Portable Hard Drive Capacity

These days, hard drives aren't just getting larger because they can; they're also expanding because even casual technology users demand huge swaths of storage. Consider that we put our entire music collections on our computers, or downloaded television episodes. Every work or life document -- including (sometimes several) life histories' worth of photos -- is stored on our laptop or PC.

1. Portable Hard Drive Storage Capacity
2. Highest Capacity Portable Hard Drive
3. Portable Hard Drive 2tb
4. Portable Hard Drive Capacity

If you are looking to buy a hard drive with a blend of high-capacity storage, universal connectivity, rapid data transfer rates, Western Digital Elements portable drive is a perfect option. WD Elements hard drives are compact with plastic outer cases, and the main focus is on the portability aspect. The typical PC is sold with a hard drive capacity of about 300GB. That's fine for most usage, though more is always better. Perhaps the best solution for dealing with the storage situation is a hardware one: Get another hard drive, either an internal or external model. The best external hard drive deals Silicon Power 2TB portable hard drive - $134.99 $62.49 at Amazon Get a free wall charger or 10000mAh portable charger when buying this hard drive. Unlike portable hard drives, which have moving parts that make them susceptible to failure, the best portable SSDs are free of such parts, making them more power efficient, more durable and less. LaCie Rugged portable hard drives are the most trusted way to capture and transport data in the field. Choose from Thunderbolt, USB-C, USB 3.0, and FireWire 800. Select the version optimized for your use: performance, capacity, or compatibility—or all three.

It's no wonder, then, that Seagate just released a hard drive with 1 terabyte (yes, that's a trillion bytes) per square inch. Consider that a regular old MacBook Air laptop has 120 gigabytes of hard drive storage and you'll start to see how very impressive it is that Seagate's drive has the potential of a 60-terabyte capacity by the end of the decade.

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But let's also remember that less than 20 short years ago in the mid-'90s, Mac was offering Performas with 120 or 160MB hard drives, which would hold about 50 songs. Period.

All this being said, is it worth is to get a hard drive that's gigantic so you can keep it into eternity? Or should you skew small and upgrade as you go?

First off, definitely don't go buying a computer with the biggest hard drive that's currently available. The first computer to have a 1GB hard drive was $25,000, after all, and that was in 1985. Now, even your smartphone probably has at least a 16GB hard drive.

Portable Hard Drive Storage Capacity

Naturally, what you put on your computer will affect how your hard drive needs to expand. If you're working with a lot of graphics programs like Photoshop or InDesign, you're going to take up a lot more space than, say, my mother, who's primarily using a word processor to make grocery lists.

So let's delve into what we're using our hard drives for -- and just how big they should be.

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Is your hard drive gigantic, or are you just happy to see MB?

We should point out that we're speaking mostly of hard-drive capacity here. If you were under the impression that hard drives have more to them than just storage, you're correct. Just for a quick rundown, a disk-type hard drive has magnetic disks that spin really fast to record and store data. These are the most widely available hard drives, but they're also the ones you need to watch out for if you drop your laptop (get those spinning disks out of whack and your hard drive follows).

Lately, solid-state drives (SSD) are the Big Thing (Apple has embraced them). Instead of spinning disks, they use the same technology as flash drives for storage. This means that jostling won't hurt them, and you won't get that 'laptop burn' when you sit the computer on your knees -- no spinning means no heat generated (not to mention no noise and less power consumed). These are also more expensive, so you'll probably pay a pretty penny for comparable capacity.

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Now, let's be clear about a few things that our hard drive will not affect. No matter how much storage capacity our hard drive has, our computer will not run faster. That means if you have 1TB of space and aren't using any of it, your computer will run just as well as if you had 1 TB of space and were using pretty much all of it. (And in this instance, size doesn't matter: If your computer had 1GB of hard-drive space, you wouldn't be faster or slower.)

