External hard disk drives (HDD) are dropping in price every day as storage capacities grow. It’s not unusual to find a 2TB HDD for under $200. If you’re in the market for a new hard disk drive, what are some of the things you should think about? 

Hard Disk Drive Capacity
For most home users, 1 TB of storage capacity should be more than enough. But if you’re storing multimedia such as movies and home videos, you may want to go for a 2TB HDD just to insure you never run out of space. 

Hard Disk Drive Speed
Most drives now operate at 7,200 RPM (rotations per minute), although you can still find external hard drives with a rotational speed of 5,400 RPM. The speed of your hard disk drive, along with other factors such as the speed of the interface, affects data transfer speeds. If you’re using your external hard drive for nightly backups or frequently transfer large photo or video files to your external hard drive, you want the fastest speed available and may also want a USB 3.0 SuperSpeed interface, which can increase data transfer times dramatically.

The Size and Look of the Hard Disk Drive
Manufacturers tout the benefits of stylish cases that hide dings and scratches, especially on portable hard disk drives designed for travel. If you’re going to be traveling with your hard disk drive, you’ll want a small unit and a sturdy case that can withstand bumps and drops. Having a choice of colors is nice, of course, but not important enough to choose one drive over another.

Security and Encryption

Just like your desktop computer or your PC, your external hard drive can have different levels of security to keep unauthorized people from accessing your important files. Some hard drives come with password-protection or security software, while others are self-encrypting to protect your data.

Energy Efficiency in Hard Drives
There’s been a lot of buzz lately about “green” or more energy efficient hard drives. But studies show that “green” drives don’t really provide a lot of energy or cost savings. If protecting the environment and saving money on energy is really important to you, consider a Solid State Drive (SSD) instead. The price is higher, but the savings is real. http://www.24hourdata.com/blog/green-hard-drive-v-solid-state-drives-which-cost-less

Trust 24 Hour Data
Whatever external hard drive you choose, rest assured that 24 Hour Data is up-to-date on the latest data recovery techniques and technology for hard drives from all major manufacturers, including Seagate, Samsung, Maxtor and more. If something goes wrong with your new hard drive, or if your old HDD finally bites the dust and suffers catastrophic system failure, call us for fast, reliable, affordable data recovery services.