Best external hard drives to buy right now?

Hey there,🙂

I've got an HP laptop and I'm looking to pick up an external drive, but I'm feeling a bit lost and could use some clarity on a few things.

Does a 2.5'' drive actually require a specific 3.0 cable?
I mean, is that specialized cable really necessary, or can I just plug the drive directly into the computer like any other standard USB device?
Also, what’s the best way to figure out if my laptop even has a 3.0 port available?
And honestly, are those Verbatim drives worth getting—I saw them sitting there at Walmart.

Thanks a million,

It depends—some of those drives are still stuck on the old USB 2.0 interface, while others have moved up to 3.0.
I’m a bit lost here—you can't exactly plug in a hard drive without a cable, right?
Just pull up your Device Manager and head over to the Universal Serial Bus controllers; if you're running USB 3.0, it’ll be clearly labeled there. Usually, the ports themselves are blue anyway, which is a dead giveaway.
They aren't any good—honestly, just scroll back through the last two pages of this thread and you'll see what I mean.

So, I’m also on the hunt for an external hard drive. The main things for me are getting at least 1TB of space and making sure it has USB 3.0. I’d really like to keep the total cost, including shipping, under $300. My plan is basically just to store some files and maybe watch movies directly from the drive. Any advice or suggestions would be super helpful!

I was checking out this one

and then there's this one

Or maybe something else entirely?

Thanks!

I'm on the hunt for a new external hard drive since my old one just died on me. Reliability and build quality are my top priorities here because I'll be storing critical data on it. Does anyone have a solid "best buy" recommendation under $217? I was browsing the previous threads and noticed two options mentioned by dustyfox60: and According to some online reviews, both feature rugged builds that meet certain military standards. Which of these two is actually the better, more durable choice? If there are even better alternatives out there that will last me a long time, please let me know. Thanks in advance.

I’d personally go with the DashDrive—it’s just built more ruggedly, you know? Better at handling the occasional drop or bump without throwing a tantrum. But look, let’s be real about hard drives in general: don't go expecting 100% reliability. Every batch has its share of duds, and honestly, nobody can promise you a drive will run flawlessly for three, five, or ten years straight. It’s just the nature of the beast. Always have a backup plan ready. And for anything actually important? Keep it in at least two different places. 🙂

Benjamin King2 said:I’d go with the DashDrive. It’s built tougher and handles drops or bumps much better. Honestly, you shouldn't expect 100% reliability from any hard drive; there's always a chance something goes wrong eventually. No one can guarantee a drive will run flawlessly for 3, 5, or 10 years, so always have a backup plan ready. Keep your critical data in at least two different places. 🙂

Look, I get that nothing is foolproof, but I just want something well-made so I have a little peace of mind.

Quick response needed
What’s actually the deal with the difference between the 1TB ADATA Classic CH11 Black USB 3.0 external drive
and the 1TB ADATA Nobility NH13 Black USB 3.0 one?
Is it just a matter of how they look, or am I missing something big here?
Also—I'm stuck on a dilemma—should I stick with ADATA, go with Seagate Expansion, WD, or is there something else out there in this price range that isn't total junk?
Thanks.

You should probably check out those Transcend drives. From what I’ve gathered, the Seagate Expansion series is decent enough—it just runs pretty power-hungry—so you usually end up needing a Y-cable if you're plugging into USB 2.0 ports, since they only push about 500 mA compared to the 900 mA you get from USB 3.0.

Hey there! I’m pretty clueless when it comes to external hard drives, so I could use a little guidance before I pull the trigger. I’m looking for something in the 500GB to 1TB range, provided it stays under about $500-$200. It'll mostly just be sitting on my desk to store movies, music, and stuff like that.
Portability isn't really a big deal for me.

😕 What’s the point of owning a portable drive if you aren't actually taking it anywhere? Just buy an internal one instead.

Benjamin King2 said:😕 What’s the point of an external drive if you aren't actually taking it anywhere? Just grab an internal one.

I’m using a laptop. I noticed those desktop drives—the ones that just sit on your desk—are usually way cheaper than the portable ones meant for travel.

Look, drives in those larger cases usually top out well above 1 TB, and honestly, you aren't going to find one within your budget—where on earth did you see them cheaper? For maybe 500 bucks—$200you can grab a 500 GB drive, something like this:

Or if you want 750 GB:

The only catch is that the larger one doesn't have a USB 3.0 port—but let's be real, you probably don't even have a USB 3.0 port on your laptop anyway, so it shouldn't really be an issue.

Check this out, it's perfect for $233.

You might as well grab this too:

Benjamin King2 said:You might want to check this out too:

I probably can't even use that one since it's got USB 3.0.

The connector is identical for both versions—honestly, you can just use whichever combination you want.

Hey there,
I’m looking for some help making a decision here. I'm basically hunting for a hard drive that'll mainly act as a massive storage bin for all my movies and TV shows, so I was wondering which of these you guys would suggest, or if there's something else out there entirely that I should be looking at:

1. http://www.nabava.net/cvrsti-diskovi...00rpm__2383281

2. http://www.nabava.net/cvrsti-diskovi...00rpm__1692961

3. http://www.nabava.net/cvrsti-diskovi...cache__2214111

4. http://www.phoenix.com/External-hard-drive...ATA-72081.aspx

5. http://www.portio.com/index.php?page=...d=999000051355

Thanks in advance 🙂>

You can pick any of those, just whatever you do, stay away from Phoenix—they’re charging an absolute fortune for no reason. 🙂 If you aren't sweating $50 spending a bit extra, you might as well grab one with twice the capacity:

Here's the drive I'm talking about: http://www.seagate.com/external-hard...on-hard-drive/

Benjamin King2 said:Any of those options will work, just stay away from buying anything at Phoenix because their prices are totally inflated. 🙂 If you don't mind dropping $50 a little extra cash, you might want to grab a drive with twice the capacity:

This is the one I meant: http://www.seagate.com/external-hard...on-hard-drive/

Man, now I’m even more torn than I was before 😁
It feels like this Seagate isn't really built for tossing in a backpack and heading out, and honestly, being able to carry it around is a pretty big deal for me. Or am I just overthinking things?

Then again, if I'm looking at the long game, getting that 2 TB jump seems like a total no-brainer considering the price gap.

At this point, I'm honestly just spinning my wheels. 😁

Look, it’s a solid pound, plus you’ve got two cables to deal with—one USB and then that specific power cord. At 20x13 cm, it’s basically the size of a women's clutch. 😁