BestExternal Hard Drives for MaciMore2019
We'll help you find the best external hard drive for your PC or Mac. Welcome to our list of the best external hard drives money can buy in 2018. Then the Samsung Portable SSD T5 is. Samsung today announced the launch of its newest portable solid state drive, the SSD X5. The X5, which uses Thunderbolt 3 technology, is the company's first NVMe-based portable solid state drive.
When it comes to storing data, personal information, and essential documents, you can never save it in enough places. External hard drives are not only useful for storing data but are an excellent way to transport files from one location to another. When you take into account price, ease of use, and portability, the Seagate Backup Plus Slim is the most reliable hard drive you can carry around with you at all times.
- The 500 GB Samsung T5 Portable SSD is the best portable solid-state drive for most people because it’s reliable, fast, reasonably priced—for an external SSD—and compact. At around $200, or 40 cents per gigabyte, it costs about as much per gigabyte as most SSDs—many of which are slower and larger.
- About it: Samsung T5 portable SSD is the third best portable SSD known for its speed, cost, and reliability. It reads and writes information at a speed of around 540Mb per second. It is highly compact and weight around just 2 ounces, which makes it one of the lightest in the segment of 2TB.
- To help you pick the best SSD from the plethora of drives available in the market, we have crafted this list of best SSDs to buy in September 2018. By the end of this post, you will be able to choose the best SSD for the money.
Best Overall: Seagate Backup Plus Slim (2 TB)
If you want a reliable external hard drive that has a decent amount of storage, is super easy to carry around, and has a very affordable price tag, the Seagate Backup Plus Slim is the best option for most people. Formatted for Windows and Mac right out of the box, it's easy to carry all your important documents from desktop to laptop without missing a beat.
The Seagate Dashboard back up system is a fantastic simple tool that can let you schedule backups to ensure you never miss any critical files you need in case something terrible happens to your computer. You can set automatic backups daily, weekly, or monthly, and change the frequency whenever you want.
Seagate also throws in a one-year complimentary subscription to Mylio Create. Mac app store. This can help you wrangle your photo library if you don't already use some sort photo managing tool, and a two-month membership to Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan.
Pros:
- Affordable
- Great backup software
- USB 3.0
- Metal enclosure
Best Overall
Seagate Backup Plus Slim (2 TB)
Reliable, portable, and affordable.
Don't worry about lengthy setups or formatting procedures, plug in the Seagate Backup Plus Slim 2TB which is formatted for Mac right out of the packaging.
Best USB-C hard drive: Samsung T5 Portable SSD (1 TB)
This small compact SSD drive from Samsung comes with both a USB-C to USB-C cable and a USB-C to USB-A, meaning it's perfect to use with your MacBook or Mac.
Its fast 540 MB/s read and write speeds are more than enough to transfer any file. And should be able to store all your photo and video files with ease thanks to its straightforward software. Plus, if you're worried about encryption, the Samsung T5 Portable SSD has you covered with an optional password to launch the drive, and AES 256-bit hardware encryption on all your files.
Pros:
- USB-C
- SSD
- Super compact
- AES 256-bit hardware encryption
Best USB-C
Samsung T5 Portable SSD (1 TB)
Fast and encrypted
With 540 MB/s read and write speeds the Samsung T5 Portable SSD is fast enough for photographers and videographers to transport all their work.
Compatible with Time Machine right out of the box, the 8 TB storage capacity on the Western Digital My Book is perfect for people looking for a lot of stage at a reasonable price. It's USB 3.0 meaning it's easy to take advantage of its storage speed with fast transfer speeds.
While portability is not the Western Digital My Book's strong suit and it needs a separate power source, it does offer 256-AES encryption when you download its easy-to-use security software, ensuring all your important files and documents stay private.
If you're looking for a drive that has lots of space, os you don't have to have multiple as your storage needs grow, look no further.
