Technology

What can you expect from the best hard drives? While they wont beat the best SSDs in any speed tests, theres a reason theyre still around.
And those reasons come down to two things: price and space.
Not only are they more affordable, but the best hard drives also give you that extra space needed to back everything up, especially for data-heavy users.There are a few things to keep in mind when shopping for the best hard drive for your needs.
Are you trying to get some more storage for your PS4 or Xbox One? If thats the case, an ideal option might be a 2.5-inch drive or possibly an external hard drive.
Alternately, you might have one of the best gaming PCs but no room for your bulging library of half played games.
You should take a look at a 7,200 RPM 3.5-inch drive, as that could be one of the best hard drives for your needs.This might be a lot to wrap your head around, particularly if youre new to shopping for internal components, such as hard drives.
Weve cut out some of the guesswork for you and collected the best hard drives weve come across below.Seagate BarraCudaToshiba X300WD VelociRaptorWD Blue DesktopSeagate Firecuda DesktopSeagate IronWolf NASSeagate FireCuda MobileWD My BookG-Technology G-DriveSeagate BarraCuda drives offer a great gigabyte-per-dollar ratio and speed benefits to top it off.
(Image Credit: Seagate) Best hard drive: Seagate BarraCudaHigh RPM and storage at a low priceInterface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 2 3TB | Cache: 64MB | RPM: 7,200Low costFast spinning disksLimited cacheIts almost impossible to talk about hard drives without mentioning Seagates BarraCuda lineup its a force to be reckoned with.
And, its not hard to see why, Seagate BarraCuda drives offer a great gigabyte-per-dollar ratio and speed benefits to top it off.
The 2TB model hits a sweet spot by balancing high performance and affordability.
Since this drive combines 7,200rpm platters and high density data, computers outfitted with this drive will be able to read data extraordinarily fast.The Toshiba X300 is a high-capacity, high-performance champ worth taking a look at.
(Image Credit: Toshiba) Best high capacity hard drive: Toshiba X300Big drives at nimble speedsInterface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 4 8TB | Cache: 128MB | RPM: 7,200Massive storageHigh speedsShort warrantyEven if its laptops arent as popular as they used to be, Toshiba is still a huge name in computing, and has a lot to offer.
When it comes to the best hard drives, the Toshiba X300 is a high-capacity, high-performance champ worth taking a look at.
The X300 drives boast great gigabyte-to-dollar value without sacrificing on performance.
These drives all spin at 7,200 rpm and include 128MB of cache for higher speeds.
The only downside is the warranty only lasts two years, which feels short for a drive meant to store so much important data.Kick it old school with one of the best hard drives with the WD VelociRaptor.
(Image Credit: Western Digital) Best gaming hard drive: WD VelociRaptorFaster spinning, faster gamingInterface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 250GB 1TB | Cache: 64MB | RPM: 10,000Insane HDD speedBuilt-on coolerPriced like an SSDWhen it comes to PC gaming, its better to be fast than capacious.
So, if youve been resisting the allure of an SSD, and looking to kick it old school with one of the best hard drives, the WD VelociRaptor should be up your alley.
Not only does this drive have a whopping 10,000 rpm spin speed, but youre going to want to pay attention to it.
With capacities up to 1TB, the VelociRaptor drives are ready to store large game libraries, and the super fast platters will help your games launch and load quickly.This product is only available in the US and UK at the time of this writing.
Australian readers: check out a fine alternative in the Seagate FireCudaThe WD Blue is a viable pick for almost any type of PC build thats sticking to a budget.
(Image Credit: Western Digital) Best budget hard drive: WD Blue DesktopHeavy on storage, light on price Interface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 500GB 6TB | Cache: 64MB | RPM: 5,400 7,200An option for every budgetFaster option availableLess value from smaller drivesWestern Digital offers a solid bargain with its line of WD Blue hard drives.
With a wide variety of storage options from a small 500GB to a capacious 6TB, the WD Blue is a viable pick for almost any type of PC build thats sticking to a budget.
