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Top External Hard Drives

Written by:  • Edited by: Simon Hill
Published Jan 8, 2010 • Related Guides: External Hard Drives

Looking for an external hard drive for your computer? Be sure to read this article before buying. Like all computer technology, external hard drives are constantly improving and new models are always being released. Read on to find the best external hard drive to suit your needs.

What is the Best External Hard Drive?

external hard drive1
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What is the best external hard drive? There are several external hard drives that are very good. Finding the right one for you is going to depend on several factors such as: budget, capacity, speed, etc... Brand quality and specific models are also important when choosing the right drive.

There are several external hard drives that are not so good. A bad external hard drive will either have poor enclosure quality, poor hard disk quality, or poor component quality.

Below is a list of external hard drives that have received overall good reviews, not only by Bright Hub, but by all other major review sites as well. More than likely, a hard drive on the list will be just what you were looking for.

Western Digital My Book
Rating Good

my book 3
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Currently on it's 3rd generation of external HD's, the Western Digital My Book line is one of the oldest manufactured external hard drives to date. The current version, My Book 3.0, gets its name from the built in USB 3.0 capabilities. This makes it a good choice for anyone looking to stay up-to-date with computer technology standards, as USB 3.0 has not even been officially released yet. My Book 3.0 is currently available in:

1TB Capacity - $199

2TB Capacity - $279.99

Western Digital is likely to market more capacities for the My Book as demand picks up.

There are not a lot of reviews out yet for the My Book 3.0 because it is such a new product. However, Western Digital is a very reputable brand and is known for producing both internal and external hard drives. Previous generations of the My Book have received good to excellent reviews from all major professional and consumer review sites.

Iomega Prestige
Rating Good

io prestige
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Iomega is another company that has been manufacturing storage devices for a long time. You may remember them as the original manufacturers of the zip drive, which was an industry method of computer storage several years ago. They have taken their knowledge and experience in storage, and utilized it to make quality external hard drives.

The Iomega Prestige is designed with a brushed aluminum finish, making it one of the more stylish hard drives on the list. Iomega Prestige is currently available in:

500GB Capacity - $69.99

1TB Capacity - $94.99

1.5TB Capacity - $134.99

2TB Capacity - $199.99

The Iomega Prestige external hard drive has received overall good to excellent 4/5 - 5/5 star ratings from from all major professional and consumer review sites.

Lacie D2 Quadra
Rating Good

lacie d2
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The Lacie D2 Quadra is best known for it's expandability. The Lacie D2 Quadra series external hard drives are designed to be stackable. Thus, you can purchase another if you need to add more storage in the future. D2's also have a vast amount of connectivity options. Not only do they have USB connectivity, but firewire 400, firewire 800, and ESATA as well. The D2 Quadra is currently available in:

500GB Capacity - $125.00

1TB Capacity - $154.95

1.5TB Capacity - $214.99

2TB Capcity - 279.99

The Lacie D2 Quadra external hard drive has received overall good reviews from all major professional and consumer review sites.

Honorable Mention

seagate go
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The list of "good" external hard drives could go on forever. The hard drives mentioned above have consistently received the best reviews from all major online review sites. However, there are several other external hard drives worth mentioning.

Western Digital Passport

Toshiba Portable Hard Drive

Seagate FreeAgent Go

Western Digital Element

Seagate Desktop

Conclusion

So, What is the best external hard drive? It's all a matter of preference. There are several great choices in the external hard drive market. The brands Western Digital, Toshiba, Seagate, and Lacie tend to stick out among all other manufacturers for having a history of producing high quality hard drives.

Can't decide which one to get? Build your own. You also have the option of upgrading your internal hard drive, which is not at all as hard as it seems.

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