best portable external hard drive for macbook pro

BEST PORTABLE EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE FOR MACBOOK PRO INSTALL
BEST PORTABLE EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE FOR MACBOOK PRO SOFTWARE
BEST PORTABLE EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE FOR MACBOOK PRO PS4
BEST PORTABLE EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE FOR MACBOOK PRO PC

These (or nearly identical models with less storage capacity) have been used or anecdotally tested by CNET editors. With those caveats noted, our current top picks for the best external hard disk drive and external solid-state drive are below.

BEST PORTABLE EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE FOR MACBOOK PRO INSTALL

The Xbox Series X offers a proprietary Seagate-made storage expansion card and you can now install an M.2 SSD in your PS5 to expand storage for PS5 games.

BEST PORTABLE EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE FOR MACBOOK PRO PS4

The PS5 can store and play PS4 games from an external drive, but not PS5 games the Xbox Series X can store Series X games, but you'll have to transfer them to the main SSD to actually play them. One important note for console gamers is that the newer PS5 and Xbox Series X (and Series S) consoles are much more restrictive about using external drives. Ideally, you'll want redundant backups either off-site or using cloud storage for key data and large files (such as family photos) in case of theft or fire. But if they don't happen to be included, you can easily buy dongles for about $12.Īnd remember: A single backup doesn't cut it. Many of them include cables or adapters to accommodate USB-C and USB-A ports.

BEST PORTABLE EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE FOR MACBOOK PRO PC

Unless otherwise indicated, all the PC drives mentioned here are compatible with Windows but can be formatted for a Mac.

BEST PORTABLE EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE FOR MACBOOK PRO SOFTWARE

But a lot of the time 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 or Xbox - so long as the drives are correctly formatted for the right platform. Solid-state drives, on the other hand, don't have moving parts, which gives them up to four times faster read and write speed, but they cost a lot more per gigabyte.

Prices have dropped significantly in the last few years, with even the high-capacity, state of the art, all-around best external hard drive models tipping the scales at 5TB but costing just over $100. There are also a huge number of high-quality hard drives and solid-state drives, too, making it easy to find the right one for your needs and budget.Ī traditional hard drive or mechanical drive that uses 'old' hard drive technology, with mechanical platters and a moving read-write head to access data, is adequate for most people, thanks to speedier USB-C and USB 3.0 (as well as 3.1/3.2) interfaces. The PS5 and Xbox Series X can't run games off external drives, but transferring the games between the two is fast and efficient. Managing that storage space can be a huge pain in the butt, so the more storage you have the less you'll need to do that. That makes expandable storage a necessity if you want to store a decent chunk of your library at any one time. Now that USB 2.0 has been banished from all self-respecting storage, we find USB 3 as the standard for connection, letting these portable drives perform as quickly as the little disks inside will allow.Games are large these days, and they're only getting larger. Some portable drives include software that can help automate this process, keeping your selected directories in sync whenever you plug in the drive or by a daily schedule.

You may be able to keep a perfect clone of your entire computer’s internal drive, on standby and ready in the event that the computer is lost or its drive should malfunction.Īlternatively, you may choose just to back up the most important files and documents from your user libraries, such as text documents, photos, films, music and stored email. Off-loading your music collection alone from a computer to a portable drive can be a godsend in freeing valuable space if your laptop has limited storage.Īnother popular application of portable storage is for keeping critical backups of your data held on a PC or laptop. Even in the smallest portable drives you’ll likely find are 128GB in size, which is enough to space thousands of CD albums in lossless FLAC format, or even more in lower quality MP3 or AAC formats.

Best portable external hard drive for macbook pro