Review the Top Terabyte External Hard Drives

Windows Platform, Computing
Review the Top Terabyte External Hard Drives
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How this guide works

Different models and different brands of external hard drives are listed.  This is by no means a ranking system.  In other words, whatever is listed at the top does not mean that it is considerably better than what is listed at the bottom, or vice versa.  The purpose of this guide is to give the strengths and weaknesses of each model and brand of hard drive.  In turn, this should narrow down your choice of which purchase to make.

What this guide concentrates on:

  • Performance

  • Design

  • Warranty

  • Price

Seagate

Seagate FreeAgent Pro 1TB External Hard Drive
Costs roughly: $200-250

 

Features

  • 5 year warranty

  • Content is well-packaged to prevent static

  • Connect using USB, Firewire, or eSATA

  • Transfers up to 3Gbps on eSATA connection

  • Automatically updates content you wish to share online

Setbacks

  • eSATA cable needs to be purchased separately

Seagate Drive

Fantom

Fantom GF1000EU G-Force 1TB External Hard Drive
Costs roughly: $200-230

 

Features

  • Connect using USB or eSATA

  • Transfers up to 3Gbps on eSATA connection

Setbacks

  • Only 1 year warranty

  • No Firewire connection

  • Administration menus a hassle to navigate

  • Sluggish data transfer on USB connection

Fantom Drive

Fantom Drive

SimpleTech

SimpleTech FP-UFE21TB Duo Pro 1TB
Costs roughly: $170-240

 

Features

  • Competitive pricing

  • Multiple connection options (Firewire, USB, SATA)

  • Stores up to 2GB of your files online

  • Up to 3Gbps on SATA connection

  • Two different RAID options (0 for security; 1 for performance)

  • Automatically backs up

  • Comes Plug and Play ready

Setbacks

  • Variable warranty- 1 year or 3 years depending on which version of the product you can grab

  • Bulky design; a little bit too big

  • Enclosure is fragile; easily damaged

  • Cooling system gets noisy

  • Sluggish connectivity with USB

  • eSATA cable not included

SimpleTech Drive

SimpleTech Drive

Western Digital

Western Digital MyBook Studio II 2TB
Costs roughly: $500-600

Features

  • 1TB not enough? 2TB of space

  • Multiple connection options: Firewire 400, 800, eSATA, USB

  • Comes equipped with RAID 0 and RAID 1

  • Automatically backs up

  • Energy efficient; does not require cooling system

  • Transfer rates of up to 3Gbps on SATA

  • Capacity gauge: tells you how much space you have used

Setbacks

  • Only 1 year warranty

  • Expensive; 1TB model is a little bit less costly at $260

  • Bulky design, but that’s mostly due to the enclosure including two 1TB hard drives within it

Western Digital Drive

Western Digital Drive

LaCie

LaCie 2big Triple - 2TB
Costs roughly: $300-330

 

Features

  • 3 year warranty

  • 1TB not enough?  Here’s 2

  • 2 Firewire ports: 800 and 400

  • Offers 4 different RAID levels (for enhanced security or performance, whichever the user chooses)

Setbacks

  • Essentially two 1TB drives attached together

  • Bulky, weighing almost 6lbs

  • Changing RAID can get tedious

LaCie Drive

LaCie Drive

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