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How many people used USB flash drives on a daily basis before the cloud became popular? I used to carry it around with my laptop to save university reports and important images.
Now that the amount of data used in daily life has increased at a stretch, external drives have evolved rapidly! From a large network HDD (NAS) that can back up large media files to a thin hard disk that can be hidden under sticky notes... After careful examination, Wirecutter has carefully selected the most convenient and recommended products. .
At Wirecutter, we've spent hundreds of hours researching and testing external hard drives (HDDs) to find the best option for every application and budget.
The Seagate Backup Plus Slim (2TB) is a reliable external hard drive that's easy to use on the go and has plenty of space for storing documents and photos.
If you need more storage, you care more about speed, or you often move large amounts of data between computers, there are external hard drives we recommend for all your needs. I will introduce it.
The most convenient external hard disk for backup: "Seagate Backup Plus Slim (2TB)"
High reliability, thin and light weight, and high speed at a reasonable price.
Seagate Backup Plus Slim portable HDD [PS5/PS4] operation confirmed TV recording compatible 2TB black with backup software 3 year warranty STHN200040017,385 yen
Why Seagate Backup Plus Slim?
Perfect for laptop users who often work on the go and are looking for a hard drive to back up their documents and photos. It's an external hard disk.
As mentioned in this article, the Seagate Backup Plus Slim (2TB) was one of the lightest and thinnest hard drives Wirecutter tested. When tested for music and photo transfer speeds, it was consistently faster than competitors, with a reported failure rate of 9% out of about 2,701 Amazon reviews. The Seagate Backup Plus Slim (2TB) also includes useful backup software.
Seagate Backup Plus Slim's Worrisome Weaknesses
The Seagate Backup Plus Slim's USB port can wobble under pressure. If the port breaks, you risk losing access to your data until you find a new one. The warranty period is two years, which is one year shorter than Western Digital hard disks. Some Amazon product reviews complained about Seagate's customer service, but none of these weaknesses are big enough to make you want to avoid the purchase.
Recommended External Hard Drive for Desktop: Western Digital My Book (4 TB)
Even faster than a portable hard drive, the Western Digital My Book (4 TB) is affordable and reliable. there is. It's large and has a power adapter, so it's not suitable for carrying around, so it's perfect for when you don't have many opportunities to move around with your PC.
WD Desktop HDD 4TB USB3.0 Encrypted Password Protection Backup My Book External Hard Disk / WDBBGB0040HBK-JESN11,799 Yen
Why the Western Digital My Book (4 TB)? increase. The Western Digital My Book (4TB) is a reliable external hard drive that offers the best speed/price ratio. Out of about 400 reviews on Amazon, the failure rate is 6%. It's as fast as the competition in every test, it's one of the cheapest external hard drives out there, and it comes with a 3-year warranty, which is longer than the competition. 4TB should be enough for your long term storage needs.Western Digital My Book (4 TB) Concerns Weakness
All of the desktop external hard drives Wirecutter tested were excellent, and the speed difference wasn't that big. . Since the performance is similar, it is a good idea to purchase the cheapest one if there is a reliable manufacturer. That's the Western Digital My Book (4TB) for now, but the company's Elements and Easystore are similarly fast and reliable hard drives.
Recommended portable SSD for best performance: "Western Digital My Passport SSD (1TB)"
Western Digital My Passport SSD offers a good balance of reliability, speed, and size , comes with a 5-year warranty, the longest of any drive Wirecutter has found.
WD Portable SSD 1TB Gray USB3.2 Gen2 My Passport SSD Maximum Read 1050 MB/s External SSD/5 Year Warranty WDBAGF0010BGY-WESN19,800 Yen
Why a Western Digital My Passport SSD (1TB)? Perfect for those who want speedy external storage.
The Western Digital My Passport SSD (1TB) was consistently faster than other portable SSDs in Wirecutter's tests. It's compact enough to be hidden under a sticky note and doesn't have any moving parts, so it's okay if it sways a little in your bag. It comes with one USB-C port with transfer speeds up to 10Gbps, a short cable, and a USB-C-A adapter, so you can connect it to most desktops, laptops and game consoles. It also features a long 5-year warranty, compared to the 3-year warranty of many other companies' products.
Western Digital My Passport SSD (1TB) Worrying Weaknesses
Compared to hard drives, the Western Digital My Passport SSD (1TB) is a little more expensive. And while the short USB-C cable is fine for connecting to a laptop, it may not be sufficient for connecting to a desktop computer. With no activity light, it's possible to forget to command your computer to eject the drive.
Useful external hard disk for those who own multiple computers / huge media files: "Synology DS220+"
Network HDD (NAS) that is easy to set up and manage. Equipped with reliable data protection features such as hardware encryption, media streaming and remote access, useful apps, and more.
[NAS kit + guidebook included] Synology DiskStation DS220 + / JP [2 bays / dual core CPU installed / 2GB memory installed] Domestic genuine product + telephone support compatible product40,303 yen
Why "Synology DiskStation DS220+"?
If you have a lot of media files, a network HDD (NAS) is the best choice. If you want to back up data from multiple computers to one place, if your data is too heavy to store on Dropbox or Google Drive, or if you can't store your data with a cloud storage provider, a NAS is another option. .
The Synology DiskStation DS220+ is powerful and the fastest network hard drive (NAS) Wirecutter has tested. Enhanced security with AES-NI hardware encryption acceleration. It also features upgradable RAM. It comes with intuitive and flexible software that works with a variety of third-party applications such as Plex, BitTorrent Sync, GitLab, and more. It can also be used as a home backup device, media streamer, mail server, website hosting device, BitTorrent box, and video surveillance recorder.
The only thing that bothers me is that they are bigger, bulkier and more expensive than other external drives.
Wirecutter Fast and Rugged Flash Drive: Kingston DataTraveler Elite G2 64 GB
The fastest and most stable 64GB drive. It's reasonably priced and has a sturdy black metal body. Comes with a 5 year warranty.
Reasons for recommending "Kingston DataTraveler Elite G2 (64GB)" Recommended for those who want to move quickly.
The Kingston DataTraveler Elite G2 (64GB) is affordable and the fastest flash drive we've tested so far. It's built in a solid metal case, but it's not big enough to block other USB ports. It also has an activity light that blinks during data transfer, a feature not found on other flash drives. Although it is not as long as SanDisk's lifetime warranty, the warranty is 5 years and it can be said that it is a sufficient period.
The little cap that protects the USB plug is easy to lose, but the USB-A connection is durable enough that you can easily lose it.
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