Best external hard drives to buy right now?

One last check—if I plug this USB 3.0 external drive into a 2.0 port on my laptop, it’ll work fine, right? It'll just be capped at 2.0 speeds?


Prices seem to be shifting every five minutes, so I'm seriously looking at this one:

Transcend model StoreJet 25M3 750GB external hard drive

StoreJet 25 M3 750, 750 GB, USB 3.0, 8 MB, 2.5", 5,400 rpm, Transcend
Model: StoreJet 25 M3 750
PN: TS750GSJ25M3
Warranty: 36 months
Gross weight: 0.420 kg

Technical specs:
StoreJet 25 M3 750, 750 GB, USB 3.0, 8 MB, 2.5", 5,400 rpm

$211 (assuming the price doesn't jump up by tomorrow 😢 )

Yes, it maintains backward compatibility, which essentially means you can run it on a 2.0 interface while still hitting those advertised speeds.
As for the prices, they’re sitting right where they should be; I highly doubt we’ll see any sudden spikes, so if anything, they might actually dip a bit.

Jamie Ramos5 said:prices are right where they are. I really doubt they'll go up—if anything, they might just drop.

Hehe, well, prices could always swing the other way. Just yesterday, I was looking at an ADATA 750GB drive for $174, and today, in that very same shop, it's sitting there for $190. 🤷

Picked up a 750GB Transcend model storejet today

StoreJet 25 M3 750, 750 GB, USB 3.0, 8 MB, 2.5", 5400 rpm, Transcend
Warranty: 36 months
Weight: 0.420 kg

$211I grabbed this at Best Buy. They were super friendly and quick—honestly, I have to give them some credit. 🙂

The drive comes with two different cables, and it feels a bit more substantial than those ultra-cheap ones you see everywhere. So far, even just testing it on USB 2.0, it seems pretty snappy. 🙂

A few quick questions for you all:
-Is it better to unplug it every single time I'm done with it, or is it fine to just leave it connected to my computer?
-Can I stream music or movies directly from the drive without any issues? Will doing that shorten its lifespan at all?
-Is there anything else essential I should know about keeping my data safe?

1) It won't break anything, but I’d much rather just use "safely remove hardware" or whatever the setting is called on my PC 🙂
2) I'm not saying that because of any specific reason, but back when I had a 4GB thumb drive, trying to watch movies directly off it was a total lag fest. I only ever had one 700MB movie on there at a time anyway. Just move the movies over one by one, watch them, and delete them once you're done

James Fisher11 said:1) He won't care, but he'd rather just safely remove it from his PC or whatever. 🙂
2) I'm telling you this because when I used my old 4GB thumb drive to watch movies, they lagged like crazy. I only had one 700MB movie on there at a time. Just move them over one by one, watch, then delete when you're done.

Shut up. You have no idea what you're talking about.☕👎

If I'm speaking from my own experience, how is it even possible that I have absolutely no clue?

Karen Ortiz83, just ignore him and go straight for it. @James Fisher11/">@@James Fisher11 is comparing apples to oranges here: he’s pitting some random no-name thumb drive with "god-tier" speed claims against actual drives. Even at their worst, these disks hit around 40 MB/s, which is plenty for streaming (hey, free!) video content. I mean, a decent USB drive usually hits less than 30 MB/s, and most cheap ones struggle to even break 20 MB/s.

As for how long it lasts? Well, everything electronic eventually dies, right? It’ll become obsolete sooner or later regardless of how much you use it. But let's be real—this is a portable drive, not some heavy-duty server model designed to run 24/7.

I’ve got a storejet 250 GB, and honestly, it works like a charm. It doesn't hog power, so I can plug it right into my Roku streaming box without needing an extra power supply. On my PC, I just use a standard single cable—that thicker Y-style one—and it never skips a beat. Plus, the casing is great; that rubberized finish means it doesn't slide around. It basically sticks right where you put it, feels super solid in your hand...

It’s a Sony USB drive, clocked at a 31MB/s transfer rate. But look, what can I even say to you? I actually went over to my neighbor's place to test it out on his machine—he’s got this cheap 250GB external hard drive, some off-brand thing from a random manufacturer he picked up for pennies. I tried streaming a movie directly from it, and honestly, the lag was going to be pretty noticeable. Now, sure, if you get a high-end drive, everything might glide along perfectly, but I’m talking about what *could* happen here. It all comes down to the hardware in practice. There's a real chance it’ll still stutter because his computer isn't exactly a powerhouse. Once I move it back to my own setup, it should play fine, but who knows?

I’m looking for some solid recommendations for an external HDD... I'll be using it about 30% of the time for backups and the other 70% just to move files between my PC and my PlayStation 3 and stuff like that. I need at least 500GB, and obviously, I want the best quality possible without getting absolutely ripped off on the price, as per usual. Basically, I just need a decent middle-of-the-road option that won't fail me...

gentlegardener47 said:Can anyone recommend an external hard drive? I'm looking at about 30% for backups and 70% for transferring files from my PC to my PlayStation 3 and things like that. I need at least 500GB, ideally high quality but with a low price tag—the usual struggle, really. Basically, I just need a solid middle-of-the-road option.

Well, here is the current gold standard. Western Digital

I am fairly certain I have recommended this exact thing at least ten times already, but honestly, nothing else quite hits the mark for me. If you have the patience, just scroll back through the thread.

Well, obviously, at least one of your posts from the last couple of pages includes that exact same
Links.
$167 Using Rhodes for shipping is perfectly fine by me... thanks for the help.

I see some people complaining about their flash drives lagging while trying to watch movies. My advice? Read some reviews online before you go out and waste your money. For what it's worth, I've got an apacer ah321 (8GB) at home with 14/21 w/r speeds, and Full HD playback is smooth as silk. I also recently picked up an apacer ah322 (4GB) which doesn't lag either (13/19 w/r).

I measured those speeds by copying a 3.5GB photo file to and from the drive, using reviews I found on PCMag

I just picked up one of those 1TB Western Digital 3.5" external drives while they're on sale at Best Buy $183. It’s a solid choice if you just need a reliable spot for backups or a place to dump a bunch of movies.

Hi everyone!
I’m looking to pick up an external hard drive—something around 500GB—but I’m honestly a bit lost when it comes to the technical side... so I would really appreciate some guidance on what to choose.
Thanks so much in advance!!!

Small or large?

The small ones are 2.5" and just run off your USB port.
The big ones are 3.5", need their own power bricks, and are a total pain to carry around compared to the little guys that actually fit in your pocket.

http://www.amazon.com/external-hard-drives/b?node=12444191

So, looks like it’s down to that, 🙂
which specific models would you suggest?

And you could probably go with Western Digital. 🙂

Thanks!
I was also wondering if they can be hooked up to a TV—I'm thinking about moving a massive collection of movies over there so I don't have to deal with burning them onto discs instead.

I can do it; there shouldn't be any issues, I guess. 🙂