- Best External Hdd For Backup Hard Drive
- Backup Ipad To External Drive
- Best External Hdd For Backup Camera System
We've spent hundreds of hours researching and testing external drives to find the best options for any use and budget. If you want a dependable external drive that has plenty of storage space for. Seagate Backup Plus Slim 1TB External Hard Drive Portable HDD – Red USB 3.0 for PC Laptop and Mac, 1 year Mylio Create, 2 Months Adobe CC Photography, (STHN1000403) 4.6 out of 5 stars 145 $52.49 $ 52. Any portable drive will let you store, backup, and transport files. But getting the best external hard drive or best portable SSD for your needs is important. Best Buy customers often prefer the following products when searching for External Hard Drives With Backup Software. Browse the top-ranked list of External Hard Drives With Backup Software below.
Best External Hdd For Backup Hard Drive
Featured Image Credit: Louise Soe - Flickr.comIn today's world, backing up data is extremely important. Usually, people store important data on their computers and don't have the habit of backing up elsewhere. However, putting all the data in one place is extremely dangerous. Many risks can happen randomly, and these data may be lost. For example, the electrical system has a problem, and your computer broke down with the data in it, or someone steals your computer. Whatever the reason, losing data that is important to your work and life is extremely painful.
Therefore, the only way to prepare for the unexpected is to have a good backup strategy. There are many different ways to back your computer up. When using multiple backup forms, you can reduce the risk of losing valuable files.
The simplest definition of a backup is a copy of the data you have selected and stored at one or more different places. For example, if you want to back up important documents or spreadsheets to two copies, you will clone those data and move them to two different places. However, you must note that these two places should not be on the same device. That is useless because if that device goes down, you will lose both backups. This makes the method and the device used for backups important things to consider for your backup strategy.
Table of ContentsUSB Flash Drive, External HDD Or SSD: Which Is The Best Solution For Backup?
To back up and save data externally, you can use three simple devices, including USB flash drive, external HDD, and external SSD. All three can help you backup your data well. However, these devices also have their own advantages and disadvantages.
Let's find out more about these devices!
USB Flash Drives
I think there is no need to explain what a USB flash drive is because most people already know what it looks like. Instead, I will dive deeper into the types of USB flash drives you can purchase and their pros and cons.
Advantages Of USB Flash Drives
The first advantage of a USB flash drive is that they are compact and can be put in the pocket to carry everywhere. They also come in many different shapes, so you can hang it on a keyring, or leave it in your wallet like a credit card.
The next good point is that most USB flash drives are shockproof and waterproof, so they are very convenient to carry around anywhere. When you want to use it, simply plug it into the appropriate USB port and use the data you desired. They are great for storing data that you often need to work with. USB flash drives are also very useful in moving data from one device to another quickly.
Besides, a USB flash drive is sometimes used as a bootable drive to install an operating system. For example, you can download a Windows 10 installation file and create a bootable drive to install Windows 10 on other computers. USB flash drives can also be used to create rescue drives, which can help resolve many issues when your computer can't boot up.
Disadvantages Of USB Flash Drive
USB flash drives are not immune to file corruption. Your files can be unreadable or corrupt due to use. Once this happens, there is no guarantee that you can get the lost files back. That is the reason why many professionals or myself always recommend backing up important data regularly and saving it in multiple places.
USB flash drives also have a limited number of times you can write and erase data. This limit is roughly 100,000 times, and once reached, your USB flash drive may be unreadable. However, I think this limitation is quite enough to use several times a day for years. Therefore, the rewrite limitation may not be a concern at all.
Which Types Of USB Flash Drives Should You Buy?
Depending on the purpose and your current situation, you should buy different USB flash drives. For example, if you only want to store small data types, then choose a 16GB or 32GB USB flash drive. Don't waste your money on buying 500GB or 1TB USB flash drives while never reaching that limit.
