External Hard Drives


  • External Hard Drives (289)
  • Tests (423)
  • sort by:
  • Popularity
  • | Overall score
  • | Price
  • | Name
 
  • Filtered by:
  • External 
 
 
 
1
Iomega Professional External Hard Drive (1 TB)
listed since 02/2009
Capacity: 1000GB; Connection: eSATA, USB; Type: External
A fast drive even without taking into account the eSATA connection Iomega's 1TB Professional External Hard  …
1 Review
 
 
2
Western Digital My Passport Studio (500 GB)
listed since 10/2008
Capacity: 500GB; Connection: USB, FireWire; Type: External
Design quality: "good - very good" (3,5 out of 5 stars); Speed test A: "excellent" (5 out of 5 stars)  …
1 Review
 
 
3
LG Electronics External HDD XD2 500GB
listed since 08/2009
Capacity: 500GB; Connection: USB; Type: External
Nothing in the way of accessories besides a USB cable and with scant bundled software, LD's XD2 500GB 2.5in  …
1 Review
 
 
4
HD-HX1.0TU3
listed since 12/2009
Capacity: 1000GB; Connection: USB 3.0; Type: External
"A fairly sparse drive, but it's very quick if you have the USB 3 devices to pair it with."
1 Review
 
 
5
LaCie Hard Disk, Design by Neil Poulton (1TB) (301315EK)
listed since 08/2008
Capacity: 1000GB; Connection: eSATA, USB; Type: External
Offering the lowest price-per-gigabyte score of the group and some of the fastest speeds, the LaCie is a stylish  …
1 Review
 
 
6
Samsung Story Station (1TB)
listed since 05/2009
Capacity: 1024GB; Connection: USB; Type: External
File transfer benchmarks via USB in Samsung's Story Station 1TB are among the fastest seen for both small  …
1 Review
 
 
7
LaCie Rugged XL (1 TB)
listed since 04/2009
LaCie Rugged XL (1 TB)
Capacity: 1024GB; Connection: eSATA, USB; Type: External
"If you intend to keep your hard drive with you at all times, then the LaCie Rugged is for you. ... The combination  …
2 Reviews
 
 
8
Plextor PX-PH320US Portable HDD
listed since 09/2008
Capacity: 320GB; Connection: USB; Type: External
Although USB performance was decidedly average, the inclusion of an eSATA port and a bundled cable makes the Plextor  …
1 Review
 
 
9
MyBook World Edition II 4TB
listed since 10/2009
Capacity: 4000GB; Connection: LAN, USB, SATA; Type: External
"Big drives aren't cheap, as the £460 price-tag attached to this testifies. ... Like many drives this size, you have the option to set it as RAID  …
2 Reviews
 
 
10
Western Digital My Passport Elite WDML3200TE (320 GB)
listed since 05/2008
Capacity: 320GB; Connection: USB; Type: External
Small enough to fit into most pockets, quick and kitted out with a useful visual display of remaining space, the WD My Passport Elite was PC Pro'  …
1 Review
 
 
 
 
11
Western Digital My Book Studio Edition II 4TB
listed since 07/2009
Capacity: 4000GB; Connection: eSATA, USB, FireWire; Type: External
Western Digital's My Book Studio Edition II 4TB is well-styled, though not very robust feeling. It offers  …
1 Review
 
 
12
Apple Time Capsule 2 TB (2009)
listed since 08/2009
Apple Time Capsule 2 TB (2009)
Capacity: 2000GB; Connection: WLAN, LAN, USB; Type: External
Mac Format found the Apple Time Capsule 2TB to be very easy to use, offering lots of storage space and simultaneous  …
2 Reviews
 
 
13
StoreJet 25 Mobile (500GB)
listed since 04/2009
Capacity: 500GB; Connection: USB; Type: External
"... It's also been drop tested to the US military Standard of dropping stuff, so when it falls out of  …
1 Review
 
 
14
Apollo UX 2.5
listed since 04/2009
Capacity: 500GB; Connection: USB; Type: External
"... In terms of performance it's incredible too, able to match OCZ's eSATA Throttle in file copying speeds, which makes it the fastest non  …
2 Reviews
 
 
15
Iomega eGo Mac Edition 320GB
listed since 08/2009
Capacity: 320GB; Connection: USB, FireWire; Type: External
Offering great value for money, the Iomega eGo MAC 320GB pocket external hard drive performs well and is lightweight  …
1 Review
 