So how big should your hard drive be? Unfortunately, one size doesn't fit all. Anywhere from 120-700 is standard for most laptops and will be sufficient for anyone who is a run-of-the-mill user. Even for those who store 30 MB photographs like so many paperclips, remember how very useful those external hard drives are. Instead of buying an extremely expensive hard drive to fit every single digital photo you have of pretty autumn leaves and cute calico cats, consider purchasing some inexpensive external storage for parts of your collection. The savings is two-fold; not only are you saving on a hard drive, but you're also protecting your library by keeping it in more than one location.

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As someone who recently decided to upgrade my hard-drive capacity when buying a laptop, I struggled to justify just how much of the space I use versus how much I wanted. Final cut pro x microsoft. With the ubiquity -- and incredible capacity -- of external hard drives, it seems to me that you should always pay for what you need and only bump up the number ever-so-incrementally for future use. The rest can go on an external hard drive for safe-keeping.

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Highest Capacity Portable Hard Drive

Sources

• Apple Inc. 'Good to know: Storage.'2012. (Sept. 13, 2012) http://store.apple.com/us/browse/guide/storage
• BetaForce PC Blog. 'From 50 GB to 2TB How Big of a Hard Drive Do I Need?' Jan. 16, 2012. (Sept. 13, 2012) http://blog.betaforcepc.com/hard-drives/2012/01/
• Evangelist, Mike. 'A One Gigabyte Hard Drive for $25,000.' Writers Block Live. Nov. 7, 2005. (Sept. 13, 2012) http://writersblocklive.com/selling-a-one-gigabyte-hard-drive-for-25000-2005-11
• EveryMac.com. 'Apple Macintosh Performa 550 Specs.' 2012. (Sept. 13, 2012) http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_performa/specs/mac_performa_550.html
• Farrance, Rex. 'Timeline: 50 Years of Hard Drives.' PC World. Sept. 13, 2006. (Sept. 13, 2012) http://www.pcworld.com/article/127105/timeline_50_years_of_hard_drives.html
• Kitchen Table Computers. 'Choosing a Hard Drive.' March 7, 2012. (Sept. 13, 2012) http://www.kitchentablecomputers.com/hdrive.php
• Miller, Michael J. 'Hard Drive Technology: Lots of Storage in a Tiny Space.' PCMag. July 12, 2011. (Sept. 13, 2012) http://forwardthinking.pcmag.com/pc-hardware/282270-hard-drive-technology-lots-of-storage-in-a-tiny-space
• Ngo, Dong. 'Seagate reaches 1TB per square inch, hard drive to reach 60 TB capacity.' CNET. March 19, 2012. (Sept. 13, 2012) http://news.cnet.com/8301-21546_3-57400009-10253464/seagate-reaches-1tb-per-square-inch-hard-drive-to-reach-60tb-capacity/
• Ngo, Dong. 'WD breaks capacity limit with 3TB hard drive.' CNET. Oct 19, 2010. (Sept. 13, 2012) http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20019961-1.html
• Steers, Kirk. 'Hardware Tips: Get the Hard Drive That's Right for You and Your PC.' PC World. April 27, 2004. (Sept. 13, 2012) http://www.pcworld.com/article/115629/hardware_tips_get_the_hard_drive_thats_right_for_you_and_your_pc.html

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There might come a time when you run out of storage on your laptop's hard drive or simply want to back up all of your files. You can open your computer and upgrade the storage inside, assuming your computer is repair-friendly. Alternatively, you can buy an external hard drive. Not only is it a useful way to back up your data, but it lets you easily move files from one device to another. These are the best external hard drives you can buy today.

The best external hard drives:

Editor's note:We will update our list of the best external hard drives over time.

1. Seagate Backup Plus Slim

Our list starts with the Seagate Backup Plus Slim. The headline feature is how slim it is relative to other external hard drives with similar storage configurations. Another nice touch is the aluminum enclosure, along with temporary memberships to Mylio Create and Adobe Creative Cloud.

