|
Owning a portable hard drive is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, if your computer or laptop doesn’t have a huge amount of storage space then a portable hard drive can make a useful add-on for storing files that you don’t use on a regular basis. Secondly, owning a portable hard drive is vital for backing up your data held on your computer and thirdly it is easier to perform a daily or weekly backup using a portable hard drive than it is to burn the information to discs, which will likely become worn in time anyway. The size of the drive can vary but generally they are compact and portable, taking up far less room than the equivalent storage capacity in discs. The price of portable hard drives can vary considerably so if you are thinking of investing in one then you will want to ensure that you are getting the most for your money. Naturally it is a good idea to check the reviews of any product online prior to making a purchase but before doing so it helps to narrow down your search by listing what features you are looking for and roughly what your budget range is. This will help you to save a bit of time when researching your options. Storage capacity is one of the main factors that determines price. Generally portable hard drives that have more space cost more so you can expect to pay roughly twice as much for a 1TB portable hard drive than a 500GB one. The amount of storage space you need will depend on how frequently you intend to back up your data and how much data you tend to hold at any given time. If you have a fairly extensive music and video library or lots of high definition media files then it will probably be worth paying the extra to get a 1TB hard drive. The speed of data transfers is important if you intend to back up large amounts of data on a regular basis. The rate is measured in megabytes per second (MBps) or gigabytes per second (GBps). USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 are the most common ports used although some portable hard drives can operate with a FireWire 800 to deliver faster transfer rates. Some new portable hard drives also use the new Thunderbolt port that transfers data at 10GBps in both directions, around 20 times the rate of USB 2.0. As well as the speed and storage capacity it is also important to consider durability, especially if you intend to carry your portable hard drive around with you. A solid state drive has no moving parts to reduce the risk of damage but these models are also a lot more costly. Some portable hard drives simply use rubber and strong protective casing that can also prove very effective. You will find a range of portable hard drives if you visit your online computer store.
Related Articles -
portable hard drives, online computer store,
| 
