What size hard drive do you really need?
If you’re buying an external hard drive for the first time, it can be difficult to know how to navigate all the different options out there. The most important thing to do before you commit is to thoroughly assess your needs. What kinds of data are you storing? Is transfer speed more important to you than storage capacity? What’s your budget? Answer these questions for yourself before you consult with a sales associate and they’ll be better able to assist you.
External Hard Drive Options
Before you can determine what size hard drive you need, you’ll want to choose between a portable external hard drive or a desktop external hard drive. The difference between the two is simple.
Portable drives are lightweight and easy to take with you on the go. They’re great for photographers and videographers who do on-site photo or video shoots and travel frequently. These drives are powered by a USB port. Desktop drives are larger but typically less expensive. They’re a good choice if you have large amounts of high definition video that you need to backup and store.
Storage Capacity Options
Next, you’ll want to determine how much storage capacity you actually need in an external hard drive. Hard drives come in many different “sizes” but many professionals in the media industry suggest you choose a drive that can hold 25 percent more data than the hard drive you’ll be backing data up from (typically the hard drive in your computer).
To get an idea of external hard drive storage capacity, here are a few examples of how many photos, HD videos and songs you can store on different size hard drives. We got our information from Best Buy.
- 320 GB: 60,000 photos; 80,000 songs; 80 HD videos
- 500 GB: 100,000 photos; 125,000 songs; 125 HD videos
- 1.0 TB: 200,000 photos; 250,000 songs; 250 HD videos
- 3.0 TB: 600,000 photos; 750,000 songs; 750 HD videos
- 5.0 TB: 1,000,000 photos; 1,250,000 songs; 1,250 HD videos
If you still have questions about buying an external hard drive, leave us a comment below.