USB flash drives come in many different shapes, so you should choose the style you prefer. In addition, the USB version is also something you should pay attention to. You may like a USB-C flash drive because the design of the connector looks good and supports very high speeds (up to 40Gbps, at this moment), but this new connectivity port is not popular on many devices. Therefore, at present, I think you should choose a USB Type-A flash drive that supports USB 3.1 as it can be backward compatible with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0, and the transfer speed can reach speeds of up to 10Gbps.
External HDDs
If your computer's hard drive capacity is running out, it's time to upgrade your hard drive or add a new one. Attaching a hard drive to a desktop is hardly a problem, but for most laptops, it's a bad idea. Not many laptops support a second hard drive attachment.
For those reasons, why not use an external HDD that plugs into your computer's USB port and acts as a secondary storage solution. It helps to expand the storage capacity on your computer, regardless of whether your computer supports it.
Advantages Of External HDDs
In all the available options, external HDDs give you the most optimal option of high storage capacity at a low cost. For almost the same price as a 256GB USB flash drive, you can buy an external 1TB HDD, which is four times bigger. As such, external HDDs are the best low-cost solution to deal with shrinking computer storage. You can buy a terabyte with a low budget, connect it to your computer to increase a large amount of room for more files and programs.
Disadvantages Of External HDDs
Although they are cheap, they are mechanical hard drives and use moving parts. This makes them more susceptible to damage from bumps, and the most reason for data loss is mechanical damage. However, many companies have researched and produced HDDs with multiple layers of protection to protect against shocks. But most consumers also don't want to risk their important data by using external HDDs and carrying them everywhere.
As such, external HDDs are the best solution to expand storage capacity cheaply, on the condition that they should not be moved much.
External SSDs
SSDs were created to replace traditional HDDs, with more advantages such as being lighter, faster, and not using mechanical parts. However, the SSD's price is several times higher, depending on the product segment.
Nowadays, many computers use both SSD and HDD. These computers use an SSD with a low capacity to install the operating system, helping them to boot up and run faster. Meanwhile, a high capacity HDD, such as 1TB, will be used to store data.
Advantages Of External SSDs
Solid-state drives deliver a speedy transfer speed because they don't have any mechanical parts. They are about 20 to 100 times faster than a traditional hard disk drive. With that kind of speed, your computer can boot up faster, transfer files quicker, and offer higher bandwidth for enterprise computing. This is the most worthy advantage. Besides, without physical moving disks, fragmentation of data in an SSD is negligible and helps to access data faster.
SSDs consume less energy and generate less heat than typical HDDs. This means that SSDs are suitable for energy-efficient computers and systems. SSDs are more durable than HDDs. Therefore, your data will be protected better against physical accidents like drops and shudders. This is another excellent pro of an SSD, especially for laptops and tablets. Unlike HDDs, SSDs don't create any noise while in operation. Furthermore, SSDs are smaller and lighter than HDDs. This means that SSDs are more suitable or an advantageous storage component for portable devices such as ultrabooks or tablets.
Disadvantages Of External SSDs
However, a lot of excellent advantages don't come at a low price. If you want to use an external SSD, be prepared to spend more money than an external HDD or USB flash drive in the same capacity. Therefore, the majority of individuals and businesses still use mechanical HDDs to store large amounts of data for cheap. SSDs are only suitable for storing frequently used applications and data.
Backup Ipad To External Drive
In Conclusion
Regardless of USB flash drives, HDDs, or SSDs, they all have their own pros and cons. USB flash drives give a solution to increase your storage space that comes with high mobility. HDDs provide a solution at a low cost. SSDs can offer multiple advantages such as portability, durability, high transfer speed, no noise, and consume less energy. However, consumers need to spend more money per GB to expand their storage capacity.
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For those who chose a MacBook over an ordinary laptop must be short for some storage space, right? Well, upgrading storage space through apple is as costly as purchasing a new laptop. In this case, an external hard drive is less expensive and beneficial for storage requirements.
