External HDD

How to choose an external hard drive

An external hard drive is still the cheapest way to keep terabytes of photos, videos and backups. Here are the portable 2.5″ drives powered over USB; 3.5″ desktop drives have a section of their own.

• Capacity. 2 TB is a sensible minimum for backing up a computer, 4–5 TB for a photographer or gamer, and 6 TB is the current ceiling for a portable drive.
• Interface. USB 3.0, 3.1 and 3.2 Gen 1 are the same 5 Gbit/s bus; the drive itself sets the speed. A USB-C model (LaCie Mobile Drive, WD My Passport USB-C, WD_BLACK P10) connects to a new laptop without an adapter.
• Durability. If the drive travels in a bag, pick a rubberised shock-resistant case: Transcend StoreJet 25H3 and 25M3, ADATA HD330 and HD720, Silicon Power Armor A62.
• Security. A drive with hardware encryption and password protection (LaCie Mobile Drive Secure) keeps the data unreadable even if the drive goes missing.
• Purpose. Consoles have dedicated ranges — WD P10 Game Drive, Toshiba Canvio Gaming, Seagate Game Drive — that work with PlayStation and Xbox without manual formatting.

External hard drives in our range

All 74 products are portable 2.5″ drives from 1 to 6 TB. The largest group is everyday all-rounders: Toshiba Canvio Basics, Advance, Ready, Slim and Flex, WD My Passport 2–6 TB, Seagate Expansion, Intenso Memory Case and Memory Play, ADATA HV300 and HV620S. Rugged drives for travel are the Transcend StoreJet 25H3 and 25M3, ADATA HD330, HD680 and HD720 and Silicon Power Armor A62. Game drives for consoles — WD P10 Game Drive 4–6 TB, Toshiba Canvio Gaming 1–4 TB, Seagate Game Drive. USB-C drives for a Mac or a new laptop — LaCie Mobile Drive 1–5 TB and Mobile Drive Secure 2–4 TB.

Brands

Toshiba Canvio is the broadest series in the range: Basics is the cheapest, Advance and Flex come with software, Gaming is for consoles. Western Digital My Passport is the classic backup drive with password protection, P10 Game Drive the gamer's pick. ADATA offers the most rugged models at a sensible price. LaCie is Seagate's premium brand for creatives, with USB-C and an aluminium shell. Transcend StoreJet is known for its tough rubber case. Seagate Expansion is a simple plug-and-play drive and Intenso is the budget end.

Portable or desktop

A 2.5″ drive draws power from the USB port and weighs 150–250 g, but capacity tops out at 6 TB. If you need 8–24 TB, look at 3.5″ desktop drives: they come with a power adapter, run faster and cost less per terabyte, but are meant to stay on a desk. Drives ship to an Omniva, DPD or Venipak parcel locker in 1–2 working days.

Related products

For big capacity see 3.5″ desktop drives, for speed external SSDs. Small files fit on a USB flash drive, an internal hard drive goes inside the computer and turns external with a drive dock. The full selection is in memory and storage.

Frequently asked questions

External HDD or SSD? An HDD is 3–4 times cheaper per terabyte and suits archives; an SSD is 5–10 times faster and shrugs off drops, so it makes the better work drive.

Will the drive work with a Mac? Yes, but most drives ship as NTFS, which a Mac can only read. Reformat to exFAT and it works with both Windows and macOS.

Is it compatible with PlayStation and Xbox? Yes — the console formats it itself. PS5 and Xbox Series run last-generation games from it; current-generation titles must first be copied to internal storage.

How fast does it transfer data? A typical 2.5″ drive writes at 100–140 MB/s: 100 GB of photos copies in 12–15 minutes. USB above 3.0 adds no speed.

How long does an external hard drive last? Usually 3–5 years of active use. Never keep the only copy on one drive — duplicate what matters to a second drive or the cloud.