Our review presents the top 5 external hard drives available for purchase in Russia in 2015.
Solid state drives, or SSDs, are certainly trendy and modern, but if you need a lot of disk space at a low price, then classic hard drives are out of competition. On the this moment external hard drives have expanded their storage capacity to a whopping 2,000 GB, or more commonly said, up to 2 terabytes (TB). Most external hard drives are USB powered when connected to a computer, making them easy to use and without the hassle of finding an electrical outlet.
Best External Hard Drives: Capacity
Even the smallest external hard drive on the market today has at least 500 GB of storage space, which is more than enough for 2000 CDs in excellent FLAC quality, but if you sacrifice quality and settle for MP3 or AAC formats, then the amount of music can be will double more. This is very useful if your laptop has a small SSD drive that is no longer able to accommodate all your favorite music tracks.
Another popular feature external hard disk - storage of all important information available on your computer or laptop. You can completely copy your computer hard drive to an external drive, and keep it as a backup in case your main PC gets infected with a serious virus or its internal hard drive fails. Alternatively, you can do backups only the most important files and documents such as photos, text documents, movies, music, and saved emails. Some external hard drives are sold with special software that can be configured to automatically back up the entire contents of selected folders each time a device is connected or according to a set daily schedule.
Best External Hard Drives: Performance
At the moment, in most modern external hard drives You won't come across the USB 2.0 standard anymore, but the faster USB 3.0 port is now used, which allows you to increase the speed of data transfer as much as portable devices themselves.
This means that when transferring your collection of your favorite music or video to / from a computer, you can reasonably count on a read speed of approximately 100 MB / s (usually the same figures are relevant for the write speed, since, unlike flash technology, drives here read and write speeds are usually the same). In comparison, using external drives with USB 2.0 ports would get you a maximum speed of around 35MB / s, or only 1/3 the speed of USB 3.0. In real terms, to transfer 100 GB of data using USB standard 2.0 takes about 1 hour, while USB 3.0 cuts this procedure down to 20 minutes.
Best External Hard Drives: Protection
The protective design of an external hard drive will come in handy if you often take your device on the road and don't want to worry about damage in transit, or - more importantly - losing your information.
In such a case, pay attention to the presence of shockproof rating markings such as MIL-STD-810F 516.5 (Drop Test) designed and used by the US military. Devices passed this test must withstand 26 drops on each of their parts (corners, top, bottom and side edges) from a height of 1.22 meters. It should be noted that the external hard drive does not have to be turned on again to pass the test.
We do not believe that any hard drive will be able to survive this test, and the manufacturer does not need to pass any independent verification to advertise the military shockproof quality of your product. However, the presence of such a rating on the marking of the external hard drive is at least some kind of guarantee that the manufacturer has made some effort to protect the fragile drives inside the device.
Best External Hard Drives: Extras. accessories
In addition to the external hard drives themselves, manufacturers can usually include additional accessories in the kit. For example, very often a small cloth cover can be found in a set with a disk drive, which will not only save the device itself from unnecessary dents and scratches during transportation, but also protect nearby things from this.
In addition, the set will definitely include at least one USB cable... Also, if the external hard drive lacks one USB port for power supply, a Y-cable will be included in the kit, which will use several USB ports at once.
Best External Hard Drives: Security
The larger the disk, the more information you can fit on it, but at the same time, the more information you will lose if the device is stolen or lost. This is where data encryption comes in.
There are two ways to ensure that the information stored on your disk is not available to other users. In the first case, encryption can be done by the security forces of the external hard drive itself. In the second, third-party software comes to the rescue, with which you can encrypt either the entire disk or any part of it.
Encryption using the security of the hard drive itself negates the work of all kinds of keyloggers and other malicious software already installed on your computer. In addition, this solution can be used with both Windows and Linux or Mac computers. The only problem this method lies in the fact that the entire security system is tightly embedded in the hard drive, so if any vulnerability is suddenly discovered, you have almost no chance of fixing it.
Encryption using third-party programs is a more flexible solution, but here you need to know ahead of time whether the selected program will work with the OS installed on your PC. The ideal option here should be a cross-platform open-source software, however, since the termination of TrueCrypt, there is still no suitable program that meets all these requirements.
5. LaCie Mirror 1 TB
LaCie Mirror is the first choice for those who are chasing more than just modern technologies but also fashionable design. With such an external hard drive, you can not only easily transfer all the necessary information to it, but also be always aware of your appearance - the drive body is made of mirror metal. There are no complaints about the device, but they are at a price - be prepared to pay for such a stylish-looking gadget five times more than the average cost of such external hard drives for 1 TB.
4.iStorage diskAshur Pro 1TB
DiskAshur Pro is the most secure external hard drive iStorage has ever made. In addition, the US government is happy to use this model to store its most important information, as the device has a FIPS security rating. If we talk about diskAshur Pro only as a portable data storage, then its cost is too high, but in terms of reliability and performance, there are no complaints about it. In addition, its security system will not allow any hacker to take possession of the information stored on it.
