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• Sub-Terabyte External Hard Drives

  Many users are quick to think about their next hardware upgrades: they often know when it'll be time to replace the processor or the graphics card, or when it makes sense to add more RAM to the computer. More and more people know what to buy and where they want to buy it, or at least where to find the required information quickly. However, most users still don't pay sufficient attention to storage and backup, and are caught by surprise when they run out of storage or their hard drives suddenly fail. There is a plethora of products on the market to answer storage demands, ranging from a few gigabytes up to one terabyte. USB Flash memory sticks are great for ultra-portable storage in capacities from 1 GB and 16 GB. Portable 2.5" hard drive products are ideal to transport 40 to 320 GB of frequently used data between multiple locations. But it is the good old 3.5" hard drive that continues to be the backbone of our storage demands. The current hard drive generation accommodates between 80 GB and 1000 GB at a very reasonable cost Compare Prices on Terabyte Hard Drives. Looking at high-capacity drives not only makes sense from a simple storage standpoint, but also with backup in mind: where should you back up your key data once you increase your primary storage capacity? Terabyte hard drives are available from all major hard drive companies, including Hitachi, Samsung, Seagate and Western Digital, and most of them have now found their way into external hard drive products. The hard drive makers have increasingly been offering external HDD products based on their own hard drives, but there are a large number of third-party storage vendors as well. These companies strive to provide a better bang for the buck, nicer design or better features than the external hard drive products from the big companies. Vendors like Buffalo, Freecom, Iomega and SimpleTech cater to tech savvy users, while others such as Caldigit, LaCie and Wiebetech put emphasis on special applications or style for enthusiasts. We received four different external hard drive products by Buffalo, Maxtor, Seagate and SimpleTech. All four offer 750 GB to 1 TB of storage, and come with sophisticated features and backup packages. Join our discussion on this article!

• 500 GB External Drives Tested

  The hard drive as we know it has changed. It is still a small box of iron casting with rotating platters inside, but it is no longer just the place where you install your operating system and some applications. The hard drive is shifting towards the center of our digital world, as it does not only store files, but is increasingly becoming a footprint of our lifestyle. Devices such as set top boxes, personal video recorders (PVRs), portable media players, home media centers, car entertainment and other digital-entertainment solutions increasingly rely on permanent storage. While it's hard to say where storage will be in 10 years - we might be storing our assets on networks rather than locally - it's safe to say that personal storage will be more important in the years to come. External hard drives offer more flexibility, as the hard disk inside your PC is immobile and requires the computer to run whenever you want to access stored content from other devices. While this isn't an issue for the real enthusiast - her or his system runs 24/7 anyway - the average user typically doesn't want or need the system to run all the time. An external hard drive comes in handy, as you simply attach it to different PCs or notebooks using the interface of your choice. Hard drives support USB 2.0, and the majority of PC systems offers several USB ports. However, USB 2.0 has been a bottleneck for modern hard drives, as it maxes out at slightly above 30 MB/s, which is roughly a third of the throughput you can expect from a new 7,200 RPM hard drive. ESATA To The Rescue Some external hard drives use Firewire interfaces, either IEEE 1394a at 400 Mb/s or 1394b, which supports up to 800 Mb/s gross bandwidth. This isochronous interface is important for anyone interested in video editing, as most DV camcorders that don't directly store digital files on 1.8" hard drives or DVDs will utilize Firewire to transfer video content to PCs. Firewire 1394b is clearly faster than 1394a or USB 2.0, but its limits are still well below the maximum throughput of modern hard drives. eSATA is coming to the rescue these days: A modification of the SATA standard, it allows for the deployment of individual hard drive products without a PC connection. As it fully complies with the SATA protocol - on which many hard drive controllers and hard drives are based - eSATA delivers the full bandwidth of 150 or 300 MB/s. In other words, this means that you can run an external hard drive product as fast as if it were installed internally. Things first started with hard drive enclosures with USB 2.0 interfaces, for which you had to buy an UltraATA hard drive of your choice to install. The storage vendors quickly realized the potential of external storage; it doesn't come as a surprise that there are hundreds of products available today, utilizing all sorts of interfaces. External storage now comes in single or multiple hard drive flavors, with or without built-in redundancy features such as RAID. Although a single hard drive does not provide sufficient protection for highly-important data, it is sufficient for personal use. This is why the most popular external storage products are single-disk external hard drives. Almost all drive manufacturers offer their own solutions, or you can find offerings from third-party vendors such as Freecom, Iomega, Plextor, Simpletech, Wiebetech and others. We received 500 GB mainstream drives from LaCie, Western Digital and Wiebetech, which we look at here. Join our discussion on this topic

• Western Digital External 120 GB Hard Drive

  The Mobile Storage Giant: A FireWire Hard Drive From Western Digital The Western Digital 120 GB External Hard Drive. Since the release of this article the drive is also available in a USB 2.0 version as well as the 1394 solution reviewed. If the person on your list happens to already have 1394/Firewire or USB 2.0, then they might love to have an additional 120 GB of storage that they could use for backup or data. It is great place to store all of those MP3s or video files for editing. Since the review of this device by Patrick, Western Digital has introduced a new USB 2.0 version of the drive as all as the Firewire version that Patrick saw. While the Western Digital is an excellent choice, Maxtor and Iomega also offer solutions that might be as well suited for your needs. The key of course is to make sure that you are getting a device that includes a 7200 RPM hard drive rather than the slower 5400 RPM model. Normally this is clearly spelled out on the box. You can take pictures, or even videos, of your purchases and carry them around to show off. And still have room left for that scan of your credit card statement. Conclusion - You Can't Go Wrong You can't go wrong with any of the items on this list. Still, for the tech enthusiast, the geek, and general gadget mad we could have listed hundreds more products. So, we'll keep an eye on other products and goodies for you to consider over the coming weeks, leading up to the day the big guy in the red suit comes down the chimney.