But when it comes to buying external storage, there’s a catch: it’s tiring. There are many kinds and qualities of storage devices, and it’s not easy to pick one right away. This guide will make this easier for you by listing factors you should consider when buying a storage device for your Mac.
1. Capacity
Start off by assessing how much storage you will need. For example, if you have a 256GB Mac which you use for light browsing and office work (storing documents and photos), and need a drive to back up this data, then a 256GB external SSD or HDD might be enough for you.
But, if you use your Mac for video editing or graphic manipulation, and have to store large files, then you may need much more external drive space. You can find SSD and HDD options with over 2TB storage space:
HDDs typically go up to 16TB, and for a higher capacity drive, you’ll have to stack two or more together, which will become a NAS/RAID setup. SSDs are available up to 8TB—though those are crazy expensive—and for capacities above that, again, you’ll have to stack multiple drives together. Flash Drives are rarely available above 2TBs, they’re also easy to lose and aren’t great for long-term data storage.
2. Read and Write Speeds
The read and write speed of a drive refers to the time it takes for a drive to open (read) and save (write) a file. HDDs usually have a speed of 80–160mbps. This means that it will take the drive roughly 15 seconds to transfer a 2GB file from your Mac. That means that if your drive has 30GB data stored, it can load everything in five minutes.
On the other hand, SSDs usually have a speed of 200–550mbps, so the same 2GB file will take 5 seconds to transfer, and the same 30GB storage will take just about a minute to load.
The goal here is to ensure that the drive that you’re getting isn’t too slow. For average use (light browsing and office work), an HDD would work just fine. Whereas for heavy usage and transferring large files, an SSD would be better.
If you’re looking for high transfer speeds, NAS or RAID might not be an option. They’re slow—as low as 20–30mbps. To configure such devices for high speeds, you’ll have to spend a lot more.
3. Durability
Durability is an important consideration when you’re spending on an external drive. Not only because these drives can be pricey, but also because you don’t want to lose the data you store on them.
HDDs are typically durable in the sense that you can overwrite and rewrite them for a long time, and their space and speed doesn’t deteriorate. But, the spinning platters that store data can get easily damaged if you accidentally drop it, effectively erasing all the data. SSDs are the most durable option on the list. They’re resistant to damage from falls and have a long life. NAS is just as durable as the drives you stack in it (SSDs or HDDs). But since it will not be moving from where you put it in your home or workspace, there’s nothing to worry about even if you use an HDD-based NAS. Flash drives, like SSDs, don’t have any durability issues either.
Some HDDs and SSDs come with rubber covers that can prevent some damage if your drive falls. If you can’t find an SSD, a rubber cover HDD, like the one by Rancco, will make for good protection.
4. Portability
Portability refers to the ease of carrying around your external drives. HDDs up to 16TB and SSDs up to 8TB are almost identical in portability (though HDDs are still noticeably heavier). However, beyond that, they become much heavier (as they usually combine more than one drive), so this isn’t recommended if you’re looking for a portable device.
Most professionals (with high storage capacity requirements) typically carry multiple storage devices. They can have a NAS/RAID set up in their workspace, and a small, high-speed, high-capacity SSD in their backpack.
5. Design
Apart from their storage capacities and portability, many of these types of drive look different as well. Most HDDs and SSD look somewhat similar: they’re in small metal or plastic casings and connect using a small cable. Whereas, NAS and RAID are bigger, bulkier, and look more rugged and flash drives are tiny.
If you’ve filtered down to a lightweight SSD of up to 1TB storage, then Samsung SSD T5 or SanDisk Extreme Portable are great options. Not only are they fast (with transfer speeds up to 550mbps), but they also look great. The Samsung T5 has a sleek look, while the SanDisk Extreme is a more rugged and durable drive.
6. Connectivity Ports
Ensuring that the drive you purchase has the right connectivity for your Mac is important, otherwise you may end up spending even more on an adaptor. Since Macs mostly have USB-C ports these days, look for drives that come with that.
NAS and RAID systems, however, would need something like a docking station—another expensive device—to connect to your Mac.
7. Budget
Since all these drives vary massively in their purposes, designs, and capabilities, they also vary in prices. In our best external drives for Mac guide, we’ve rounded up several options you can pick from depending on your budget.
In general, HDDs are the most affordable drives, but they’re also the biggest, heaviest, and the most likely to break if you drop them. A NAS/RAID system will be the most expensive, but this gives you the convenience of accessing your files wirelessly and expanding them to get more storage. For most people, an SSD is a good middle ground in terms of budget.
Which External Storage Should You Go With?
As a rule of thumb, depending on capacity, connectivity ports, and transfer speeds, pick:
An HDD if you want a simple backup drive solution, and speed and portability isn’t much of an issue. It will cost you anywhere from $20 to $70. An SSD if you don’t mind spending an extra $10 to $20 compared to the HDD, and are looking for a durable and portable device. A USB flash drive if you need a drive simply to transfer files from one drive to another, and not necessarily to store it for the long term. It will cost you anywhere from $5 to $30 depending on its capacity. A NAS if you’re a professional with loads of data you simply want to store, and don’t need to move it around anywhere. A NAS will cost you upwards of $500, with $50-$200 per additional HDD/SSD you add to the system.
Pick the Right External Drive for Your Mac
A good approach to buying external drives is to maximize your budget pre-purchase. You’ll eventually run out of external storage too, so try to buy a drive slightly larger than your current needs. This will help you save up in the long term, and also prevent the hassle of buying one again.
For most users, the debate narrows down to SSD and HDD, since both are very similar in most aspects: both have decent speeds, prices, and longevity. Though in general SSD drives are faster and more reliable, if a little more expensive.