3. Toshiba Canvio Basics 2 TB
The Toshiba Canvio Basics external hard drive, as the name implies, offers a basic set of features, without additional tools, a beautiful design and a set of options. But this does not mean at all that the device has problems with performance or usability, the only thing that can be distinguished from the shortcomings is a longer time of random writing of small files. Most important, though, this is the cheapest external hard drive at $ 1 / 1GB - each gigabyte of storage will set you back $ 0.055.
2. Transcend StoreJet 25M3 2 TB
Priced at $ 133, the Transcend StoreJet 25M3 is a very good value for money for an external hard drive, with each gigabyte of storage set to only $ 0.066. There are no complaints about the build quality either; this is a good and reliable budget option for a capacious external hard drive.
1. Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2 TB
The Seagate Backup Plus Slim is a great value for money, the external hard drive offers you a beautiful design and excellent speed. Out-of-the-box compatibility with Mac and PC platforms is a great option. The hard drive comes with a special proprietary software Seagate Dashboard, which will help you easily back up your important files. In general, there is very little to find fault with in the device.
| Key features | |
| Volume | 2 TB |
| Data port | USB 3.0 |
| Form factor | 12.1 mm |
| Weight | 140 gram |
| Price | $115 |
External hard drives are designed for convenient data storage without buying an expensive laptop. All you have to do is buy a laptop with 120 GB of storage under the system, and everything else can be stored on a removable storage device.
The main criteria for choosing a disk are:
- Volume. Depends on your preferences and requests. For ordinary text documents a flash drive is enough. For films, electronic cards and other "heavy" projects, it is desirable to have a disk with a volume of 1 TB or more.
- Connection interface. The old USB0 is quickly being replaced by the 3.0 and 3.1 Gen variants. USB Type-C provides fast data transfer along with them.
- Buffer size. Often, when mentioned, an analogy is drawn with the processor's cache memory. The most frequently used data is stored in the buffer.
- Frame. Presence of metal and rubberized inserts or their complete inclusion in all elements is desirable. With their help, damage resistance and durability are guaranteed.
- Weight. The lighter the better. SSDs are naturally lighter due to the circuitry. In general, there is no big difference in weight between 1 TB and 4 TB HDDs.
We've compiled the top 20 best external hard drives for you.
Best 500GB external hard drives
The most budgetary category. A disc with a volume of 500 GB is enough to store 300-400 movies of low quality. This is a great choice for owners who need to reinstall the operating system and preserve work data.
5 SSD SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD 500GB
Unusual shape
Country: USA
Average price: 9120 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.9
The product is made of a protected rubber-plastic case, its weight and dimensions are very small - 93 × 50 × 9 mm and weighs 39 grams. In appearance, the disc looks more like a USB flash drive that can be carried in a pocket. He really has protection, the device can withstand immersion in liquid. The only unprotected place is the Weak USB Type-C port. Thus, it will be necessary to independently search for and purchase a plug if it is planned to operate in extreme conditions. More attention at first acquaintance is caused by the cell in the upper right, that is, the disk can potentially play the role of a bracelet on your keys.
The device has one and significant drawback, it lies in USB 3.1 Gen 2, the speed of which is limited by SATA. It is worth giving the manufacturer his due - he does not cheat with the characteristics and does not attribute unnecessary things.
4 SSD Samsung Portable SSD T5 500 GB
Best External SSD
Country: South Korea
Average price: 7490 rubles.
Rating (2019): 5.0
The best external SSD from Samsung. Made in the best spirit of a South Korean company. This light, compact and nimble drive connects via USB 3.1 Gen 2 and Type-C, which is why the package includes 2 cables at once. In order to distinguish the product from many competitors, Samsung decides to give its product a blue color. Due to the chips, which are of the highest quality in the world, the disc weighs only 51 grams.
Of the minuses, first of all, the price catches the eye. Almost twice the cost compared to the most expensive external HDDs makes the purchase somewhat unprofitable. When copying large amounts of data, the device gets very hot. Another unique feature of the disk lies in the ability to encode the drive for reading, that is, no one except you can use the information posted.
3 HDD Seagate Expansion Portable Drive 500 GB
The cheapest and lightest
Country: USA
Average price: 2997 rubles.
Rating (2019): 4.6
The category is opened by the Seagate hard drive, which pleases buyers with several parameters. The first is cost. The company does not chase after the ruble and sets sparing price tags for its products. The second is lightness. The weight of 170 grams is undoubtedly pleasing. There is no nagging about the design either, because the upper edge is covered with something like a geometric pattern, combined with an unobtrusive load indicator. Everything else is made of matte plastic and except USB port 3.0 there is nothing else on the disk.
A 2.5-inch drive with a rotation speed of approximately 5400 rpm is installed inside the case. The rest of the indicators are also average, and the buyers themselves in the reviews put in a plus the durability of use and speak negatively about the short complete cable.
