Tips to shop for best portable external hard drive

Thinking of adding some storage space in your existing computer or laptop? Purchasing portable external hard drive is one of the most important things which should be done wisely and carefully. Here are some basic tips you should know which will help in purchasing this device. • Size of the drive – needs to be decided according to file types and number of files. If you need to store documents or spreadsheets, a small drive with minimum capacity like 250 or 500 GB will suffice. However, to store music, movies, videos, games or other applications, you need to select drive with higher capacity, i.e. 1 – 2 TB. • Speed of the drive – is the deciding factor on which depends the read/write rate of files. The eSATA category is faster than USB for transferring large files. Many drives are available these days which offer dual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibility. An ideal selection of the drive can be buffer size of 4MB or more and 5400 to 7200 rpm for best performance. • Software – is provided by many external drives which help in scheduling backup by autopilots or at a fixed interval. Many drives provide additional protection to your data with password protection feature and high encryption technology tool. It may so happen that you lost the drive while carrying it. With protection features, you can be sure that your confidential data won’t be accessed by any outsider. • Portability – needs to be considered when you are shopping for portable external hard drive. Portable drives of small, compact size are the suitable option for those who need to travel frequently. You should ensure the drive is lightweight with proper casing which keeps it protected from extreme weather or sudden fall. There are many drives available with water proof and shock proof features which are best options for frequent travelers. • Network adaptability – is another feature which preferred by users these days. Let us consider a large family setup where many members have their own computers or a small business setup with multiple computers. Need may arise to share data among users. Network Attached Storage devices is the right choice for such scenario. These are very large capacity external drives that can easily backup files for a network of several computers. • Reliability – matters when you are buying the drive for storing important and confidential data. Only reliable brands will offer you various features like longevity, good speed and enough storage space. It is not a wise idea to compromise with quality to buy the drive at a cheap rate. Before buying the portable external hard drive, you should make some study on your own. Since many manufacturers have come up with external drives with attractive features, those who are not aware of these devices can easily get confused. One way to know and compare different products and know about product ranges is by browsing online and checking on different sites.