You can switch your external hard drive from a Mac to a pc which makes data transfer for two different OS easier. Furthermore, external hard disks are less likely to get corrupted and are portable in nature.
Macbooks generally have SSDs which are capable of loading a program quickly but more likely to low on storage.
Furthermore, SSDs are quite costly and upgrading an SSD on a Macbook is definitely costlier than you could even imagine. An external hard drive is best for storing data such as photos, videos, movies, rendered projects and more.
Contents
- 1 Best External Hard Drives for MacBook in 2021
- 1.3 3. Seagate Backup Plus Slim (2 TB)
- 1.4 4. Western Digital My Book (8 TB)
- 1.5 5. Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt
- 1.6 6. G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB)
- 1.7 7. Adata SD700 External SSD
- 1.8 8. LaCie Rugged USB-C
- 1.9 9. Samsung X5 (1TB)
- 1.10 10. Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC external hard drive
- 2 What things to consider while buying External Hard Drive For Mac?
- 3 External Hard Drive Vs SSD: Which one is good for MacBook Pro?
Best External Hard Drives for MacBook in 2021
Although choosing an external hard drive is a complicated process but we have made a list of 10 best external hard drives for Mac that you should consider before your final decision.
1. Samsung Portable SSD T5
Starting off Samsung Portable SSD T5 which is an outstanding storage device, it can reach up to a speed of 550 MB per second for data transfer which is amazing. You can directly plug it into a USB-C port or USB-A port.
It contains no moving parts therefore chances of getting damaged due to mishandling are less. Even though SSD is costlier than a hard drive, the speed it offers is commendable. You will notice a significant boost in the overall performance while doing stuff that requires you to load large files and programs.
Overall, the SSD is fantastic but only if you can spare a few more bucks than your actual budget. Notepad text editor download. You can get the SSD ranging from 250 GB to 2 TB from Amazon with some additional discounts.
2. Western Digital My Passport 4TB external hard drive
Western Digital My Passport 4TB external hard drive is the newest generation of external hard disks and is available in capacities from 1 TB to up to 4 TB. It offers cloud storage and 256-AES encryption alongside WD's software for backups.
The data transfer speeds won't disappoint you and the drive offers speed similar to what an SSD provides. If you are looking for a drive with good data transfer rate and maximum storage, consider Western Digital My Passport 4TB as a choice.
3. Seagate Backup Plus Slim (2 TB)
If you are looking for a reliable, portable, and affordable hard disk, Seagate backup plus slim is the thing you should have a look at. It supports Windows and Mac both and perfect for storing your essential data right away.
With the Seagate dashboard backup system, you can schedule backups and never lose your important files anymore. Backup automation can be set for daily, monthly, weekly or your desired time-frequency.
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Alongside, Seagate also provides a two-month membership for adobe creative cloud photography plan and a one-year subscription to Mylio create to manage your photo library.
- Affordable price
- Metal body
- Supports USB 3.0
- Comes with an automation backup software
- Doesn't support USB 3.0 cables
4. Western Digital My Book (8 TB)
This Hard disk is probably for creators and organizations that require a lot of storage for various purposes. Faster data transmission rate will let you transfer data in the meantime, all thanks to USB 3.0 support.
It also offers 256 AES encryption for securing your data and makes sure your personal data is secured in the storage device. Even though it meets the requirements of a regular user, the only thing where Western Digital My Book (8 TB) lacks is portability.
Therefore, if you are looking for a hard disk for work purposes and if portability is not an issue, Western Digital My Book (8 TB) is definitely the right choice.
- High storage
- Data encryption
- Compatible with the time machine
- Requires power source to work
- Not portable
5. Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt
Buffalo MiniStation thunderbolt offers data transmission at a speed of twice of what USB 3.0 offers. You can enjoy this feature if your device has a thunderbolt port. Another good thing about Buffalo MiniStation thunderbolt is its price. It is affordable and portable.
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However, it is a hard drive, not a solid-state, therefore, the data transmission will definitely be high but the overall performance of your pc will remain unchanged. Lastly, if you don't have a thunderbolt port in your pc, you can use the traditional USB 3.0 port.