 
16
LaCie Starck Desktop Hard Drive (1 TB)
listed since 10/2009
Capacity: 1024GB; Connection: USB; Type: External
"Pros: Effectively dissipates heat; Designed by Philippe Starck; Great additional features. Cons: USB only - no FireWire support."
1 Review
 
 
17
LaCie Starck Mobile Hard Drive (320 GB)
listed since 10/2009
Capacity: 320GB; Connection: USB; Type: External
"Does design matter in an external hard drive? Even if you don't, LaCie's Starck is a decent performing drive that wins points for the built  …
1 Review
 
 
18
MiniStation Metro HD-PXU2 (500 GB)
listed since 08/2009
Capacity: 500GB; Connection: Serial ATA, USB; Type: External
Design quality: "good" (3 out of 5 stars); Speed test A: "adequate - good" (2,5 out of 5 stars)  …
1 Review
 
 
19
Iomega eGo Portable BlackBelt (500 GB)
listed since 08/2009
Capacity: 500GB; Connection: USB; Type: External
"The Iomega eGo BlackBelt has increased in size and speed inits new incarnation, as well as dropping in price.  …
1 Review
 
 
20
Rocstor Rocpro 850
listed since 09/2009
Capacity: 500GB; Connection: FireWire, eSATA, USB; Type: External
"The Rocstor Rocpro 850 500GB is a solid performer in our benchmarking tests and is further recommended by a strong warranty and a competitive price."
1 Review
 
 
  LaCie Rugged
listed since 04/2006
Type: External
"Mobile, bus-powered hard drive that's faster than the competition ..."
5 Reviews
 
 
 
 
"Iomega eGo drive"
1 Hard Drive (approx. £80)
Digital Photo
Issue 12/2009
On test: Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drive (500 GB)
"This eGo portable drive from Iomega is a great compact option to back-up your files. ..." Review details: Single Test    Test results
"Imation Apollo Pro UX 1TB"
1 Hard Drive (approx. £160)
Computer Shopper
Published on 9/2009
On test: Imation Apollo Pro UX (1TB)
"Imation's Apollo Pro UX 1TB external hard disk is attractive thanks to its glossy white front panel, which illuminates when turned on. The plastic case feels a bit creaky, but it's otherwise well designed. It can be placed either horizontally or vertically on your desk, with pop-out feet to keep it steady when oriented vertically." Review details: Single Test    Test results
"Freecom ToughDrive Sport 250GB review"
1 Hard Drive (approx. £90)
PC Advisor
Published on 7/2009
On test: Freecom Tough Drive Sport 250 GB
Tough enough to come with a carabiner, Freecom's ToughDrive Sport 250GB USB drive boasts stormy weather abilities also. The USB cable tethered to the drive body is sheathed in nylon weave, resembling climbing cord. Review details: Single Test. One external USB hard drive was reviewed and rated on build quality, features and value.    Test results
"D-Link DNS-343"
1 NAS Hard Drive (approx. £360)
Personal Computer World
Published on 6/2009
On test: D-Link DNS 343
With four bays and JBOD, Raid 0,1,5 support, D-Link’s DNS-343 NAS appliance is set up to be both reliable and perform well. Limited though by lack of expansion, backup options and other common NAS features, it might not be so appealing for business environments. Review details: Single Test. One NAS appliance was reviewed and rated on features, performance and value.    Test results

Notification on a new review

We will let you know as soon as a new review appears in this category.
Your email address:
 

External Hard Drives

The hard drive of a computer is used for saving all non volatile, that is to say, all permanent information such as documents, the operating system, programs and all other data. Most hard drives are found inside the computer case itself, but an external hard drive can be used to add storage space and also to help when sharing large amounts of data between computers or for keeping a secure backup of important data.

These drives are either specially made or are a normal internal hard disk mounted in an enclosure with an IDE to USB or FireWire adaptor. There are also no-called Network Attached Storage devices, these are connected to a local area network and can be accessed by any connected computer.

Because the basic drive is the same, external hard drives are available in the same sizes and speeds as a normal drive, ie. up to 500GB with speeds of 5400 or 720RPM. External hard drives are now much cheaper and more efficient, some smaller drives can even be powered by the USB bus itself, although for backing up sensitive information this is generally not recommended.

Prices have also dropped significantly with basic 300GB drives costing under one hundred pounds. A more expensive drive could however offer some interesting features that may be of use to those living in today's digital age. These include the ability to connect the drive directly to a television or hi-fi system, copy from memory cards or act as an automatic redundant backup device for the connected PC.
This category contains tests on External Hard Disk, External Hard Disks.
>