2 TOSHIBA CANVIO BASICS 500GB
The most practical case
Country: Japan
Average price: 3100 rubles.
Rating (2019): 4.6
Another representative of the budget segment of the rating, but from the Japanese. In addition to the standard set of features, the device has a stylish and modern design. The rounded corners are solid despite the matte plastic. At the factory, it is specially made rough so that during transportation it does not fall out of the hands or slide on the table.
During operation, the disk works according to the "install and use" system, which means that there are no requirements for drivers and other data. Despite the default USB 3.0 connection interface, external drive supports the previous generation channel, but the data transfer rate will drop in this case. From positive features models, buyers in the reviews note the practicality and ergonomics of the case, as well as a durable connection cable.
Flash drives (familiar to everyone "flash drives") and external hard drives are completely different classes of devices. Their only similarity is information storage. But we will analyze the differences in the comparative table.
|
Comparison criterion |
"Flash drive" |
External hard drive |
|
The most capacious model at the moment holds 2 TB |
Portable models up to 4 TB, stationary network storage (NAS) can hold up to 12 hard drives. The most capacious disks are 10 TB, i.e. in total we get about 120 TB! |
|
|
Price |
The same flash drive with a capacity of 2 TB costs 58 thousand rubles. For 4000 rubles you can buy a 128 GB model |
A 1 TB disk costs about 4 thousand rubles, 2 TB - 6 thousand |
|
Work speed |
High-quality models for writing provide a speed of at least 80 MB / s, reading - from 140 MB. |
The best representatives have: write - 90-95 Mb / s, read - 100-110 Mb / s |
|
Compact |
||
|
Protection from external influences |
Flash drives withstand shaking better, but both classes have rugged models |
|
|
Flash drives have much less resource, but the vast majority of users will have enough of this. |
||
1 TRANSCEND TS500GSJ25M3
Powered by two USB. Protected case
Country: Taiwan
Average price: 4025 rubles.
Rating (2019): 4.7
The leader in the rating category was a product from Transcend. Its distinctive feature is the additional power connector. The disk turned out to be quite power-hungry, so that one more power source will not be superfluous for it. In addition, not all laptops and power supplies are able to provide sufficient power to powerful removable storage devices.
The entire Store Jet M series, to which the wheel belongs, has received awards for shock resistance. In particular, our hero is not afraid of falls, and the combination of green and black gives the body a modern look. According to customer reviews, the main advantages of the drive are shock protection, an additional power connector and a separate button for Reserve copy files.
Best 1TB external hard drives
5 SSD ADATA SD700 1.024 TB
Optimal copy speed
Country: USA
Average price: 10190 rubles.
Rating (2019): 4.9
To copy data without significant losses in speed, we recommend the ADATA SD700 1.024 TB SSD. In terms of compactness, the drive can be ranked among the average, since it has smoothed corners and a square shape. He has one body color - black, which is framed by a bumper of the same color. If you find it boring, you can choose an acid yellow color option. The coating can withstand splash water and immersion, you just need to remember to close the plug with the port.
Buyers in the reviews note that for 3-4 months the disk begins to malfunction, which is why formatting is necessary. The connector itself is also weak, constantly loosening when connected and disconnected.
4 SSD Samsung Portable SSD T5 1TB
Increased compactness
Country: South Korea
Average price: 13279 rub.
Rating (2019): 5.0
A tiny disc by modern standards, outperforming even the Magic Mouse in size. The data transfer speed for USB Type-C varies between 455/510 Mb / s.
But what is really not very good here is the native cable. The disk itself is very small and light, and the cable is so stiff and thick that the disk will stand sideways, but not lie on the table. The problem can be solved by ordering a new cable, but finding a more convenient alternative is very difficult. By the way, the package contains 2 adapter cables: USB Type-C - USB 3.1 Type A Male and USB Type-C - USB Type-C. As for the appearance, there is nothing interesting here - a classic black case with inscriptions and a rounded shape for wearing in a pocket are already commonplace.
3 Lacie STFD1000400
Best design. Type-C connector
Country: France
Average price: 4850 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.7
The rating continues to be the most advanced hard drive. First of all, attention is drawn to the appearance of the device. It is not for nothing that the Porsche Design lettering flaunts on the top edge. The body is minimalistic, metal. No patterns or textured surfaces - everywhere flat, pleasant to the touch and great looking aluminum. The thickness is also pleasing - only 10 mm - even 500 GB hard drives are thicker. Also, the advantages include the use of USB Type-C - a promising connector, which is now used in smartphones and laptops, and in many other equipment. In short, using this connector allows you to carry only one cable with you, which is suitable for charging devices and connecting an external hard drive.
Everything is much simpler inside. A regular 2.5 'disk with a volume of 1 TB is used. The read and write speeds are about the same and amount to 118-122 Mb / s. According to users, this is enough to mount 4K video directly on the hard drive.