- USB 3.0 port
- Affordable
- Formatted for Mac
- Not a Solid State drive
6. G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB)
With the new products, Apple is on its way to completely shift to USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 ports but there are still some people who are using old hardware and for them, G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB) is going to work like a charm.
The body of the HDD is made up of metal which makes it durable and strong against accidents such as dropping off the drive on the floor or whatnot. It runs at a speed of 7200 RPM and can transfer data at a rate of 195 MB/s which is efficient for transferring music, videos and software.
- Metallic body for durability
- High data transmission rate
- USB 3.0
- Should be reformatted for Windows OS
7. Adata SD700 External SSD
Adata SD700 is an affordable External SSD which is IP68 rated which certainly makes it a water-resistant storage device. The overall performance of this SSD is commendable and as per our research, Adata SD700 External SSD is the only SSD with an IP68 rating.
You can expect faster transfer rates and better booting speed if you are planning to install an OS on the SSD. Don't worry about the storage space as it is available in 1 TB capacity also. The maximum read and write speed is up to 440 MB/S, all thanks to the USB 3.1 Gen 1 interface.
- Lightweight and portable
- Shock resistant
- Supports Android, Mac, and Windows
- 3 years of Warranty
- Mac users must format it to FAT32 to use this product
8. LaCie Rugged USB-C
Lacie rugged USB-C hard disk can be distinguished easily because of its unique rubber casing that makes sure your hard drive doesn't get damaged when it drops from up to 1.3 m height. It can withstand rain, dust and can even survive 1-ton pressure. This is certainly the best choice for content creators.
Alongside hard disk, you will also get access to a one-month subscription to Adobe creative cloud all apps plan. The company also provides 3 years of warranty for the device and will also help you to restore the data if lost.
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In terms of speed, Lacie rugged USB-C hard disk is not very fast as it provides only 120 MB/s which is comparatively lesser than the HDDs mentioned in this listicle. However, there are various variants available for this hard disk on Amazon.
- Durability
- Affordable
- Resistant to water
- Lesser data transmission speed
9. Samsung X5 (1TB)
Samsung never disappoints with its amazing hardware capabilities. With Samsung X5, you can transfer data at a rate of 2,300 MB/s which is the fastest speed an SSD can provide you. The build quality is super amazing as it is made up of metal, making it stronger than storage disks that are made up of plastic bodies.
The shock-resistant capability can save up your drive from a fall of 2 meters. Alongside this, it comes with Thunderbolt 3 technology that is ideal for faster data transfer of up to 40 GB per second which is unbelievable. You can take full advantage of this SSD on your MacBook or Macbook pro without having to format anything.
- High data transmission rate
- Supports thunderbolt 3
- Shock-resistant up to 2 meters
- Heats up really quick
- Comparatively expensive than the other disks
10. Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC external hard drive
In terms of flexibility, Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC external hard drive is really good as it supports both Mac and windows out of the box. The disk doesn't get damaged due to dust and water which is again a positive point.
It encrypts the user data at 256 bit AES security which additionally makes everything on the drive, secure. Overall, it is a great drive for Mac owners as well as windows owners too.
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For those who chose a MacBook over an ordinary laptop must be short for some storage space, right? Well, upgrading storage space through apple is as costly as purchasing a new laptop. In this case, an external hard drive is less expensive and beneficial for storage requirements.
You can switch your external hard drive from a Mac to a pc which makes data transfer for two different OS easier. Furthermore, external hard disks are less likely to get corrupted and are portable in nature.
Macbooks generally have SSDs which are capable of loading a program quickly but more likely to low on storage.
Furthermore, SSDs are quite costly and upgrading an SSD on a Macbook is definitely costlier than you could even imagine. An external hard drive is best for storing data such as photos, videos, movies, rendered projects and more.
