Best External Hard Drives: Solutions for Home Offices and Small Businesses

In today's digital data intensive world, the internal hard drive no longer provides enough storage, especially for your home office or small businesses. Although external hard drives do not process data as fast as their internal counterparts, external hard drives are great for storage and back-up purposes. Back up data is crucial to any legitimate business in today's world and will prevent a lot of headache due to digital mishaps. External hard drives are also amazingly easy to install and use, as most only require the user to plug in the device using through the USB port. As the prices of external hard drives continue to drop, it becomes increasingly tempting to purchase one of these devices. Below is a guide to the top five external hard drives which will aide the search for one that is suitable for you!

1. SimpleTech Duo Pro Drive

Drive size (GB): 1000
Supported Interface(s): External SATA-300, USB 2.0
Speed (RPM): 7200
Cost per Gigabyte: $0.3
Price: $299

This top of the line model provides a seemingly endless supply of memory at 1000 GB (1 Terabyte!). The bulky size is a disadvantage but not a big problem if you have ample work space. Fan runs quiet enough for such a large device. This tank will provide enough storage space to last you a lifetime at a great price! This drive works perfectly with Windows Operating Systems, but is known to have some problem working with the Mac OS.

2. Western Digital My Book Home Edition

Drive size (GB): 1000
Supported Interface(s): External SATA-300, USB 2.0, FireWire 400
Speed (RPM): 7200
Buffer Size (MB): 16
Cost per Gigabyte: $0.3
Price: $300
Western Digital is another reliable producer of external hard drives. The prices of the drive vary with the drive size. 500 GB versions can often be found for around $100 when stores offer their promotional deals. I own the 500GB version of My Book and it has never failed me. The slim design and lightweight of the My Book is one of its strengths. FireWire compatibility is a plus, especially when your USB ports are occupied.

3. Apricorn EZ Bus Desktop SATA

Drive size (GB): 500
Supported Interface(s): External SATA-300, USB 2.0
Speed (RPM): 7200
Buffer Size (MB): 8
Cost per Gigabyte: $0.34
Price: $169

This drive is more expensive than WD My Books but the performance is better and processing speeds are slightly faster. The software that comes with this drive can be improved upon, but other than that this hard drive works very well. Its small size and sleek design will fit well with any work space. The drive is also very stable and reliable.

4. My Passport Essential Portable 320GB Hard Drive

Drive size (GB): 320
Supported Interface(s): External SATA-300, USB 2.0
Speed (RPM): 7200
Buffer Size (MB): 8
Cost per Gigabyte: $0.37
Price: $119

This is one of my favorite external drives due to its small size. This external hard drive is small enough to fit in a typical shirt pocket. Perfect for people and offices on the go and laptop lovers, this drive is mobile yet still provides enough storage space for most users. This hard drive is also very affordable for what it is. Definitely one of the best external hard drive on the market right now!

5. LaCie d2 QuadraDrive size (GB): 500

Supported Interface(s): External SATA-150, USB 2.0, FireWire 800/400
Speed (RPM): 7200
Buffer Size (MB): 16
Cost per Gigabyte: $0.4
Price When Reviewed: $200

The LaCie d2 Quadra is a slightly more expensive external hard drive. The extra money is spent on superb performance speed and compatibility. Another plus is that hard drive works well as a plug and play device for the Mac as oppose to the other drives which sometimes present difficulties. The drive also has very solid construction and is durable and reliable. A fantastic external hard drive especially for a Mac user!

External hard drives are great storage devices, but be aware that they sometimes fail as well. Having two or more external hard drives backing up important data is a smart thing to do. Making hard copies on DVD's and CD's will also prove to be lifesavers in times of drive failure! Until next time, compute well and prosper!!