The model has one drawback - the cost. For a beautiful design and a modern port, the buyer will have to pay about one and a half thousand rubles.
Advantages:
- Lovely design
- USB Type-C
- Decent read and write speeds
Flaws:
- High cost
2 ADATA DashDrive Durable HD650 1TB
Strongest case
Country: Taiwan
Average price: 3639 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.7
The second place in the rating category was taken by ADATA DashDrive Durable HD650 1TB. Of its obvious trump cards, buyers single out a stylish and modern design. It is especially recommended to use it for young people, since a bright base color (red or blue) is successfully combined with an insert in the middle disguised as carbon. The appearance successfully combines both decorative and practical functions to protect vital modules from damage.
The device is quickly recognized by a computer, and a large amount of memory makes it possible to store many files.
Thanks to reliability important information will always remain safe and sound. From several color options, you can choose the one that suits your taste. Men will appreciate the black color scheme, while women will love the graceful and glamorous performance in pink. The small size makes it easy to carry the hard drive in your pocket or purse.
According to real buyers, the main drawbacks are the insufficient length of the USB cable and the weak connector on the drive itself, which looses over time, which can lead to breakage of the contact.
1 Western Digital My Passport 1 TB (WDBBEX0010B)
The optimum ratio of price and quality
Country: USA
Average price: 3860 rubles.
Rating (2019): 4.8
Western Digital is one of the most well-known and respected companies in the information storage industry. The 1TB model in question is sold in a huge number of stores, which means you will almost certainly find it in your nearest electronics store. The design is typical for the “My Passport” series - the body is completely made of glossy plastic, but texturedly divided into two parts: smooth and grooved. Plastic, unfortunately, is easily soiled and does not resist scratches well. But there are a lot of colors - there are both classic (black, white) and bright (yellow, blue, red, etc.) colors. At the bottom there are rubber feet that prevent sliding on the table. The weight is small - only 170 grams. With ports, everything is traditional - one USB 3.0 connector.
Inside, like most of the other participants, there is nothing remarkable. Used HDD for 1 TB with a rotational speed of 5400 rpm. Average read / write speed at the level of competitors - 110-120 MB / s. Note that WD has specialized software that allows you to easily make backups to an external hard drive, check disk performance, protect data with a password, etc.
Advantages:
- High reliability
- Useful proprietary software
- Good speed performance
Best 2TB external hard drives
2 TB is already quite an impressive volume. It is still represented by both types of drives, but HDD are already beginning to outweigh. This volume is good for storing 4K movies, which take 30-70 GB on average. Thus, they are ideal for those buyers looking to acquire their own large storage. Concerning SSD , because of their novelty and volume, their purchase becomes unprofitable.
5 SSD SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD 2TB
Popular analog for Samsung
Country: USA
Average price: 26,990 rubles.
Rating (2019): 4.9
Remember when we looked at the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD 500GB in our ranking? So, this is the same thing, only with a volume of 2 TB. It costs 300 rubles cheaper than its South Korean counterpart, but its reading speed is higher - 550 MB / s versus 540. An interesting fact is that there are no reviews or customer reviews for it - just because of the low demand, since for that kind of money you can purchase a full-fledged laptop with an SSD drive and headphones.
In general, this disk has inherited all the features of its "big" brother with a volume of 500 GB. Its body is still resistant to damage, it can act as a keychain.
4 SSD Samsung Portable SSD T5 2TB
Top SSD
Country: South Korea
Average price: 27260 rubles.
Rating (2019): 5.0
Highest quality SSD on the market and extremely expensive at the same time. This is due to the difficulty of placing a sufficient number of chips on a small board area. An attempt by Samsung engineers to create a top-end drive was crowned with success, and it works at the declared speed, consistently squeezing out 593 MB / s. By the way, with a "sparing" mode of use at a speed of 120 to 300 Mb / s, it almost does not heat up and can serve as a storage for games. At maximum loads, the heating begins to be felt.
According to customer reviews, they did not find significant flaws in the product. They all like data encryption, as for computer operating systems and mobile. The only nagging concerns the warranty period, which is 5 years for regular drives, but only 3 years for an external drive.
3 Transcend TS2TSJ25M3
Military standard protection. Powered by two USB
Country: Taiwan
Average price: 5670 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.6
Some use external hard drives as large home file storage, but significantly more people transport them regularly. It is very important for them to keep their data safe. Yes, information can be encrypted, but encryption will not save the hard drive from a trivial fall or drowning. But a protected case, like the bronze medalist of the rating, will save you. It meets the requirements of the military standard MIL-STD-810F 516.5, which means it will survive drops, bumps and submersion. But the connectors are not covered with caps. And users also complain that over time they get loose, which is why the contact is lost.
The speed of work is also frustrating. The average read speed is about 32 MB / s, which is a bit strange considering the presence of the USB 3.0 interface. Powered by two USB ports for added stability. It's a pity that the cost is the highest in the top three.