Contents
- 1 Best External Hard Drives for MacBook in 2021
- 1.3 3. Seagate Backup Plus Slim (2 TB)
- 1.4 4. Western Digital My Book (8 TB)
- 1.5 5. Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt
- 1.6 6. G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB)
- 1.7 7. Adata SD700 External SSD
- 1.8 8. LaCie Rugged USB-C
- 1.9 9. Samsung X5 (1TB)
- 1.10 10. Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC external hard drive
- 2 What things to consider while buying External Hard Drive For Mac?
- 3 External Hard Drive Vs SSD: Which one is good for MacBook Pro?
Best External Hard Drives for MacBook in 2021
Although choosing an external hard drive is a complicated process but we have made a list of 10 best external hard drives for Mac that you should consider before your final decision.
1. Samsung Portable SSD T5
Starting off Samsung Portable SSD T5 which is an outstanding storage device, it can reach up to a speed of 550 MB per second for data transfer which is amazing. You can directly plug it into a USB-C port or USB-A port.
It contains no moving parts therefore chances of getting damaged due to mishandling are less. Even though SSD is costlier than a hard drive, the speed it offers is commendable. You will notice a significant boost in the overall performance while doing stuff that requires you to load large files and programs.
Overall, the SSD is fantastic but only if you can spare a few more bucks than your actual budget. Notepad text editor download. You can get the SSD ranging from 250 GB to 2 TB from Amazon with some additional discounts.
2. Western Digital My Passport 4TB external hard drive
Western Digital My Passport 4TB external hard drive is the newest generation of external hard disks and is available in capacities from 1 TB to up to 4 TB. It offers cloud storage and 256-AES encryption alongside WD's software for backups.
The data transfer speeds won't disappoint you and the drive offers speed similar to what an SSD provides. If you are looking for a drive with good data transfer rate and maximum storage, consider Western Digital My Passport 4TB as a choice.
3. Seagate Backup Plus Slim (2 TB)
If you are looking for a reliable, portable, and affordable hard disk, Seagate backup plus slim is the thing you should have a look at. It supports Windows and Mac both and perfect for storing your essential data right away.
With the Seagate dashboard backup system, you can schedule backups and never lose your important files anymore. Backup automation can be set for daily, monthly, weekly or your desired time-frequency.
Also Check:
Alongside, Seagate also provides a two-month membership for adobe creative cloud photography plan and a one-year subscription to Mylio create to manage your photo library.
- Affordable price
- Metal body
- Supports USB 3.0
- Comes with an automation backup software
- Doesn't support USB 3.0 cables
4. Western Digital My Book (8 TB)
This Hard disk is probably for creators and organizations that require a lot of storage for various purposes. Faster data transmission rate will let you transfer data in the meantime, all thanks to USB 3.0 support.
It also offers 256 AES encryption for securing your data and makes sure your personal data is secured in the storage device. Even though it meets the requirements of a regular user, the only thing where Western Digital My Book (8 TB) lacks is portability.
Therefore, if you are looking for a hard disk for work purposes and if portability is not an issue, Western Digital My Book (8 TB) is definitely the right choice.
- High storage
- Data encryption
- Compatible with the time machine
- Requires power source to work
- Not portable
5. Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt
Buffalo MiniStation thunderbolt offers data transmission at a speed of twice of what USB 3.0 offers. You can enjoy this feature if your device has a thunderbolt port. Another good thing about Buffalo MiniStation thunderbolt is its price. It is affordable and portable.
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However, it is a hard drive, not a solid-state, therefore, the data transmission will definitely be high but the overall performance of your pc will remain unchanged. Lastly, if you don't have a thunderbolt port in your pc, you can use the traditional USB 3.0 port.
- USB 3.0 port
- Affordable
- Formatted for Mac
- Not a Solid State drive
6. G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB)
With the new products, Apple is on its way to completely shift to USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 ports but there are still some people who are using old hardware and for them, G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB) is going to work like a charm.
