INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
While they’re not as fast as the best SSDs, the best hard drives beat them when it comes to price
Plus, they have an ample amount of storage space, rather than forcing you to break open your piggy bank for a glorified flash drive – the
best hard drives offer huge amounts of storage without making your wallet cry
They might not be able to outpace the SSD in the best Ultrabook, but they’re certainly capacious.Of course, the best hard drive is going
to vary from person to person
For a laptop or game console, you may want to check out a 2.5-inch or external hard drive
For the best gaming PCs, though, the best hard drives are going to have a high capacity and fast speed
Luckily, we’ve done all the heavy lifting to put together a list of the best hard drives for gaming, laptops NAS setups and more
No matter what you’re looking for, you can be sure you’ll find the best hard drive for your needs today.Best hard drive: Seagate
BarraCudaHigh RPM and storage at a low priceInterface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 2 – 3TB | Cache: 64MB | RPM: 7,200Low costFast spinning
disks Limited cacheIn the market for hard drives, Seagate’s BarraCuda lineup rears up as the most identifiable face of HDDs
There’s a good reason for that
They offer a great ratio of gigabyte to dollar and performance perks to top it off
The 2TB model hits a particular sweet spot by balancing high performance and affordability
Since this drive combines 7,200rpm platters and high density data, computers outfitted with this drive will be able to read data extra fast
Be sure to double check specifications on each model, as not all BarraCuda’s hit that high spin speed. Best high capacity hard drive:
Toshiba X300Big drives at nimble speedsInterface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 4 – 8TB | Cache: 128MB | RPM: 7,200Massive storageHigh
speedsShort warrantyToshiba is a huge name in computing
Even if its laptops aren’t as popular as they once were, it has a lot to offer in the component market
When it comes to hard drives, the Toshiba X300 is a high-capacity, high-performance champ worth taking a look at
The X300 drives boast great gigabyte-to-dollar value without sacrificing on the performance side
These drives all spin at 7,200RPM and include 128MB of cache for fast operation
The only downside is the warranty only lasts two years, which feels short for a drive meant to store so much important data.This product is
only available in the US and UK at the time of this writing
Australian readers: check out a fine alternative in the Seagate BarraCuda Best gaming hard drive: WD VelociRaptorFaster spinning, faster
gamingInterface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 250GB – 1TB | Cache: 64MB | RPM: 10,000Insane HDD speedBuilt-on coolerPriced like an SSDWhen it
comes to gaming, speed is king
So, for anyone resisting the allure of an SSD and looking to find the best hard drive for the job, it’s time for something that spins
That’s where WD’s VelociRaptor clocks in at a blistering 10,000rpm spin speed
With capacities up to 1TB available, the VelociRaptor drives are ready to store large game libraries, and the super fast platters will help
those games launch and load quickly.Best budget hard drive: WD Blue DesktopHeavy on storage, light on price Interface: SATA 6Gbps |
Capacity: 500GB – 6TB | Cache: 64MB | RPM: 5,400 – 7,200An option for every budgetFaster option availableLess value from smaller
drivesWestern Digital offers a good bargain with its line of WD Blue hard drives
With a range of storage options from a small 500GB to a massive 6TB, the WD Blue is a viable pick for almost any type of computer build
that’s sticking to a budget
The best value comes from the larger drives, as they give increasingly more storage per dollar spent
The small capacity drives don’t come at a bad price, though
If you’re looking for a little more performance, there are also 7,200rpm models available that don’t come with a serious price hike.Best
hybrid hard drive: Seagate Firecuda DesktopFaster than a HDD, cheaper than an SSDInterface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 1TB – 2TB + 8GB |
Cache: 64 MB | RPM: 7,200NAND-boosted performanceAn already fast platterNo competitionWhen it comes to hybrid hard drives that include a
small amount of solid-state storage to bump up their speed, there’s virtually no competition against the Seagate FireCuda
The FireCuda can fit up to 2TB of data, and then its 8GB of solid-state storage learns and stores the data you use most frequently to make
That flash storage speed boost is made even sweeter by the fact the hard drive itself is spinning at a fresh 7,200rpm
Tack on a 5-year warranty and a reasonable price tag, and it’s easy to see why this drive is a winner.Best NAS hard drive: Seagate
IronWolf NASStorage-galore for the networkInterface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 6 – 12TB | Cache: 256MB | RPM: 7,200Ready for RAIDFaster than
smaller optionsPricier than non-NAS drivesIt’s a little unfortunate that the Seagate IronWolf NAS drives come at a premium, but they
aren’t priced much more expensively than a standard hard drive at their capacity
However, their native NAS optimization makes that premium totally worth it
These drives are capable of running at a fast 7,200rpm spin rate 24/7 without having to worry about drive failure
Really, if you have one of the best NAS devices for your business or home, the Seagate IronWolf NAS really is your best bet. Best laptop
hard drive: Seagate FireCuda MobileAdds more pep to a laptop than an HDDInterface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 500GB – 2TB + 8GB | Cache: 64 MB
| RPM: 5,400Multiple capacity optionsPerformance above a standard HDDFlash storage comes at a premiumUpgrading the storage in a laptop in a
hard drive can be tough, since they typically require a smaller drive to fit
A lot of the 2.5-inch options aren’t terribly attractive, as anything fast comes with a serious markup, but Seagate’s 2.5-inch FireCuda
hybrid drive strikes a nice balance
It offers an easy way to add lots of storage to a laptop while also giving it a speed boost thanks to 8GB of flash storage
A 5-year warranty on the drive will also help ensure it for as long as almost any laptop’s lifespan.Best game console hard drive: WD My
BookFor when you need to fit all the gamesInterface: USB 3.0 | Capacity: 3 – 20TBMassive storage optionsSimpler upgrade
solutionPotentially slowerGame consoles hard drives fill up fast with massive libraries
And, like laptops, the upgrade path for 2.5-inch hard drives isn’t all that great, but that’s where an external drive comes in
The WD My Book strikes an amazing balance of storage and price, offering enough room for massive game libraries
Running on USB 3.0, it may not be quite as fast as an internal drive upgrade, but it will run games and offer more storage at a cheaper
rate.Best external hard drive: G-Technology G-DriveInterface: USB 3.1 (Type-C) | Capacity: 4 – 10TB Fantastic performance USB Type-C
V2 Bigger than expected As time moves on and the best SSDs become more and more ubiquitous, there are many who are quick to declare the
death of the best hard drives
Luckily, devices like the G-Technology G-Drive are here to show these naysayers the life that remains in spinning disks
Not only does this external hard drive offer huge amounts of storage, up to 10TB, but thanks to Thunderbolt 3 compatibility, it can even
charge your laptop while you work
If you have a MacBook Pro, it’s hard to think of an external hard drive that would be a better companion.Read the full review:G-Technology
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