Now that we’ve touched on some of the criteria we will be looking at, let’s dig in. So a drive that uses RAID 0 will have fast speeds, and an effective size of both of the disks combined together. If an enclosure has two disks on the inside, it reads and writes to them simultaneously, effectively almost doubling the speeds. There are several different types of RAID drives, though the most popular in our roundup is RAID 0. RAID options are gaining some steam as of late. Thunderbolt 3 is the newest, and the fastest of the I/O we look at, though it is also the most expensive. Many newer drives work over USB-C, and include both a USB-C to USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-A cable to work with almost any computer. Whether your drive connects over Micro USB, USB-C, or Thunderbolt 3, it really depends on what ports your computer has, as well as how important speed is. SSDs are also significantly faster than traditional hard drives. SSDs have a tendency to be more durable because of the lack of moving parts, but their storage size can be greatly inferior to HDDs unless you are willing to pay a hefty premium. They have no moving parts, compared to hard drive disks (HDDs) that actually have spinning platters on the inside. SSD, or solid state drives, have seen a huge surge in popularity. Let’s take a look at some of the some of the biggest features you should consider.

We will break it all down, but to check out the drives in depth, check out our hands-on video.īefore picking a drive, you need to know what it will be used for most, and which aspects could be most important. We’ve found (and tested) the best HDDs and SSDs for your Mac or PC. Speed, durability, size, and so much more. When scouting out external drives, there is a lot to consider.

Best external hard drive for mac 2018