External Hard Drives - The best , USB, portable, Seagate, eSATA & WD hard disk drives
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External Hard Drives
External hard drives are utilised by users who wish to easily transport, backup or store their data external to their main computer or notebook. External HDDs are available in both 2.5" and 3.5" varieties, the main differences being size and power requirements.
2.5 external hard drives use notebook / laptop hard disks for storage. These drives are smaller and are generally referred to as USB powered external hard drives. They use power supplied by the USB interface to spin the drive, removing the requirement for an external power adapter. USB powered drives range in size from 320GB to Terabyte with 500Gb being the breakpoint for cheap cost per gigabyte at time of writing (May 2012). Going forward some 2.5 external disks may use SSD (solid state drives) for storage in place of more traditional mechanical hard drives. In conjunction with USB 3.0, external hard drives can only increase in speed from here. If Thunderbolt goes mainstream this will further increase speed!
3.5 external hard drives utilise desktop drives for storage and need an external power source. These enclosures are physically larger and some units offer installation of more than one drive. Because of these power requirements, external 3.5 inch hard drives will either have a built in powerpack or a separate, external powerpack. The enclosure of the latter is generally larger since it has to house additional electronics. User opinion varies on which is best.
Both sizes of external hard drive are available in USB 2.0, USB 3.0 and eSATA interfaces. Other, less popular interface types are Firewire and Thunderbolt. LaCie hard drives are popular with Apple Mac users because of their contemporary styling and aluminium casings. In addition most of the LaCie lineup is available in Firewire as well as the regular USB and eSATA.
Seagate external hard drives use a proprietary interface called GoFlex -this allows each drive to fulfil any connection requirement. Users can also change a drives connection method by easily (and cheaply) purchasing a new GoFlex cable.
What is the best external hard drive for me?
The best external hard drive depends entirely on your requirements. If portability is important then you will most likely look at a 2.5 hard drive; if capacity is important then look for a desktop drive that is large enough; if speed is your main concern look for a USB 3.0 device with possibly an SSD internal or a dual drive RAID setup. A network attached hard drive of some sort may end up being your final solution, especially if you have multiple users in a small office or home and no server setup.
Ultimately you are the only user that can decide this, if you would like some guidance feel free to contact us for assistance.
What type of hard drive is used in External HDDs?
This is a common question but is irrelevant in 2012 due to the limited number of hard drive manufacturers.
If you purchase an external drive branded by one of the major hard drive manufacturers (Seagate and Western Digital) the drives provided will always represent the brand. For other, non-hard drive manufacturers such as LaCie, iOmega, Buffalo or Verbatim (to list a few) the drive included is usually Western Digital or Seagate. This is understandable as many of these brands do not product their own drives. There is no easy way to ascertain what type of internal drive is used in non-manufacturer external HDDs and different model lines can vary batch to batch. Overall Western Digital and Seagate drives are reliable and worry free. If you require a specific manufacturer brands please purchase the correctly branded external drive.
Overall this should not be a problem as Western Digital / Seagate drives are cheap, reliable and are overall the best drive to purchase anyway!
The Growth in NAS Hard Drive
Network attached storage has gained popularity in recent years among home users. This can be attributed to more devices in each house (tablets, phones, desktops, notebooks) as well as users wanting the centralise their storage. In addition, running less desktop computers with individual hard drives saves power. We advise against purchasing the cheapest green drives for NAS devices as some RAID features are missing from the budget drives.
NAS HDD units tend to be physically larger and users who value portability should look at traditional external storage solutions.
External HDD Enclosures
Give your old hard drives a new lease on life by putting it in an external hard drive enclosure! This is popular and casings are available for both notebook and desktop drives. For around $40 this is the cheapest way to extend the life of an older drive.
Where can I buy External Hard Drives?
You can buy external Hard drives right here at Techbuy Australia. We have a wide selection of external hard drives for all your storage needs. You can buy external hard drives for laptop use when you want your files always ready on the go, or you can purchase external hard drive for desktop use as an extra hard drive storage on a semi-permanent basis. Whatever the hard external hard drive storage size you need, you can buy the external hard drives for all your files right here at Techbuy Australia.
