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

Form factor external hard disk is one of the key indicators that you should start from 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 HDD. 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.

Big choice external hard drives always waiting for you!

An external hard drive is a device designed for permanent storage of information, the so-called drive. In fact, this is an ordinary hard drive that is used in a laptop or desktop computer, only placed in a special case (container) that protects it from dust, moisture and various mechanical influences. Next, you will learn how the drives differ and how to choose the right one.

The type of memory used in the design of the drive:

• HDD (hard/magnetic disk drive)- is the main drive in most computers. The advantage of these disks is their low cost. The disadvantages include the presence of moving parts in the design, which makes them sensitive to mechanical stress: shaking, falling, etc.
• SSD (solid-state drive)- a new type of drives, in which there are no moving parts of the structure. Thereby, this species memory is resistant to various mechanical impacts and allows you to use the device in almost any environment, has a lower power consumption, faster reading / writing information and has a compact size. The main disadvantage can be considered the high cost of such memory, as well as a limited number of rewriting cycles - up to 100,000 times.
• SSHD (solid-state hybrid drive)- but this type of storage combines the advantages of both technologies. The speed of the SSD due to the small amount of solid-state memory, which stores the most frequently used data, as well as the capacity and reasonable cost of the HDD.

Drive size:

• 2,5” - The most common storage type. In size, such a disk is slightly smaller than a chocolate bar and at the same time quite light. A 2.5” drive can be powered by a single USB cable, or a dual USB cable, or an additional dedicated power connector.
• 3,5” – This is a normal disk used in desktop PCs. Such discs are the most bulky, but they can accommodate maximum amount information and have the lowest cost. But they take up a lot of space, are quite heavy and necessarily require an additional power supply to connect to the mains.

Drive storage capacity:

Since an external drive is used to increase the internal memory of a computer / laptop or to transfer a large amount of information, then, as a rule, the larger its volume, the better. To simplify the choice, you need to figure out what information the drive will be used to store, and how much disk space this or that file will take:

PC connection method:

• USB 2.0– When connected via USB 2.0, the maximum transfer rate between PC and storage device is 480 Mb/s. USB 2.0 is the slowest, but also the most common standard - absolutely all laptops and desktop PCs have USB connectors.
• USB 3.0– When connected via USB 3.0, the maximum data transfer rate between the PC and the drive is 4.8 Gb/s. This standard replaces USB 2.0, while devices with USB 2.0 support can be connected to USB 3.0, but the opposite cannot be done.
• eSATA– When connected via eSATA, the maximum data transfer rate between the PC and the drive is 3 Gb/s. eSATA emerged as an alternative to USB 2.0 with faster transfer rates. Its disadvantage is that not all laptops have the corresponding connector.
• firewire– when connected via FireWire, the maximum data transfer rate between the PC and the drive is 1.6 Gbps. Today, FireWire drives are very rare.
• Thunderbolt– when connected to via Tunderbolt , the maximum data transfer rate between PC and drive is 10 Gbps. To date, only Apple devices are equipped with these connectors.
• WiFi– connection to a PC without wires. The maximum transfer rate is limited by the Wi-Fi technology used in the drive, PC and router. Wi-Fi n allows you to transfer data at speeds up to 450 Mbps, and Wi-Fi ac at speeds up to 6 Gbps.

Drive Enclosure (container that holds the drive itself):

When choosing a case, you can be guided by various parameters: choose a device according to appearance(bright, stylish design); by structural strength (metal case or rubberized surface to reduce mechanical stress); pay attention to the material (plastic, rubber coating or all-metal construction); or, perhaps, choose an original design solution.

Software that comes with the device:

Depending on the manufacturer, drives can be equipped with specialized software that provides additional data protection by encrypting information on the drive. Thus, if the disk falls into the hands of third parties, the information from it will be inaccessible to them. Also branded software can be used for Reserve copy important information for the user, allowing you to create copies of data with a choice of the most convenient storage mode - according to a schedule, or with the creation of a copy at the right time.

What else could be:

Some models of drives on the case have a backup button, pressing which automatically saves the information necessary for the user in the drive's memory.

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Using an external drive is the easiest way to increase storage space for files and documents. This is very convenient for laptop owners who do not have the opportunity to install additional disk. Desktop users without the skills to mount an internal HDD can also connect an external hard drive.

In order for the purchase to be successful, it is important to know the basic nuances of choosing an external hard drive. So, what should you pay attention to, and how not to make a mistake in purchasing?

Because there are certain types hard drives, it is necessary to determine in advance which parameters should be guided by when choosing:

• Memory type;
• Capacity and price;
• Form factor;
• interface type;
• Additional features (data transfer rate, case protection, etc.).

Let's analyze each of these parameters in more detail.

Memory type

First of all, you need to choose the type of memory - HDD or SSD.

HDD- a hard drive in its classical sense. It is this type of hard drive that is installed in almost all computers and laptops. It works by rotating the disk and recording information using a magnetic head.

Advantages of HDD:

• Availability;
• Ideal for long-term data storage;
• Acceptable price;
• Large capacity (up to 8TB).

HDD Disadvantages:

• Low read and write speed (by modern standards);
• Little noise when using;
• Intolerance to mechanical influences - shakes, falls, strong vibrations;
• fragmentation over time.

This type of memory is recommended for fans to store on disk a large number of music, movies or programs, as well as people working with photos and videos (for storage). It is very important to treat it with care - do not shake, do not drop, do not hit, because due to the fragile design it is very easy to break the device.

SSD - modern type drive, which, however, cannot be called hard drive because it does not have mechanical moving parts like HDD. Such a disk also has a number of pros and cons.