Advantages:
- Military standard security
- Powered by two USB
Flaws:
- Loose connector
- Low speed
- Highest cost
2 Seagate STDR2000200
The smallest and lightest
Country: USA
Average price: 5386 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.7
Once again, Seagate products have earned the title of lightest and most compact. The model is included in the Slim line for a reason - the thickness of the 2 TB disk is only 12.1 mm. Most competitors are at least 20 mm thick! Small and weight - 159 grams against 250 for the leader of the rating. But do not think that we have a Chinese craft before us - numerous tests and user reviews indicate high reliability. Combined case: metal on top, side edges are covered with glossy plastic, bottom - durable matte plastic.
Everything is standard inside. Read / write speeds may vary from copy to copy. In the reviews, users talk about 110-112 Mb / s, tests of profile resources 120-125 Mb / s. In any case, these speeds will be sufficient for most users. Already from the factory, the disk contains about 500 MB of data. This is a proprietary Seagate Dashboard utility for backing up data, warranty terms and other useful information.
Advantages:
- Slim and lightweight design
- High reliability
- Availability of proprietary software
Flaws:
- As with the entire line, short and rigid cable
1 Western Digital My Passport 2 TB (WDBUAX0020B)
The most reliable
Country: USA
Average price: 5390 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.7
Western Digital is one of the recognized leaders in the production of data storage systems. External hard drive WD My Passport 2 TB by technical specifications differs little from competitors. The read speed is about 100-110 MB / s. The interface is, of course, USB 3.0.
Judging by the reviews, there are no complaints about the device. The build quality is excellent and the materials are pleasant. Is that the gloss very quickly becomes covered with scratches, taking on an untidy appearance. The hard drive itself does not suffer from broken sectors. The reliability is excellent. The manufacturer himself is sure of this, and therefore offers a 3-year warranty.
Advantages:
- Good technical characteristics
- Excellent reliability
- 3 year warranty
- Excellent branded software
Flaws:
- Glossy, scratch-resistant design
Best 4TB external hard drives
4 or more terabyte drives are used in server systems. For the average consumer, they are meaningless, unless you are a collector of 4K movies. This segment does not have SSDs, since their price would be prohibitive, and the demand for such models in the market is extremely low.
5 HDD Toshiba Canvio Advance 4 TB
Japanese quality
Country: Japan
Average price: 7742 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.5
Toshiba proved once again that they know how to make equipment and components. At once 4 colors are offered to the buyer to choose from. There are both classic black and white, and navy blue and red. In appearance combines the inherent efficiency and elegance of the company, as well as low heat generation during operation.
The 4 TB volume fits into an elegant case without any protection from external influences. This product is the epitome of safe use, build quality and durability in use. The delivery set is extremely modest and includes only a connection cable. Additionally, the customer receives a two-year product warranty. The only LED indicator is located on the upper right in the form of a circle.
4 HDD Seagate Backup Plus Hub 4 TB
Vertical storage
Country: USA
Average price: 6860 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.5
While most external HDDs are produced in 2.5 format, Seagate decided not to deviate from the classics and released their product in 3.5 format. The form of positioning is also different, this option is located vertically, not horizontally. There are also ports for connection, the role of which was taken over by 2 USB 3.0 versions. When working at maximum loads, it almost does not make noise, and at medium and small it is not audible at all. On the front panel there is an indicator of the working status of the device.
Thanks to him, backups of any type of file will be created with high speed and reliability, thanks to the device's support for all kinds of platforms. Monolithic plastic case non-separable, non-marking surface, matte.
3 HDD Lacie Rugged Thunderbolt USB-C 4 TB
The most high speed... Protected case
Country: France
Average price: 17 940 rubles.
Rating (2019): 4.6
On the 3rd place of the top is a product from not the most popular company Lacie. It costs significantly more than competitors due to its reliability and the use of advanced technologies. At first glance, the massive body is made of aluminum, enclosed in a rubber sheath, which absorbs part of the impact in case of a fall. There is also protection against water of the IP54 class, which prohibits "bathing" the disc in water, but it saves you from splashes and rain (if you get under it).
The interfaces and the speed they give out perform well. For connection, USB Type-C and Thunderbolt are used. For different testers, read and write readings ranged from a modest 50 MB / s to 250 MB / s, unattainable for most competitors. According to customer reviews, the drive is well protected, works quickly and has two up-to-date interfaces for connection. The only negative is the very high price.
2 HDD Seagate Backup Plus Portable Drive 4 TB
Best price
Country: USA
Average price: 8249 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.7
The external hard drive from Seagate is a solid midrange. The body is as minimalistic as possible - just a small block of matte plastic with small gloss inserts. Practical and looks good at the same time. The speed of work is slightly lower than that of the leader of the rating, but also decent. The average write speed is about 85 MB / s. USB 3.0 interface. Yes, and the hard drive would not start through old USB 2.0. There are no complaints about vibration, noise or high temperatures - all indicators are within reason. But the reliability is mediocre. Quite often, you come across models with defects, and therefore be prepared for the fact that you will have to go to a service center.
