The need for data backup continues to increase today. One of the best ways to store relevant data such as business and entertainment files is by using an external hard drive. This storage device offers portability, making it perfect for people who travel a lot. Other features such as ease and speed in data transfer are other notable features of the product. But before buying an external hard drive, you must first consider several important factors which will be discussed below.
One of the most important factors to consider is the brand of the external hard drive. You can find cheaper variants on the market, but their quality is a big question. If you are smart enough, you should go for a hard drive made by reputable manufacturers. Examples of trusted companies are Toshiba, Seagate, Western Digital, and Iomega. In addition, these companies offer a guarantee and this is very important, especially if you have a defective product.
Now that you know a few manufacturers, don’t assume you know everything. Go to Google and find some user reviews about the storage devices that are being released. You can visit community sites, such as forums, to gather information and feedback about a product. Before buying an external hard drive, make sure you know its capabilities and possible shortcomings. It should not have the “click of death” feature which eventually refers to the clicking sound during a hardware failure.
The performance factor, like data transfer speed, is another thing not to be missed. Especially if you transfer a lot of files regularly, don’t forget this feature. If you are a person who loves to travel or just want to save space at home, then you should buy something that matches your preferred size.
To further help you analyze external hard drive specifications, here are some other tips to remember. Make sure the revolutions per minute (RPM) rate is high because it gives higher data throughput and better performance. Experts suggest that 7200 RPM is sufficient. Also, the seek time should not exceed 10 milliseconds. When it comes to buffer size, more is better, but it should never be less than 4MB.