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External HDDs have always been an essential gadget for gamers, students, and working professionals. Over the years, external HDDs have become faster, more capable, and more reliable.
While many prefer cloud services to store their data, some would rather have their data stored in a physical HDD. Unlike the cloud, external HDDs do not require an internet connection to access data. Various brands like WD, Seagate, Sandisk, Samsung, and Toshiba are committed to bringing affordable storage solutions.
Whether it is storing important data, media, or even games, the latest external hard disk drives excel at all these tasks. With different connection ports, transfer speed, spin rates, and prices varying from $40 to $1000, it's somewhat troublesome to choose an external HDD for specific needs. This article lists some of the best external HDDs available in the market at different price points.
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5) Western Digital My Passport
- Up to 5TB storage capacity
- Budget-friendly
- Slim and stylish
- 5400 RPM
The Western Digital My Passport is the best external drive in the low-budget segment. With 1, 2, 4, and 5TB storage capacity options, these external HDDs are very slim and come in funky colors. A built-in 256bit AES hardware encryption with password protection helps keep any valuable data secure.
My Passport is compatible with Windows, macOS, and Chrome OS. With 5Gbps SuperSpeed USB 3.2 gen 1, users can quickly backup important files. It comes with a three-year limited warranty.
Starting from $79.95
4) Seagate Backup Plus Hub
- Up to 14TB storage capacity
- Budget-friendly
- Dual USB 3.0 ports
- 5400 RPM
The Seagate Backup Plus Hub is a mid-range external HDD. With 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14TB storage capacity options, these HDDs are a great choice for anyone. This external HDD has dual USB 3.0 ports and a data transfer speed of 160 MBps. Users can easily backup their data using the Seagate backup software.
It supports Windows, Chrome OS, and mac with NTFS drivers installed. It comes with a four-month complimentary Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan membership. The Seagate Rescue Services protects against loss of data caused by accidental damage.
Starting from $129.99
3) Seagate FireCuda Gaming Hub
- Up to 16TB storage capacity
- Perfect for gaming
- RGB LED
- 7200 RPM
The Seagate Firecuda Gaming Hub is a perfect gaming external hard disk in terms of both design and performance. It is the only external drive on the list to flaunt RGB LEDs with Razer Chroma support.
The Firecuda Gaming Hub has USB 3.2 and USB Type-C ports and comes with 8TB and 16TB storage options. This external HDD comes with Seagate's proprietary Rescue Data Recovery Services. It is a 7200 RPM HDD compatible with most Windows and macOS systems.
Starting from $179.00
2) Western Digital Black D10
- Up to 12TB storage capacity
- Perfect for gaming
- Dual 7.5W charging ports
- 7200 RPM
Western Digital Black D10 is the flagship model in the Western Digital Black external HDD lineup. This is another external gaming drive. It comes with two storage options, 12TB and 8TB. The 12TB version is also compatible with Xbox. This 7200 RPM external drive has data transfer speeds of up to 250 MBps. The stealthy black ridged design definitely makes a style statement.
WD Digital Black D10 game drive comes equipped with dual 7.5W USB Type-A charging ports for charging other devices while it is being used. The built-in cooling solution ensures smooth and long gaming sessions. WD Black D10 comes with a three-year limited warranty.
Starting from $196.00
1) Western Digital My Book Duo
- Up to 36TB storage capacity
- RAID-Optimized WD Drives
- 256-bit AES Hardware Encryption
- 7200 RPM
Western Digital My Book Duo is the pinnacle of all external hard disks. It is an external drive with the largest capacity of 36TB. Other options include, 28, 24, 20, and 16TB. This beast of an external hard drive is always up for any task. The 7200 RPM disk helps to store data as fast as 360 MBps. It has a wide variety of connectivity options, including USB 3.0, 2.0, 3.1, and Type-C.
WD My Book Duo is out-of-the-box RAID-0 ready. Using the WD Drive Utilities software, users can configure this drive to RAID-1 for redundancy, and it can also be used as two independent drives. The in-built 256-bit AES hardware encryption with WD Security software protects any important data stored on it.
Starting from $429.99
It is really fascinating to see how far external hard disk drives have improved in terms of data transfer speed, capacity, and longevity. However, due to the increasing popularity of cloud storage solutions, the future of external HDDs and SSDs are very uncertain.
