Hardware Review – External Storage

I had a friend who called me last week and asked me about what brand of external haddrive to buy, because both were on sale and that is what inspired this week’s review.

I realized that a lot of people tend to use their external devices wrongly or the get the wrong types for the wrong reasons. So today, I am going to give you a brief summary of the different types of storage devices available today, their strengths and weaknesses as well what is it suitable for.

Name	Storage Sizes	Suitable for	Explanation
2.5inch External Hard-disk/Hard-drive/Portable USB drive	320GB to 2TB	Everyone who has a lot of large files to keep as backup	2.5inch drives are not becoming the more porpular choice. Generally very cheap storage in a portable form factor. Uses the USB Port to power the drive. Works with most computers. Not suitable for working your files off from. Can be fragile and prone to failure if you constantly move it around. Once crashed, it will be very difficult to retrieve the data from the crashed drive, thus best to be used as a backup option.
3.5inch External Hard-disk/Hard-drive/ Desktop USB Drive	500GB to 6TB	If you are a media junkie or your workstation does not have enough storage	3.5inch drives were never popular among users mainly due to the fact it requires a separate power source. But fact is, this is probably the most reliable, large storage medium you can get at the moment. The cost of Gb to $ is probably the cheapest and the hard drives tend to spin pretty fast for quick storage. The probable only down side is that they are heavier, not meant for portability and needs a separate power source compared to its smaller cousin, the 2.5inch drive.
Thumb drive/Flash-Drive/Flash-Storage	2GB to 128GB	For moving and sharing small files from computer to computer	Thumb drives are small, cheap and fast to use for moving small files and working off. With no moving parts, it is ideal for carrying information around with you and working off for documents, watching videos and viewing media. But here is my personal opinion about flash drives. Use them with caution! Flash drives have a use life. Meaning there is only so many times you can actually use them before they fail. This is the reason why there are different brands of thumb drives at different prices. So use them sparingly and not overly reply on them.
DVD/CDs	700mb to 4.2GB	For archiving old data	CDs and DVDs have been on the decline for years. They hold minimal storage as compared to other mediums and can only be used effectively once. But their biggest strength is that, in theory, they have a life span of 99years, assuming you store them well. But in today’s context, CDs and DVDs will soon go extinct.
Cloud Storage	2GB to 2TB	For any use for anyone	The new ‘In-Thing’ is cloud storage. Cheap and effective, this is an excellent way to store, share and work from storage. Starting free space usually starts around 2GB to 5GB. Personally, pay monthly for additional storage, which is about SGD$4 additional for 200GB a month. The nice thing about cloud storage is that they usually come with a desktop programme that will sync your files from your desktop and online. But the only back draw about this service is that you need to be connected to the internet to sync or access your files through the web browser. But there is always a synced copy on your desktop based on your last sync.

Personally, pay monthly for additional storage, which is about SGD$4 additional for 200GB a month.

The nice thing about cloud storage is that they usually come with a desktop programme that will sync your files from your desktop and online.

But the only back draw about this service is that you need to be connected to the internet to sync or access your files through the web browser. But there is always a synced copy on your desktop based on your last sync. 

I hope this helps you better decide on what kind of storage is best for yourself and maybe consider different mediums instead of the usual.

My final tip for this week, do not let price dictate what you buy. When comparing which brand to purchase, do not always allow the price to be the factor. Sometimes, the cheaper the item, the worst the quality of the item.

The safest is to quickly go online and see if there are any reviews on them. If there are none, then the safest would be go for the more reputable brand.