by special devices. For example, washing machines allow you to keep your clothes in good shape, dishwashers provide comfortable cleaning of dishes, and computers allow you to transfer information, communicate, etc. Thus, without electronic devices in our time anywhere. However, there are devices that allow not only to receive something, but also to store a certain kind of information in them. These include CDs, flash drives, floppy disks, etc. The most interesting device of this type is the external hard drive. It has incorporated the features of classic devices and flash cards. Thanks to the large volume internal memory, it is an extremely convenient place to store electronic data. Note that all answers to the question - how to choose a good removable hard drive, lie in the plane of the analysis of specific criteria, which will be presented later in the article.

What is an external hard drive?

It should be noted that every day the amount of information that people process with the help of computers is growing. That is, there is a gradual informatization of modern society. This is a fairly positive factor, if you do not take into account the fact that many electronic devices do not always cope with the volume of various files. In addition, very often you have to take these electronic documents with you to implement certain processes. Flash cards in this case are significantly behind, because they are not endowed with a large amount of memory. To somehow solve the problem presented above, special external hard drives were created. With their help, you can process, store and transmit information in large volumes. In addition, it is possible to use these devices to protect files from prying eyes. The internal volume, as a rule, varies from 100 GB to 1 TB of memory. Thus, external hard drives are a fairly convenient device that can store a lot of information. But in the process of buying, many questions arise about the quality of such huge "flash drives". In order for the choice of this device to be as competent as possible, it should be based on certain criteria.

How to choose an external drive?

Memory size

There are many characteristics that you need to pay attention to when purchasing an external hard drive. First of all, it is worth deciding on the amount of its internal space. This question is one of the main ones, because quite often, people get confused in their desires. They buy external hard drives with lots of storage when they really only need a third of it. In this case, it should be noted that removable devices, as a rule, are purchased primarily for organizing work, and not for watching movies, games, etc.

Device dimensions

If the issue with the amount of memory is in principle resolved, then we can proceed to the analysis appearance devices. First you need to understand its dimensions. External hard drives are available in 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch options. Smaller models are great for people who travel extremely often. Such an external drive is suitable for carrying it in a jacket pocket, bag, etc. In addition, small devices do not consume much energy, so such drives do not make noise and do not heat up during operation. However, 3.5-inch external hard drives are also very popular. They are usually released with much more memory. Of course, these devices are quite bulky and inconvenient during transportation, however, their functional part completely overshadows this negative point.

Transfer rate

When analyzing the presented devices, it is necessary to make a reservation about such a parameter as the data transfer rate. This factor is very important given the modern rhythm of life of many people. It should be noted that in terms of speed, mobile external hard drives lose a lot. As a rule, the write speed on them is the same as on ordinary flash drives, which, of course, is an extremely negative factor. Stationary external drives are not endowed with this disadvantage. Their speed and power are at a high level, thanks to the additional connection to the network.

Availability of required interfaces

When working with external hard drives, the type of their connection to computer devices. After all, it depends not only on the quality of the gadget, but also on the speed of information transfer. To date, external drives are equipped with a wide variety of interfaces. Most a large number of connectors, of course, can be found on stationary hard drives. Portable devices are usually equipped with only the most popular ports. Usually, the connection is made through the following interfaces, namely: USB 2.0, USV 3.0, eSATA, and FireWire. Very often on stationary hard drives you can see almost all the types of connections presented. Therefore, such devices are so popular among people who are connected in their work with a frantic turnover of various data. Wherein, top speed information transfer is realized through such interfaces as eSATA and Fire Wire. Portable hard drives use the USB 2.2 interface. Recently, version 3.0 devices are gaining more and more popularity in the market.

Wi-Fi models

A real innovation in the digital device market is the release of removable hard drives from 500 GB to 2 TB, operating on the basis of a remote connection, that is, via Wi-Fi. Of course, this principle of operation is extremely convenient for use in any conditions, and especially at home. At the same time, the speed of remote information exchange is in some cases faster than when using a cable. Most of the removable hard drives of this kind are available in portable form, because this format provides significant speed with the hard drive.

Firm selection

When buying an external drive, you need to pay attention to the manufacturer. Experts advise purchasing goods only from those companies that have proven themselves for years of flawless operation of their products. In the field of hard drives, such companies are Seagate and Western Digital. These companies provide guaranteed high performance and extremely successful functionality of their devices.

Design

Depending on the aesthetic preferences of the buyer, you can choose a hard drive that is decorated with some decorative items. For example, Prestigio devices are distinguished by the release of quite elegant models that have leather trim in their design. ASUS was no exception, which releases external hard drives in the form of Lamborghini cars.