Pros:
- Lots of storage
- 256-AES encryption
- Time Machine compatible
Best Capacity
Western Digital My Book (8TB)
Lots of storage for those who need it
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Western Digital offers 256-AES encryption when you download its security software, meaning you can rest easy knowing your private information and personal data is safe.
Best Thunderbolt 3 Drive: LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt
https://haloclever241.weebly.com/mcdonalds-big-mac-for-sacks-2018.html. LaCie hard drives have always been good for people on the go because of the rugged design. The LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt can withstand some dust, dirt, and even a tiny bit of water being splashed on it.
It's 7200 RPM Hard drive keeps things running smoothly. And the included USB-C cable — which supports Thunderbolt 3 — makes it perfect for MacBook and Mac users alike!
Cons:
- Only 130MB/s
Best Thunderbolt 3 Drive
LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt
Rugged design with Thunderbolt 3
The LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt 3 is a favorite because it can withstand drops, dust, and even the occasional splash of water, making it easy to carry around!
Best for Legacy Hardware : G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB)
While Apple has been going the way of USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 for a while now, some of us still use older hardware and thus don't need hard drives that have USB-C connections. If you're still rocking USB-A or even a Thunderbolt 2 connection from your Mac, the G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB) is a perfect companion.
Its all-metal design is not only more durable than plastic hard drives, but it also looks stylish! Plus, it's 7200 RPM speed allows the G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 to achieve 195 MB/s read and write speeds. This makes it fast enough to transfer large video files quickly and efficiently.
Cons:
- Needs to be reformatted for Windows
Best for legacy hardware
G-Technology G-DRIVE USB 3.0 (4TB)
Stylish and fast even on older computers
With 7200 RPM, this hard drive works hard and fast to get your files transferred quickly. Plus, it uses USB 3.0, and it even has a Thunderbolt 2 port.
The CalDigit Tuff does the best it can to live up to its name, giving you a hard drive that isn't as delicate as most. Its official IP rating is IP57, meaning it can be submerged in 3-feet of water for 30 mins and come out the other side functional. That's not all; this Thunderbolt 3 compatible drive can also withstand falling from about 4-feet high. We still don't suggest that you purposely abuse the CalDigit Tuff. Still, it's always good to have peace of mind when you're carrying your hard drive around.
Cons:
- Only come in 2TB
Best rugged drive
CalDigit Tuff
Can withstand drops and water
Official rated IP57, the CalDigit Tuff can survive an accidental dip into the water and has a great price tag. Parallels for mac cost.
If you're used to dealing with giant file sizes and need a hard drive that can handle transfer data fast, the Samsung X5 is one of the fastest SSD's you'll find. Its read and write speeds are 2,800MB/s and 2,300MB/s respectively, and the entire body is made of metal, making it much hardier than plastic drives. Plus, The internal frame on the inside is shock resistant for drops from 2 meters. Ableton 9 torrent download.
This SSD comes with Thunderbolt 3 technology included. This you can take advantage of the fast speeds on your Mac or MacBook Pro, and it doesn't need any formatting, so it's plug and play!
Pros:
- 2,800MB/s read speed
- Shock resistant
- Thunderbolt 3
Best fast drive
Samsung X5
Incredibly fast SSD
If you need blazing fast speeds for giant files, the Samsung X5 is a monster external SSD that can handle any workload.
Bottom line
The Seagate Backup Plus Slim is the most reliable hard drive you can carry around with you at all times. It is formatted for both Mac and Windows right out of the box, and its easy-to-use software can automatically do backups for you as often or as little as you want.
Seagate also throws in a one-year complimentary subscription to Mylio Create. This program can help you wrangle your photo library if you don't already use some photo managing tool. A two-month membership to Adobe's Creative Cloud Photography Plan means it's perfect for budding photographers as well.
Credits — The team that worked on this guide
Luke Filipowicz is an iMore staff writer who has been carrying around his Seagate Backup Plus Slim since his college days. Eviews 9 free download torrent.