Advantages:
- Lowest cost
- Practical housing
- Decent speed indicators
- Minimal vibration, noise and heat
Flaws:
- Defective hard drives come across
1 Western Digital My Passport 4 TB (WDBUAX0040B)
Best speed and reliability
Country: USA
Average price: 8069 rub.
Rating (2019): 4.8
Once again, the first line of the rating is occupied by the screw of the WD company. This model is a copy of the leader of the previous category. The body is the same, including the dimensions. Accordingly, the problems remain the same - it scratches. But a 4 TB hard drive is installed inside. The write speed is slightly higher - about 115 Mb / s, USB 3.0 interface. Heating is moderate. The only drawback found by buyers is vibration. Because of the small legs, it is transferred to the table, which is not very pleasant. But there are no problems with reliability - after all, Western Digital is deservedly considered the leaders.
Several useful utilities are preinstalled on the disk. WD Backup allows you to set up automatic backups of important files to an external hard drive. WD Security - Protect your data from unauthorized access with a password. You can also specify your data so that, in the event of a disk loss, the finder can find you.
Advantages:
- High speed of work
- Better reliability
- Useful proprietary utilities
Flaws:
- Glossy body scratches
External hard drives are mainly used today for storing multimedia content. To organize their own rapidly growing data arrays, until now, it was usually required to use large and heavy 3.5-inch HDDs with an external power adapter.
Meanwhile, the more easy-to-use 2.5-inch models now offer ample storage capacity for all your media. Their main advantage is that they are so small and light that they fit easily in a trouser pocket. Moreover, they do not need a separate power supply unit.
We tested six best-in-class models with the highest capacity available today (2TB).
When testing hard drives, we paid special attention not only to the performance and dimensions of the drives, but also to the noise level. After all, these devices are often used next to a laptop on a table, so they should be as quiet as possible during operation.
Portable, quiet and roomy
The models that took part in our today's test weigh only between 170 and 284 g, which means they are hardly heavier than a modern smartphone. However, sometimes the low weight becomes a disadvantage: three models tried to slip off the smooth surface of the table, and falling to the floor, of course, is fraught with failure of the carrier.
Note that all manufacturers have equipped their disk cases with non-slip rubber feet, but only the Transcend drive withstood multiple drops. Thus, the StoreJet 25H3P model (fifth place) has triple anti-shock protection: a protected casing, a metal frame in the body and additional damping elements. According to the manufacturer, the disc can withstand drops of up to 1.2 meters.
To avoid data loss, some developers include proprietary backup software with their products. These programs are as simple as possible: the elements to be saved (folders, files) are determined, after which, by pressing one button, the creation of a backup copy is started.
On the Transcend StoreJet, backups can be started by pressing a button on the case. In addition, this HDD is resistant to damage if dropped.
Backups from Seagate, Toshiba, and Transcend are syncronized to make scheduling backups a lot easier. Besides this, Transcend offers another rather elegant solution: an additional key on the body of the device launches the backup functions without resorting to the backup program.
The models from Toshiba and Western Digital also rely on the "cloud". At the same time, Toshiba provides its customers with 10 GB of online storage free of charge, and Western Digital using the attached software SmartWare Pro allows you to directly save data to the cloud from the HDD connected to your computer. However, this requires a Dropbox account.
However, the practical use of online storage strongly depends on the speed of Internet access. If you have to be content with 1 Mbps, it won't do much good.
Portable media collection
The noise level of external HDDs is measured using a sensitive microphone in a soundproofed chamber: the comfort threshold of 0.5 sone was not exceeded.
External hard drives are formatted differently by default: some use file format NTFS system others are FAT32. Although the latter may be called “digital Methuselah,” it is still widely used. For example, many TVs with USB ports and media players do not recognize gadgets formatted in NTFS.
If you intend to frequently connect the drive, for example, to a TV, you need to format the external drive yourself by changing the NTFS system to FAT32. The free Fat32Formatter tool comes in handy for this: you can use it to create multiple local partitions larger than 32GB.
True, it should be noted that file system FAT32 does not support files larger than 4GB.
Seagate, Transcend and Western Digital also offer another remarkable feature in their external HDDs: a special chip is located inside the device's case, which allows you to encrypt and decrypt data in real time. Thus, files will remain reliably protected if the device is lost or stolen.
In order for external HDDs to discharge the laptop battery as little as possible, energy efficiency is of particular importance. In particular, the Western Digital model looks extremely convincing here: only a little over two watts is enough for the My Passport to work - this is even less than some solid-state drives require.
Due to the massive use of the USB 3.0 interface, modern HDDs work much faster than their predecessors. The leader in writing speed is the Seagate M3 Portable. When measuring the noise, the Adata Dashdrive was unpleasantly surprised, which turned out to be the loudest among the test participants. In terms of data transfer speed, hard drives are, of course, inferior to SSDs: the performance of classic HDDs is improving rather slowly compared to their energy efficiency and capacity, and with each new generation of drives, the gap between these two families becomes more noticeable.
