

Many of them include cables or adapters to accommodate USB-C and USB-A ports. Unless otherwise indicated, all the PC drives mentioned here are compatible with Windows but can be formatted for a Mac.
#Most reliable external hard drives for back up software
But a lot of the time they'll be designated as working with a specific platform out of the box and sometimes come with backup software that's platform-specific. Most of the options on this list of the best external hard drive models will work across platforms - whether you have a Windows PC, Mac computer, PlayStation or Xbox - so long as the drives are correctly formatted for the right platform. A solid-state drive doesn't have moving parts and the external SSD drive has up to four times faster read and write speed, but it costs a lot more per gigabyte. Prices have dropped significantly in the last few years, with even the high-capacity, state of the art, all-around best external hard drive models tipping the scales at 5TB but costing just over $100. Luckily, there are plenty of high-quality external hard drives for a variety of budgets.Ī traditional hard drive or mechanical drive that uses "old" hard drive technology, with mechanical platters and a moving read-write head to access data, is adequate for most people thanks to speedier USB-C and USB 3.0 (as well as 3.1/3.2) interfaces. Buying a PC with extra internal storage often requires that you pay a lofty sum. Opting for an external hard drive is one of the most cost-effective ways to maximize your storage, too.


If you always seem to be running out of storage on your gaming console or your PC, it might be time to buy an external hard drive.
