With the growing need for more and more storage, people are looking for cheap and easy way to increase the amount of storage available to them. A great way to do this is with a 1TB external hard drive which offers plenty of space in a convenient package.
There are a few things that you should take into consideration when searching for a new external storage solution. If you aren’t the techie type then this can be quite confusing but with the help of this guide you will be armed with all of the information you need to make the right choice.
Buy A 1TB External Hard Drive
By shopping online you will be able to get a 1TB external drive for about 30% cheaper than you would be able to buy it in your local electronics chain store. Over the past decade I have ordered a huge range of PC parts from online retailers and would recommend any of the following-
Is A 1TB External Hard Drive Big Enough?
The more files we want to store, the more space we need. When buying an external hard drive you need to think about what kinds of files and data you want to store, both in the present and the future. Typically videos files take up a lot more space than pictures, so you need to work out what you will be using the drive for.
Here are the typical file sizes for various file types-
- Documents (Word, Excel etc) – 0.1MB
- Photos – 3MB
- Music / MP3′s – 4MB
- TV Episodes – 400MB
- Movies – 800MB
- HD 720P Movies – 4500MB
That should help give you a rough idea of how big different types of files can be, remember a 1TB external hard drive will give you about 1000GB or 1,000,000 MB of storage space.
If you’re still struggling to work out if 1TB is big enough for you, then I have put this table together below which should make it a bit easier as well.
Typically a 1TB external hard drive is big enough for the vast majority of people. If you are going to be storing a lot of high definition video though, I would recommend a 2TB external hard drive due to the size of the video files themselves.
Buy A Reliable Drive
This is one of the most important tips that I can give you and is the one most people choose to ignore. It’s likely that any data you store is quite important and would be a head ache if you lost it all. Many people rush out to buy the cheapest unbranded external drive that they can which is a huge mistake.
Although I can understand why people might want to save £10-£15 on a slightly cheaper drive it does come with its own risks. The cheaper drives are usually made from what’s known as grade B or grade C components which means they have failed some sort of quality testing during the manufacturing process but still work.
The problem with this is that even the best hard drives are prone to failure, and when you combine that with Grade B/C components then the chances of data loss or drive failure increases significantly. I would be absolutely gutted if I lost all of my data, everything from family photos to important work documents could literally disappear instantly due to a hard disk failure and is a horrible situation to be in. In case you’re wondering, yes I have learnt this lesson the hard way more than once, I didn’t learn the first time!
Drives from well known brands and manufacturers are built to a much higher standard and as such are less likely to fail. They also come with much better warranty’s and if a drive does fail, they get replaced with a new one!
I can personally recommend drives from Maxtor, Western Digital, Seagate, Samsung, Toshiba, Sony, LaCie and Hitachi to name a few.
Get A USB Drive
USB drives give you the most flexibility when it comes to accessing your data. Nearly every device with a USB port will work with an external hard drive, whether that’s a computer, laptop or games console. There is also no technical setup when it comes to USB drives. They are quite literally plug and play meaning you can access all of your files with great ease.
USB has become a widely accepted standard over the last few years and will be here for a long time to come.
Do You Need To Take Your Data With You?
Different people need an external hard drive for different reasons, but this is something that you need to consider.
If you want to take your data with you wherever you go, then you’re going to need a smaller lightweight drive than if you were just looking to expand the available storage on your desktop computer. However smaller portable 1TB external hard drives do cost a bit more so bear that in mind.
Personally I have opted for larger drive that is permanently plugged into my PC, and then I have a smaller 500GB portable hard drive which houses my music and video library and comes with me wherever I go.
Save Money With Recommend Retailers
If you walk into your local Currys/PC World type shop to buy a 1TB external hard drive you will pay around 30% more than if you were to order it online. When it comes to buying anything computer related I always shop online due to the larger range of choice and much cheaper pricing.
Here are 3 of the best online PC component retailers that you really can’t go wrong with-
Do You Have Any Questions?
As an expert in this field, I hope this article has taught you enough to buy the right drive for you. I realise it’s quite a lot to digest at once so let me sum it up in a few bullet points.
- Is 1TB enough space for your files?
- Buy a reliable branded drive
- Get a USB drive for convenience and flexibility
- Buy online and save yourself some money
If your still stuck and need help deciding if a 1TB external hard drive is right for you then please use the contact page to drop me an e-mail and I will get back to you within 48 hours.