Lory Gil is the Managing Editor of iMore and an avid believer in having as many backups of your important files and documents as possible.
Rene Ritchie is the foremost authority on all things Apple and has insider knowledge about the goings-on at the biggest tech company in the world. When it comes to accessories for Mac, Rene has used them all.
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BestPortable SSDsWindows Central2019
A portable SSD has a number of benefits over a portable HDD, the biggest being that they're much smaller and much faster. There are trade-offs like ultimate capacity and a generally higher price tag, but if you move a lot of data on the go, something like the Samsung T5 is the way to do it. Here are some other great choices.
Top choice: Samsung T5
Staff favoriteSamsung makes some of the finest in-PC SSDs around and the Korean electronics giant's portable offerings are also fantastic. The T5 is the latest model, with capacities ranging from 250GB up to a whopping 2TB. Read and write speeds are up to 540 MB/s, on par with an internal 2.5-inch SSD, which is quite fast compared to a portable HDD. The T5 is also ridiculously small, shock resistant, and uses USB-C 3.1 for superfast transfer to and from your laptop.
From $95 at AmazonGreat outdoors: Sandisk Extreme
If you're the outdoors type, perhaps needing a tough portable SSD to stick in your camera gear bag, then the Extreme from Sandisk is worth your time. Shockproof and IP55 rated for water and dust resistance, it's not going to let you down when you need it most. Read speeds are up to 550MB/s, it uses USB-C, and has a ring on it that you can use to clip it to your backpack.
From $73 at AmazonLittle and tough: ADATA SE730
This teeny little SSD boasts read/write speeds up to 500MB/s and USB-C 3.1 at a solid price of around $140. Throw in an IP68 water/dust-proof rating and MIL-STD-810G 516.6 shockproof certification plus a 3-year warranty and there's little to complain about. There's no fancy security software on the SE730 though, which may account for the lower price than some of the competitors.
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Basic option: PNY Elite
The PNY Elite is a no-frills portable SSD smaller than a credit card with 24/7 U.S.-based customer support and, oh, a pretty low price tag for its 240GB model. Need more? Fine! With 430MB/s read and 400MB/s write speeds, it's at least four times quicker than a portable HDD. The icing on the cake is the included license for Acronis True Image, a simple way to make a full backup of your drive in the event that anything bad happens.
From $73 at AmazonGreat value: Pioneer portable SSD
Pioneer isn't the first brand you consider when you're looking for storage — car stereos, maybe — but this little portable SSD is worth attention. It supports USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 and with read speeds of 480MB/s it's fast enough to keep up with anything you need to do on the go while using the same cable you might be using to charge your phone. It's also well priced and represents great value.
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From $62 at AmazonSuper speed: Samsung X5
Thunderbolt 3 allows simply insane data transfer speeds on this SSD, utilizing NVMe technology to match performance from some of Samsung's best internal drives. We're looking at read and write speeds of 2,800MB/s and 2,300MB/s respectively wrapped up in a shock-resistant shell. Not everyone can use one, or would want to pay the asking price, but this is the future of portable storage.
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From $218 at AmazonIf we had to choose.
When we're choosing an internal SSD for a PC, there's one brand we always go for, and the same can be said now for external ones, too. Samsung makes some of the best quality products on the market, and the tiny T5 is one excellent SSD. You get a range of sizes, even colors to choose from, it's fast and reliable and doesn't even cost that much. It's a definite winner.
At the other end of the scale, Samsung is now pushing out Thunderbolt 3 drives with the performance that once was a fantasy for portable storage. They're pricey and not everyone can even use them, but if you're looking for the future, today, then it's here with the X5.
Ssd Benchmarks 2018
Sandisk is also another trusted brand in storage, and the Extreme is particularly good if you're outdoors a lot, say as a photographer or a drone operator, and need a storage solution that won't let you down when the going gets tough. Best email clients for mac 2018. Best mac pro for college students.
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Best Portable Ssd For Mac
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