How much is an External Hard Drive?
The price of an external hard drive depends on the size capacity and the speed of the external drive. External hard drives that allow you to have your data and files safe, secure and on the go such as for external hard drives for laptops are much cheaper than external hard drives for desktop computers that serve as extended storage system for your PC system. Price for external hard drives range from $70 – $130 for laptop external hard drives and from $160 to as much as $3000 and even higher for high performance and monster capacity desktop external hard drives.
When do I need to replace my External Hard Drives?
When you need to replace your external hard drives depends on a lot of factors, one of them being how important is the data and files that you are storing with them. Another factor depends on the present physical status of your hard drive. Though they can handle small bumps now and then, it’s important for external hard drives to be kept safe and secure, especially when they are reading or writing data. If your external hard drive has had accidental bumps and mishaps, getting a new one to serve as backup for your very important files can give you that peace of mind that your files are safe, secure, and accessible when you need to and where you want it.
Basically you would not want to run out of space, so having an extra external hard drive to give you the luxury of space is always good.
If you need serious data storage capacity, the addition of a desktop model external hard drive is a good idea. They may be bulkier than laptop versions, but you get bigger capacity, faster access speeds and even encryption routines to keep your files safe in case your drive get lost or stolen.
Who makes a good External Hard Drive?
There are a lot of manufacturers for external hard drives available, both for laptop model external hard drives and desktop model external hard drives, and almost all of them has a flagship product that makes the top 10 list when the reviews come in. There are a number of recognizable names such as top brands like Seagate and Western Digital, as well as good external hard drive from Buffalo, Verbatim, Toshiba, Lenovo, and LaCie.
Who sells External Hard Drives?
Techbuy Australia sells external hard drives for all your storage needs. For portable and on the go data storage and backups, you can purchase laptop model external hard drives. For monster storage capacity and blazing fast access speeds, Techbuy Australia sells desktop model external hard drives aimed to serve as extra hard drives for your desktop pc system, for serve your storage and backup needs of your large files. Whatever the external hard drive type and storage size you need, you can buy the external hard drives right here at Techbuy Australia.
What type of External Hard Drives do I need?
External hard drives can simply be classified into 2 types: laptop use external hard drive models and desktop external hard drives models. Laptop models are usually small, allowing you the ease of carrying it with you on the go. Desktop external hard drives, on the other hand, are meant to remain in one place, and usually demand a separate power source to allow it to function at its peak of giving you much larger capacity and faster disk access speeds as compared to laptop models. Portability goes to laptop models of external hard drives while speed and capacity belongs to desktop model external hard drives. Whatever your storage needs, you can choose the right model for you, and TechBuy Australia has all the best external hard drives for your all your data storage data needs.
What do I need to upgrade an External Hard Drive?
External Hard drives, be it laptop models or desktop models are self-contained units, built to last as long as possible. To upgrade an external hard drive is more like adding a new external hard drive for your growing storage needs, or to make backups and ensure data integrity at all times, especially when your files are very much important to you.
There are some safety external upgrades you can purchase, like extra safety case for a laptop external hard. Western Digital sells external hard drive accessories like the Nomad designed to keep your external hard drive safe from dust and moisture, and can even protect your external hard drive in the case it falls or gets bump around.
There are flexible external hard drives like Seagate’s Go Flex that offers flexible cable system from USB 3 to firewire, so u can have the storage space you need and the flexibility to transfer the files in multiple transfer systems.
Where is the best place to purchase External Hard Drives?
The best place to purchase External Hard Drives is right here at Techbuy Australia. We offer you a wide selection of external hard drives for all your file storage and backup needs. Whether you are purchasing an external hard drive for laptop use or you need serious file storage with external hard drives for desktop computers, we have the external hard drives you need to keep you from running out of space and keep your files in place. Order is easy, and we have multiple payment and delivery options for you to choose from. Get the right storage solution for all your your data storage needs, keep your files safe, backed up, and always accessible with the best external hard drives that you can buy right here from Techbuy Australia.
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