SSD technology also appears in USB thumb drives and memory cards. SSD technology costs more than HDD technology, which translates to far fewer SSD offerings in the sub-$100 price range. Should you drop an SSD, there is far less chance of breakage than there would be with an HDD, too. Data transfer speeds for SSDs may be between 0.5 GBps and 3 GBps, far faster than HDD speed. This makes it more reliable than the spinning platters of an HDD. SSD technology has no moving parts, as it uses individual integrated circuits to store data. This speed difference is noticeable for consumers with high-end computing needs. Notably, an average SSD delivers about 10 times the data transfer speed of an average HDD. A read/write head inside the HDD hardware stores the data on the platters.ĭue to its older technology, external HDD costs less per GB of storage than SSD.īecause of the moving parts in a HDD, data transfer speeds range from about 150 MBps to 250 MBps. HDD technology is an older technology that uses spinning platters to store data. When shopping, note which type is offered so you are sure to get what you need.
Key considerationsĪs mentioned, external hard drives utilize one of two possible technologies: HDD (hard disk drive) and SSD (solid state drive) technology. Regardless of the cost of your external hard drive, take the time to encrypt the data so no one else can see the files if they find or steal the hard drive.