How to Choose an External Hard Drive
Using an external hard drive is a great way to store important files away from your laptop or computer. Drives vary in data size, and you can also use them to make backups of your computer on a weekly basis to ensure that you have a copy of everything in case the unthinkable happens. You can find hard disk drives from IBM that use the USB 2.0 interface with varying capacity.
What Factors Should I Consider Before Choosing an External Hard Drive?
Since there are different kinds of hard disk drives, remember the following factors before deciding:
- What storage capacity do I need? The storage capacity of an HDD can vary greatly, anything from a few megabytes or gigabytes through to 4 TB. The capacity you need depends entirely on how much data you have to store, and what kind of data it is. If you have a lot of videos that you want to save onto the hard drive, then you should consider a 1 or 2 TB drive. If you only need to save a few files, images, and audio files, then you might prefer a 250 to 750 GB drive.
- Interface: Hard drives with a USB 3.0 interface work well with newer laptops or computers that have a USB 3.0 port. If your laptop is slightly older, it may only have a USB 2.0 port, in which case you should choose an IBM USB 2.0 hard disc drive. Even though USB 2.0 is slower than 3.0, you should pick a drive with the connection that you need.
- Portability: While most drives are small and lightweight, there are models that weigh a bit more. These can be good if you are just keeping it for storage at home in your desk drawer, but if you are going to be carrying a hard drive around with you a lot, then look for the most portable option.
Anything Else to Check For?
- Speed: When looking at specifications of a hard drive, you will see an RPM number. This refers to the speed in which the hard drive operates. The higher the number, the faster you will be able to transfer files back and forward. 5400 RPM is a good number to shoot for, while 7200 RPM is even better.
- Reviews: You want to make sure that a hard drive is reliable, so do some research about the hard drive model that you are looking at.