Many of them include cables or adapters to accommodate USB-C and USB-A ports. Unless otherwise indicated, all the PC drives mentioned here are compatible with Windows but can be formatted for a Mac. But a lot of times they'll be designated as working with a specific platform out of the box and sometimes come with backup software that's platform-specific. Most of the options on this list of the best external hard drive models will work across platforms - whether you have a Windows PC, Mac computer, PlayStation 4 or Xbox - so long as the drives are correctly formatted for the right platform.

A solid-state drive doesn't have moving parts and the external SSD drive has up to four times faster read and write speed, but it costs a lot more per gigabyte. Prices have dropped significantly in the last few years, with even the high-capacity external hard drive models tipping the scales at 5TB but costing just over $100. One way to manage it all is to find the best external hard drive and SSD for your needs.Ī traditional hard drive or mechanical drive that uses 'old' hard drive technology (mechanical platters and a moving read-write head to access data) is adequate for the majority of users, thanks to speedier USB-C and USB 3.0 (as well as 3.1/3.2) interfaces. And unless you're splurging on a high-end model, most new computers don't come with much internal hard drive storage space - they usually have 256GB or 51GB.

Game consoles today come with 1TB drives (which is roughly 1,000GB of hard drive storage), but the drives max out easily if you don't regularly delete games off the drive as you acquire more.

10t external hard drive