Getting value for money
You’ll tend to have a budget in mind when looking to buy a new external hard drive, below I share with you my views on the best value for money external hard drives your hard earned cash can get you…
Budget (less than £60): One of the best budget models on the market is the Buffalo DriveStation (1.0TB, USB2.0 model), which can be snapped up as little as £45 on some websites, but tends to hit the £50 mark on most (at time of writing). If it’s simplicity you want, this model is about as straightforward as you can get, connecting to your computer via USB port for data transfer and formatted ready to use out of the box. It’s also very quiet with no internal fan, and seems to maintain a cool temperature even when in heavy use. On the downside, you won’t be able to take the DriveStation out and about with you as it needs to be plugged into the mains to run.
Mid Range (£60 – £120): If you’ve got a little more to spend, you might want to invest in the WD My Passport Essential SE (1TB, USB 3.0/2.0 model). Tends to be priced at around £85 (at time of writing) and ticks all the boxes for speed of transfer (both USB 2.0 and 3.0 compatible), portability (USB powered and just 200g in weight) and ease of use (you can set it up to run continuously once installed, without having to prompt back up). It also comes in a variety of colours (metallic blue, metallic red, silver, midnight black), which is a nice touch, given that most models are only available in the ubiquitous black. One thing to note is that it comes with in-built back-up software which hasn’t had the most glowing of reviews, but you don’t have to use it, others such as Microsoft’s SyncToy 2.1 (free to download) seem to work just as well.
Big Spender (£120 and up): Okay, so this isn’t exactly value for money, but if you want to push the boat out and splash some cash on an external hard drive, you could do a lot worse than getting your hands on the iStorage DiskGenie 1TB 256-bit Pin Code Encrypted Hard Drive, currently retailing at about £190. In addition to all that you’d expect from a high spec external hard drive, the key selling point is that the DiskGenie adds an extra layer of protection on top, by protecting your data with a PIN that you programme in using the cash machine-style keypad – indeed if you need to you can assign up to 10 unique passcodes to different people! It’s small and light enough to slip into your pocket or handbag and has a conveniently integrated USB cable to connect with your computer. So all in all, a great purchase for those who require that little bit of extra security but don’t want to scrimp on looks.
Do you agree? Any other recommendations out there?
Tagged: Buffalo DriveStation, external hard drive, featured, iStorage DiskGenie 1TB 256-bit Pin Code Encrypted Hard Drive, value for money, WD My Passport Essential SE
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