Advantages of SSD:

• High write and read speed (about 4 times faster than HDD);
• Complete silence;
• wear resistance;
• No fragmentation.

Disadvantages of SSD:

• High price;
• Small capacity (up to 512 GB can be purchased at an affordable price);
• Limited number of rewrite cycles.

Generally, SSDs are used for quick start operating system and heavy applications, as well as for processing video and photos with subsequent storage on the HDD. For this reason, it makes no sense to acquire large capacity overpaying several thousand rubles. Such drives can be freely taken with you anywhere without fear of damage.

By the way, about the limited number of rewrite cycles - new SSD they have a very large reserve, and even with a daily load they can work for many years before the speed starts to drop significantly. Therefore, this minus is more of a formality.

Capacity and price

Capacity is the second most important factor on which the final choice depends. The rules here are as simple as possible: the larger the volume, the lower the price per 1 GB. You should start from what you plan to keep on an external drive: multimedia and other heavy files, you want to make the disk bootable, or store small documents and various small files on it.

As a rule, users purchase external HDDs because they do not have enough internal memory - in this case, it is best to choose among large volumes. For example, at the moment, the average price for a 1 TB HDD is 3,200 rubles, 2 TB - 4,600 rubles, 4 TB - 7,500 rubles. Given how the quality (and size, respectively) of audio and video files is growing, buying small discs simply does not make sense.

But if you need a drive to store documentation, run an operating system or heavy programs like powerful editors / 3D design from it, then instead of an HDD, you should look at an SSD. Typically, external SSDs have a minimum of 128 GB and the price starts at 4,500 rubles, while 256 GB costs a minimum of 7,000 rubles.

The peculiarity of a solid state drive is that the speed of operation depends on the capacity - 64 GB is slower than 128 GB, and it, in turn, is slower than 256 GB, then the increase is not particularly noticeable. Therefore, it is best to choose a drive with 128 GB, and if possible - with 256 GB.

Form factor

The capacity of the drive also depends on its physical indicators. The size is called the "form factor", and it comes in three types:

The first two options are small and mobile - you can easily take them with you. The third one is desktop, and is designed to be used without transportation. Usually the form factor is important when buying internal drives, as in this case it is important to fit the drive inside in free space. Nevertheless, this parameter will play an important role when choosing an external drive.

The most relevant form factors are 2.5” and 3.5”, and they differ as follows:

1. Price. The price for 1 GB for 3.5” is cheaper than for 2.5”, so the same 4TB drive can cost differently depending on the form factor.
2. Performance. 3.5” hard drives lead in performance test results, however, depending on the manufacturer, a 2.5” drive may be faster than a 3.5” counterpart. If the speed of the HDD is important to you, then refer to the comparative tables of benchmarks.
3. Weight. 2 hard drives with the same volume can have a significant difference depending on the form factor. For example, 4TB 2.5” weighs 250g and 4TB 3.5” weighs 1000g.
4. Noise, power consumption, heating. The 3.5" format is noisier and requires more power than the 2.5". Accordingly, the greater the consumption of electricity, the stronger the heating.

interface type

Such a characteristic as the type of interface is responsible for the way the disk is connected to the PC. And there are two options here: USB and USB Type-C.

USB- the most popular option, but sometimes inexperienced users can purchase a disc of the wrong standard. Today, the modern and relevant standard is USB 3.0, whose read speed is up to 5 GB / s. However, older PCs and laptops most likely do not have it, and use USB 2.0 with read speeds up to 480 MB / s.

Therefore, be sure to find out if your PC supports USB 3.0 - such a drive will work many times faster. If there is no support, then you can connect a drive equipped with 3.0, but the output speed will be reduced to the 2.0 standard. The difference in standards in this case practically does not affect the price of the disc.

USB Type-C- a new specification that appeared literally 2.5 years ago. It is a USB 3.1 standard with a Type-C connector type and speeds up to 10 Gb/s. Unfortunately, this connector can only be found in laptops or computers purchased after 2014, or if the user separately changed motherboard to a modern one that supports Type-C. Prices for USB Type-C hard drives are much higher, for example, 1 TB costs from 7,000 rubles and more.

Extra options

In addition to the main criteria, there are secondary ones that in one way or another affect the principle of use and the price of the disk.

Protection against moisture, dust, shock

Because the external HDD or the SSD may be in a place completely not intended for this, that is, the likelihood of its failure. The ingress of water or dust will have a detrimental effect on the operation of the device up to a complete failure. In addition, the HDD is also afraid of falls, bumps, shakes, so when actively transporting it, it is better to buy a drive with shock protection.

Speed

From given HDD parameter depends on how fast the data will be transmitted, what will be the levels of noise, energy consumption and heating.

• 5400rpm - slow, quiet, suitable for USB 2.0 or for data storage without active reading;
• 7200rpm is a balanced option in all respects, designed for active use.

This information does not apply to SSDs, since they do not have rotating elements at all. See the Capacity and Price section for an explanation of why SSD size affects performance. Also look at the declared read and write speeds - for SSDs of the same capacity, but from a different manufacturer, they can vary significantly. However, you should not chase the highest rates, because in practice the user does not notice the difference between the average and increased speed of the SSD.

Appearance

In addition to a variety of colors, you can find a model with indicators that help you understand the status of the disk. Look at the material from which the body of the device is made. Metal, as you know, conducts heat better than plastic, so it will better protect against overheating. And to protect the case from external influences, you can purchase a protective case.

We have covered the main points to rely on when choosing an external hard drive or solid state drive. A high-quality drive, with proper operation, will delight with its work for many years, so it makes sense not to save on a purchase, and approach it with all responsibility.

We are glad we were able to help you resolve the issue.

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