Unfortunately, it should also be noted that compact 2.5 "drives are slower than 3.5" drives. The reason lies primarily in the smaller diameter of their inserts and the lower spindle speed.
However, the average read speed in the tested devices is in the range from 85 to 103 MB / s, which is not bad at all. At this speed, the transfer of a 5 GB file takes about a minute (of course, if the USB 3.0 interface is used, since in the case of USB 2.0 the maximum data transfer rate does not exceed 60 MB / s).
We did not consider other interfaces, for example Thunderbolt or Firewire, due to their low prevalence. When copying a large number of small files, it is not only the speed of writing and reading that matters, but also the access time.
True, in this aspect, the situation has not changed in recent years: the latest generation HDDs are as leisurely as their predecessors. It takes about 20ms for the disk controller to locate the required data.
For all tested devices, the process is slightly faster when reading than when writing. It should be emphasized that solid state drives perform this task hundreds of times faster.
How CHIP tests hard drives
Mobility (30%). A portable hard drive needs to be compact and quiet above all else. Equipment also plays an important role.
Productivity (30%). The average speed of writing and reading is determined at various degrees of filling the drive. The access time is also important.
Noise level (20%). A special camera measures the noise level of external HDDs at rest and during operation.
Energy consumption (20%). With the help of a precise measuring device, we determine the energy consumption during operation and at rest.
When measuring the noise level of the HDD, we use a special digital sound level meter. Test results
The best model. The Seagate M3 turned out to be the best in all the main parameters. Of the minuses of this quiet and fast HDD, we can only mention the smallest dimensions.
The optimal choice and the best purchase. We gave two awards at once to the Toshiba Store.E Canvio model, which took the second place. This external HDD costs the least of all in the test, and at the same time it is not far behind in performance from the winner. In addition, the excellent energy efficiency speaks in favor of this device. The downside is a rather high noise level during operation.
| Seagate M3 Portable | Intenso Memory Case | Western Digital My Passport | Transcend Storejet 25H3P | ADATA Dashdrive HV620 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seagate M3 Portable | Toshiba Stor.E Canvio Connect | Intenso Memory Case | Western Digital My Passport | Transcend Storejet 25H3P | ADATA Dashdrive HV620 | ||||
| Place | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |||
| Average retail price, rub. | 6600 | 5500 | 6000 | 5200 | 6700 | 7700 | |||
| Overall assessment, points | 96.5 | 93.2 | 92.5 | 91.2 | 89.5 | 87.8 | |||
| Capacity, GB | 2000 | 2000 | 2000 | 2000 | 2000 | 2000 | |||
| Interface | USB 3.0 | USB 3.0 | USB 3.0 | USB 3.0 | USB 3.0 | USB 3.0 | |||
| Data transfer rate (read), MB / s | 92.376 | 92.106 | 92.972 | 85.56 | 92.17 | 92.808 | |||
| Data transfer rate (write), MB / s | 103.804 | 91.498 | 92.127 | 85.29 | 91.442 | 92.202 | |||
| Noise at rest, sleep | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.7 | |||
| Noise during operation, sleep | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.1 | |||
| Quiescent power consumption, W | 1.4 | 0.96 | 1.16 | 1.5 | 1.38 | 1.34 | |||
| Power consumption in operation mode, W | 3.25 | 3.12 | 3.71 | 2.06 | 3.61 | 3.54 | |||
| Access speed when reading, ms | 19.1 | 17.6 | 17.5 | 17.6 | 17.5 | 17.5 | |||
| Write access speed, ms | 19.4 | 20.8 | 20.9 | 23 | 21.3 | 20.8 | |||
| Weight, g | 170 | 209 | 238 | 230 | 284 | 213 | |||
| Dimensions, mm | 111x82x18 | 111x79x21 | 127x78x20 | 111x82x21 | 131x81x25 | 115x78x21 | |||
| Encryption | Yes | - | - | Yes | Yes | - | |||
| Impact protection | - | - | - | - | Yes | - | |||
| Slip resistant | Yes | Yes | - | - | Yes | - | |||
| Backup software | Yes | Yes | - | Yes | Yes | - | |||
| Cloud backup | - | Yes | - | Yes | - | - |
The thing is right. The rating will help you choose the right option. The top five includes the best HDDs from advanced companies.
Each model contains a thousand gigabytes of information, so it is perfect for installing operating systems and storing multimedia. The article describes the key features and advantages of the best hard drives to help you choose the most suitable option. There are server and universal models that provide information protection, there are also mega-speed devices.
WD 3.5 SATA 3.0 1TB 7200RPM 64MB CACHE CAVIAR BLUE (WD10EZEX)
This winchester got into the rating for a reason. The indoor model is efficient and durable - this is what it gained popularity. The 3.5-inch HDD, which holds 1000 GB of data, is the best fit for both a regular office PC and for gaming assemblies.
Note: classic accessory connection type -
Attractive features of a hard drive:
Productive - the spindle rotates at 7.2 thousand rpm. Together with a 64-megabyte cache, this enables the hard drive to quickly read and write information.
Reliable - the device can serve well for a very long time: it will last 7.5 years if it works around the clock.
Silence is another advantage of the drive. It does not hum at all: when the HDD reads data, it makes only 30 decibels of noise.
SEAGATE SATA 1TB 7200RPM 6GB / S 64MB (310506)
The Barracuda series made the manufacturer famous. These HDDs make it possible to use the capacity to the maximum and cope 100% with any task, be it storing documents, media files or installing games.
TOSHIBA SATA 1TB 7200RPM 6GB / S / 64MB HDWD110UZSVA
The model is the best option for office and "home" assemblies. The HDD capacity (1000 GB) allows you to store a decent multimedia collection. The capacity of the hard drive makes it possible to collect not only a good collection of movies and music, but also different games.
Advice: created for stationary computers, if you need to add memory to the laptop, you will need
Four best features of a hard drive:
WD 3.5 SATA 3.0 1TB 7200RPM 64MB CACHE BLACK (WD1003FZEX)
The variant belongs to the "Black" line. HDDs in this series belong to the category of top-end options for desktop PCs. This Winchester made the list best models 1 terabyte due to reliability and quick work. HDD The Black line is ideal for demanding applications and games, as it is designed for increased workloads.
Note: the manufacturer is so confident that its discs are good that it is not afraid to put a five-year warranty on them.
Four main features of HDD:
1. Transmits data very quickly: it is capable of transmitting 6 Gigabits of information per second.
2. Speed is what you need: two processors, an advanced SATA 3.5 interface, high speed at which the spindle rotates (it makes 7.2 thousand revolutions per minute) provide excellent performance.
3. Resistant to wear: the device is protected by NoTouch technology, which aims to reduce wear on the heads and discs. It prevents the head from touching the surface of the plate, which protects the model from shaking during operation and transportation.
4. The hard disk will last a long, long time: its engine's operating time between failures is as much as three hundred thousand hours. Rather, the computer will fail than this hard drive.
Backblaze hard drive reliability statistics for 2015 includes data for 56,224 drives that operate in 1,249 storage systems. In total, there are over 200 petabytes of disk space, of which 65 ptb were added in 2015. Below is a table of the reliability of all drives used in the company as of December 31, 2015, while statistics have been kept since 2013:
In 2015, 5 models were discontinued. The bounce statistics for these models are presented below:
Determining the percentage of disk failure
This is a good time to find out how Backblaze calculates the drive failure rate in use. There are two ways. One of them is as follows:
- select a group of discs (usually a batch)
- during a time period (usually 1 year), observation is carried out (statistics)
- the number of disk failures in a certain group is recorded during the observation period
- and also - the number of operating hours
(100 * drive-failures) / (drive-hours / 24/365)
(100*5)/(750,000/24/365)
We get 5.84% disk failure in 2015.
For the second method, the only change is that it counts the operating time of the disk differently. For each disk in this case, Backblaze specialists simply count the number of days worked. Every day of work is recorded for each disc. When a disk fails, it is removed from the list and its final count is used to calculate the total number of days worked, while all disks continue to be monitored.
Disk failure rate by manufacturer
As you can see, the most failures are in Western digital... Oddly enough, but in second place in terms of the number of failures - Seagate... It is worth noting that earlier Backblaze was slightly accused of removing data on a large batch of Seagate from statistics, allegedly due to the fact that Seagate gave them a large batch for free testing. Now, most likely, all the data has been taken into account.
Also, the guys from Backblaze noticed that they practically removed small hard drives (up to 4 TB) from their park, simply due to the desire to save on space and volumes.
And of course I remind you that HGST it Hitachi but now it's a partnership with Western Digital. If we discuss why HGST has the best reliability indicator, then it should be noted that Backblaze has a large number of their 2 TB disks, which are very reliable, at one time Hitachi was very serious about this size. So if you plan to store your family photos and videos, then the most reliable is just 2 TB from Hitachi.
Below is the statistics of large disks (the main ones in Backblaze), i.e. 4TB:
Hitachi performs very well here. Obviously pumped up - Toshiba and Seagate... The first - has long run out of "fuse", so the company actually stopped any serious research and development, focusing on the current release, and it stopped when 2 TB was in use, so now it is reaping its benefits. It is also true for Seagate that the number of these drives is the largest in relation to other suppliers - due to the low price of drives and per 1GB in terms of calculation.
There is also preliminary information on reliability and failures of large drives (6Tb):
Why preliminary? The time interval is too short for an objective assessment. The technology must be tested for at least 2 years, so 5 TB, 6 TB, 8 TB disks should not be actively used for now. But HDD 4 TB already seems to be quite possible to start taking for confident use in storing important files.