The 120MB/s transfer speed isn't the fastest, but it's typical of mechanical hard drives. Also, the Backup Plus Slim uses USB 3.0 instead of USB-C, which is something to note if your computer only has USB-C ports.

2. Western Digital My Passport Ultra

Portable Hard Drive 2tb

Also read:The best USB-C cables

Yes, there's a USB-C port on the My Passport Ultra. The hard drive comes with a USB-C-to-USB-C cable, though it also includes a USB 3.1 adapter for those with access to the older port. Transfer speeds hover around 125MB/s, so don't expect blazing read and write speeds. At least the hard drive features an anodized metal finish.

3. Samsung T5

Unlike mechanical hard drives, the Samsung T5 is an external solid-state drive (SSD). That means there are no moving parts to worry about. That also means the Samsung T5 is incredibly slim and compact, easily fitting in a shirt pocket.

Don't let the size fool you into thinking transfer speeds are slow, however. Thanks to its use of Samsung's V-NAND flash memory and USB-C, the T5 provides transfer speeds of up to 540MB/s.

4. SanDisk Extreme Portable External SSD

We continue the portable SSD offerings with the SanDisk Extreme Portable External SSD. According to SanDisk, maximum sequential read and write speeds are rated at 1050 and 1000MB/s, respectively.

Apart from being speedy, the Extreme Portable External SSD is also rugged. The portable SSD features an IP55 rating for protection against water and dust. Also, it can withstand drops from up to two meters onto a concrete floor.

5. Adata SE800

There are plenty of hard drives out there with massive capacities, but they sacrifice a great deal of portability. On the other hand, the Adata SE800 offers a powerful combination of up to a 1TB capacity and heavy-duty endurance.

With read and write speeds of up to 1000Mbps and a weight of just 40 grams, the SE800 is perfect to take on the go. It packs USB-C connectivity, but the durability features are where this Adata option really shines. The hard drive is MIL-STD 810G rated for drop tests and it carries an IP68 rating for water and dust.

Portable Hard Drive Capacity

Speedy USB 3.2 Gen 2 connectivity helps to guarantee top speeds while a hairline brushed metal finish gives the Adata SE800 a luxurious feel. It comes in either 512GB or 1TB capacities.

6. Western Digital My Book Duo

Jumping from the most portable hard drive to the least, the Western Digital My Book Duo is a tank. It's best for those who mostly stick to their desks and want to maximize their storage options.

The My Book Duo is RAID-0 ready with WD Red drives inside and a USB-C port along with two USB-A options allow for plenty of peripherals. As for speed, the My Book Duo handles up to 360Mbps sequential reading and can switch to RAID-1 to mirror your data. There may be faster speeds out there, but with a capacity of up to 24TB, you should never be hurting for space with this one.

7. LaCie Rugged

Another option that's designed to face the elements, the LaCie Rugged makes our list of the best external hard drives for a number of reasons. From the capacity of up to 5TB to the six different formats, there's plenty of flexibility available in a compact package.

You'll probably never misplace the LaCie Rugged thanks to the bright orange bumper. The bumper works twofold — protecting the device from falls and water, and housing a convenient USB-C cable. You can max out the laptop transfer speed at 130Mbps and the LaCie Rugged can reportedly withstand up to one ton of pressure.

8. Western Digital Black P10

Pretty much all of the best external hard drives so far have been made for everyday use. However, gamers often find themselves needing extra storage too with how large games have become. That's where the Western Digital Black P10 makes its name. With a capacity of up to 5TB, you should be able to manage up to 125 new games at a size of 36GB apiece.

Also read: The best gaming laptops you can buy right now

Beyond the storage capacity, the Black P10 has an industrial design that feels like it belongs in your gaming arsenal. It's smaller than a standard Xbox controller and sits flat, and speeds of up to 140Mbps should keep you running smoothly. Weighing in at just about eight ounces, you should be able to stuff the Black P10 in a backpack and not feel any difference.

That was our list of the best external hard drives you can buy right now. Check out a few of these other PC accessories to complete your setup: