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.

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