It is also well suited as long-term multimedia storage hooked up to a PC or large-screen smart TV from Sony or a recent Samsung as well - some smart TVs support NTFS and FAT32 or NTFS and ExFat, very rarely do they support all three file systems. Then, all the names changed: not once, but twice. And, just in case this was all too easy for you, the USB standards body has also dreamt up the term “SuperSpeed” and added that into the mix too. Say hello to hard drives- the perfect solution for all your storage problems. Store as many pictures, videos, audio files, movies or documents as you want with our range of external hard drives. We have a selection from all the brands like Toshiba, Seagate, Samsung and more, so that you find what you are looking for.

It has a USB-C connection concealed beneath a chunky rubber flap and plug, with a Type-A adaptor provided. Don’t expect much in the way of extreme speed – it’s rated at a max 140MB/sec, and we tested it at 119MB/sec read and 141MB/sec write – but this is more of a tank than a Ferrari. Most of us don’t need to splash out on a drive that offers this level of protection, but if you want to store big image and video files and want a drive that’s built to withstand most disasters, then the Armor ATD won’t let you down.

Over the Type-C connection you get sequential read speeds of 1090MB/sec and write speeds of 1050MB/sec, although these drop to 469MB/sec and 461MB/sec over the slower Type-A. Random read/write speeds are speedy either way, peaking at 262MB/sec and 241MB/sec. While it’s not in the same league for speed as the fastest USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 SSDs, it’s an effective all rounder at a price more of us can afford. Provided you have a USB 3.2 Gen 2 2×2 PC or laptop you can expect read speeds in excess of 1700MB/sec, with write speeds around 30MB/sec slower. Over a straight USB 3.2 Gen 2 connection, both read and write speeds stabilise at around 965MB/sec, which isn’t a massive improvement over 2020’s 1050MB/sec model. Yet it’s the random read/write speeds that are really impressive, reaching up to 206MB/sec and 226MB/sec, making this a good drive for apps and games as well as media. Looking for maximum performance for your most demanding applications? This is one of the strongest options. The G-Technology0G05678 is another fantastic external hard drive with a massive 10TB of storage space. Uniquely, it has a modern sleek design which is much more attractive than the standard hard drive. Along with that, it’s currently on a large 23% discount, as well. You can trust LaCie to bring a little style to storage, and its latest Mobile Drive is another distinctive effort, with an angular, all-aluminium design enhanced by diamond-cut edges and a choice of space grey and moon silver MacBook-matching finishes. But while the looks are important, they’re not all this drive has to rely on.

Don’t underestimate the Kingston XS2000 based on its size. While it’s tiny – less than 7cm long – it’s also ludicrously speedy, posting sequential read/write speeds of 2012MB/sec and 1854MB/sec on the USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port of our test rig. It’s substantially slower over an old-school USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A port, or even USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C, but if you’ve got the connectivity to run it at full speed, you’ll see lightning-fast file transfers or be able to run demanding games and apps straight from the drive.Note that various vendors use different nomenclatures. WD confusingly has two categories - external drives and portable drives - but includes products in the latter category in the former one while archrival Seagate categorizes them as desktop drives and portable drives. You will note that they removed the word "hard" and that's for a good reason: increasingly portable drives are based on flash components and in a near future - given the rapid drop in hardware pricing - we wouldn't be surprised to see multiple SSDs combined in a "desktop drive" How to choose the best external hard drive for you

Thunderbolt ports, should you need to daisy-chain storage, devices and display. This is particularly useful at the high end of the market where creative professionals are particularly fond of this port Users Say:“This drive was easy to install and to use. Great investment to protect my photographs. 8TB of storage for a reasonable price and the product is very sturdy. Now I can free up space on my computer.” Tech Specs & DetailsCloud functionality, which allows individuals and businesses to operate a personal cloud. Essentially your very own cloud storage solution.