The Top 5 External Hard Drives

Whether you use a desktop PC or a laptop, chances are, if you do a lot of work such as imaging, desktop publishing, or writing on your computer, you've run up against the problem of disk space. One answer to freeing up space on your computer is to get flash drives to backup files that are not used frequently, but by far the best way to go is to install an external hard drive, which enables you to backup files, but also have them easily available for use.

There are lots of external hard drives to choose from, but the following are the top five for the busy home computer user, in terms of cost, ease of use, and storage capacity.

Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Pro (500 GB) The Seagate USB portable external hard drive is probably one of the best buys for solving your storage problems quickly and easily. Light and portable, its USB connection allows you to back up files quickly without having to do a lot of searching for cables. Its 480 Mb/s speed and 8 MB cache buffer will enable you to quickly transfer even the largest files from your main hard drive, and just as quickly access them later. It's reasonably priced at around $120. The thing that makes this the top drive, in addition to the amount of storage space is that its design allows you to use it with any type of connection by changing the adaptor.

Maxtor 320GB Black Armor 2.5 inch External Hard Drive The Maxtor has less storage capacity than other drives, but offers greater security. When the USB cable is removed from the computer, the drive is automatically locked, protecting your backed up files. It can also be passworded, and has an on board hint feature in the event you forget your password. This drive is sleek and won't take up much space on your desk, and at a price of under $100, is probably one of the best bargains in external drives.

LaCie Rugged All-Terrain Hard Drive (320 GB) If you're one of those on-the-go laptop users and you'd like to have a backup drive that will withstand the rugged conditions, at $119, the LaCie with its shock resistant case is the drive you need. At only 3.5 x 1.0 x 5.7 inches, it will fit easily into your laptop accessory pocket, or even in a jacket pocket.

Hitachi LifeStudio Mobile Plus This external drive will come in handy if you have a large number of diverse files and want to be able to access them easily. The Hitachi LifeStudio comes with a software application that organizes your files for easy access, and with its 500 GB of storage capacity, it will hold a lot of files. Its prices from $80 to $130 at most computer outlets or online.

Clickfree C2N (500 GB) This is an excellent choice for the user who is working on a home network, especially one with multiple computers. The amount of storage space puts it on a par with other external drives, and it's small and lightweight, making it handy to use wherever your computers happen to be. It's available from around $100 if you're willing to shop around, and only has USB 2.0 interface, but also includes a docking station for convenience at your work station. It can be used to back up other computers on your network without having to be directly connected to them.

References:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-12938_105-20012066-1.html

http://gadgetophilia.com/top-10-external-hard-drives/

http://computershopper.com/hard-drives-burners/external-hard-drives/top-5-external-hard-drives

http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/collection/1650/top_10_external_hard_drives.html