The best value comes from the larger drives theyll give you much more storage per dollar spent.
And, if youre looking for a bit more speed, there are also 7,200rpm models available that dont come with too much of a price hike.The SeaGate FireCuda is the best hybrid hard drive on the market.
(Image Credit: Seagate) Best hybrid hard drive: Seagate Firecuda DesktopFaster than a HDD, cheaper than an SSDInterface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 1TB 2TB + 8GB | Cache: 64 MB | RPM: 7,200NAND-boosted performanceAn already fast platterNo competitionSSDs are incredibly popular, and its not hard to see why.
But, if you need a lot of fast storage, and you dont have a vault of cash, hybrid hard drives are a great option.
The SeaGate FireCuda is the best hybrid hard drive on the market.
It can fit up to 2TB of data, and then its 8GB of solid state cache storage learns which data you use most, so that you can access it quickly.
That speed boost is even sweeter when you consider that this drive spins at 7,200rpm.
With a 5-year warranty and an approachable price tag, its easy to see why this is one of the best hard drives you can buy today.Seagate IronWolf NAS drives come at a premium (Image Credit: Seagate) Best NAS hard drive: Seagate IronWolf NASStorage-galore for the networkInterface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 6 12TB | Cache: 256MB | RPM: 7,200Ready for RAIDFaster than smaller optionsPricier than non-NAS drivesIts a little unfortunate that the Seagate IronWolf NAS drives come at a premium, but they arent priced much more expensively than a standard hard drive at their capacity.
However, their native NAS optimization makes that premium totally worth it.
These drives are capable of running at a fast 7,200rpm spin rate 24/7 without having to worry about drive failure.
Really, if you have one of the best NAS devices for your business or home, the Seagate IronWolf NAS really is your best bet.Seagates 2.5-inch FireCuda hybrid drive strikes a nice balance.
(Image Credit: Seagate) Best laptop hard drive: Seagate FireCuda MobileAdds more pep to a laptop than an HDDInterface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 500GB 2TB + 8GB | Cache: 64 MB | RPM: 5,400Multiple capacity optionsPerformance above a standard HDDFlash storage comes at a premiumUpgrading the storage in a laptop can be tough, since the hard drives are much smaller.
There arent a lot of impressive 2.5-inch hard drives, as anything fast comes with a serious markup, but Seagates 2.5-inch FireCuda hybrid drive strikes a nice balance.
It offers an easy way to add loads of storage to a laptop while also giving it a speed boost thanks to 8GB of flash storage.
A five-year warranty on the drive will also help ensure it lasts a long time.he WD My Book strikes an amazing balance of storage and price.
(Image Credit: Western Digital) Best game console hard drive: WD My BookFor when you need to fit all the gamesInterface: USB 3.0 | Capacity: 3 20TBMassive storage optionsSimpler upgrade solutionPotentially slowerGame consoles hard drives fill up fast with massive libraries.
And, like laptops, the upgrade path for 2.5-inch hard drives isnt all that great, but thats where an external drive comes in.
The WD My Book strikes an amazing balance of storage and price, offering enough room for massive game libraries.
Running on USB 3.0, it may not be quite as fast as an internal drive upgrade, but it will run games and offer more storage at a cheaper rate.The G-Technology G-Drive offers huge amounts of storage but thanks to Thunderbolt 3 compatibility.
(Image Credit: G-Technology) Best external hard drive: G-Technology G-DriveInterface: USB 3.1 (Type-C) | Capacity: 4 10TBFantastic performanceUSB Type-C V2Bigger than expectedA lot of people seem to think that the best hard drives are ancient and dead technology in 2019.
However, with devices like the G-Technology G-Drive, you can show the naysayers in your life that spinning disks have their own place in the future.
Not only does this external hard drive offer huge amounts of storage up to 10 TB but thanks to Thunderbolt 3 compatibility, it can even charge your laptop while you work.
If you have a MacBook Pro, its hard to think of a better work companion.Read the full review:G-Technology G-DrivegFkrkJLkQWoxLzpif9fmCn.jpg?#





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