The body of the HDD is made up of metal which makes it durable and strong against accidents such as dropping off the drive on the floor or whatnot. It runs at a speed of 7200 RPM and can transfer data at a rate of 195 MB/s which is efficient for transferring music, videos and software.
- Metallic body for durability
- High data transmission rate
- USB 3.0
- Should be reformatted for Windows OS
7. Adata SD700 External SSD
Adata SD700 is an affordable External SSD which is IP68 rated which certainly makes it a water-resistant storage device. The overall performance of this SSD is commendable and as per our research, Adata SD700 External SSD is the only SSD with an IP68 rating.
You can expect faster transfer rates and better booting speed if you are planning to install an OS on the SSD. Don't worry about the storage space as it is available in 1 TB capacity also. The maximum read and write speed is up to 440 MB/S, all thanks to the USB 3.1 Gen 1 interface.
- Lightweight and portable
- Shock resistant
- Supports Android, Mac, and Windows
- 3 years of Warranty
- Mac users must format it to FAT32 to use this product
8. LaCie Rugged USB-C
Lacie rugged USB-C hard disk can be distinguished easily because of its unique rubber casing that makes sure your hard drive doesn't get damaged when it drops from up to 1.3 m height. It can withstand rain, dust and can even survive 1-ton pressure. This is certainly the best choice for content creators.
Alongside hard disk, you will also get access to a one-month subscription to Adobe creative cloud all apps plan. The company also provides 3 years of warranty for the device and will also help you to restore the data if lost.
Also Check:
In terms of speed, Lacie rugged USB-C hard disk is not very fast as it provides only 120 MB/s which is comparatively lesser than the HDDs mentioned in this listicle. However, there are various variants available for this hard disk on Amazon.
- Durability
- Affordable
- Resistant to water
- Lesser data transmission speed
9. Samsung X5 (1TB)
Samsung never disappoints with its amazing hardware capabilities. With Samsung X5, you can transfer data at a rate of 2,300 MB/s which is the fastest speed an SSD can provide you. The build quality is super amazing as it is made up of metal, making it stronger than storage disks that are made up of plastic bodies.
The shock-resistant capability can save up your drive from a fall of 2 meters. Alongside this, it comes with Thunderbolt 3 technology that is ideal for faster data transfer of up to 40 GB per second which is unbelievable. You can take full advantage of this SSD on your MacBook or Macbook pro without having to format anything.
- High data transmission rate
- Supports thunderbolt 3
- Shock-resistant up to 2 meters
- Heats up really quick
- Comparatively expensive than the other disks
10. Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC external hard drive
In terms of flexibility, Buffalo MiniStation Extreme NFC external hard drive is really good as it supports both Mac and windows out of the box. The disk doesn't get damaged due to dust and water which is again a positive point.
It encrypts the user data at 256 bit AES security which additionally makes everything on the drive, secure. Overall, it is a great drive for Mac owners as well as windows owners too.
- Secure for handling user data
- Protects from water and dust
- Low-speed data transfer
What things to consider while buying External Hard Drive For Mac?
So those were some of the best external hard disk drive solutions for Mac. However, you must be confused about which external HDD to choose. But not to worry, let me just point some of the key factors that you need to consider while buying an external hard drive:
1. Storage
One of the first and the most important thing that you need to consider is the storage space of your external HDD. As you already know that Macbook does not come with a huge space. Hence, you better choose something which offers you enough space to store all your files.
For many users, 1 TB of space should be good enough. But if you need to store a huge number of files and save them for a longer period of time, then getting 2TB of HDD would be an ideal choice.
Best External Hdd For Backup Camera System
Apart from 1TB and 2TB of storage options, you can also consider getting huge storage options like 4TB. But for a day to day work, 4TB of HDD does not help much. Also, they are quite expensive.
2. Transfer speed
After the storing capacity, transfer speed is the second most important thing that you have to consider. You don't want to get an external hard disk drive for Mac, which takes too long to copy files. Instead, you need something that can get the job done as quickly as possible.
So the first thing that you must do is avoid USB 2.0 powered external HDD. As they are outdated and not fast enough. Instead, you should get an external HDD with USB 3.0, 3.1 Gen 1 or USB 3.2 Gen 1. All of these are capable of offering an exceptional transfer speed. Can i download snapchat on ipad. On the other hand, I would like to recoomend you to buy the best external SSD for Mac that offers good transfer speed.
3. Compatibility
The next thing you need to check its compatibility. External HDD formatted for Windows 10 may have connectivity issues with Mac OS and vise versa. So since you are using a Mac powered machine, I would recommend you to get an external HDD with Mac OS compatibility.
Although there is no need to focus on the compatibility part way too much. Since you can always format your external HDD using a Windows Computer with exFat Format. So you can easily use the HDD with your Macbook. But yes, if you get a pre compatible external hard disk drive then it saves you from extra work and headaches that you have to face.
4. Security
If you are someone who takes security really seriously, then you must look for security features. Most of the manufacturers do ship security software and backup software. So you can easily encrypt your drive or take a backup of it. Even, if you don't consider the encryption feature, the backup feature is something that you must and should consider.
Even to make sure your HDD stays safe, they use strong casing from physical damage. So you can consider getting such external hard disk drives that save you from every side.
External Hard Drive Vs SSD: Which one is good for MacBook Pro?
Whenever it comes to a primary storage solution for computers, HDD and SSD's are the only solutions we have. However, in the last couple of years, the usage of HDD has dropped drastically, and people are not moving to SSD's for better performance.
But there are quite a lot of users who are still unaware of the difference between a hard disk drive and a solid state drive or SSD.
However, not to worry, let me just draw a quick difference between both and help you to understand better.
1. Storage Capacity
HDD's are a great option if you want something for storage. HDD's are available in a wide range of storage capacities from 500GB to 12 TB. Even, for enterprise uses, you will find a large capacity of HDDs.
SSDs are also available with large capacities. However, when it comes to the costs of an SSD and an HDD, SSDs are quite expensive. Hence, if your main goal is to store a huge amount of data, HDD is an ideal choice.
2. Speed
Whenever it comes to speed, SSDs are a better option. Since a hard disk drive uses a round plate with a layer of magnetic material. And the data is stored on this magnetic layer only. So the disk spins and the magnetic head is used for reading and writing data.
Also, the speed that the disk spins is measured in RPM. And on average, an HDD has about 5,400 RPM, and it will have a read/write speeds of around 100 MB/s.
However, when it comes to SSD's, there are no moving parts. As a result, it offers you a much faster data transfer rate. On average, it offers you around 550 MB/s and 520 MB/s of data transfer rate.
3. Reliability & Durability
There are quite a lot of factors that determine the lifespan of drivers. However, you should know that an SSD can sustain a limited number of write cycles compared to HDD which has no read/write limits.
But you should know that SSD has a write cycle limit between 3000 and 10,000 which is a high number. So it would not be a problem for you.
Also, SSD's are lesser affected by any sort of damages compared to HDD. Since there are no moving parts in SSD, they tend to survive more. While HDD's might stop working if it encounters any physical damage.
3. Cost
Finally, let's talk about pricing. Well, if you look at the cost of both HDD and SSD, you would happily pick up an HDD. Why? Because SSD's are expensive. When you choose an HDD, you will get a large amount of capacity for a lesser price. But on the other hand, if you choose an SSD, it would cost you 3-5x of an HDD price.
In the end, the conclusion is HDD's are a better option when it comes to storing data. Of course, SSD's are faster and more reliable. But they do come with a high price. But on the other hand, if you take care of your HDD in a good manner, it will offer you great performance for years.
Wrapping it up:
So, these were the 10 best external hard drives for Macbook Air and Pro. Every disk mentioned in this article has its own pros and cons, we have tried our best to list out the good and bad in every product. For Mac users, external SSD can be really helpful for storing content and transferring it to a different place.