Samsung External Hard Disk Drives
Data storage is one of the most important functions of any computer. A Samsung external hard drive not only gives you more space when you need it most, it also makes it easier to transfer your data from one machine to another. When considering external hard drives it's impossible to understate the importance of the USB interface. While internal hard drives are permanently installed, external ones need to be able to attach and remove quickly and easily.
What Types of External Hard Drive does Samsung Make?
Samsung makes two basic kinds of portable hard drive; SSDs and conventional HDDs with rotating platters. Each kind comes with its own set of benefits and tradeoffs depending on your personal requirements.
- Portable SSDs: The biggest advantage of portable SSDs is speed. They use solid state flash storage, making them much faster than traditional disk drives. They also lack moving parts. One limitation they face is that they are only as fast as the interface: if you don't have super-speed USB or Thunderbolt you may not get full benefit from the drive. Another is price: Large SSDs are often several times as expensive as conventional drives.
- Portable HDDs: While not as fast as their flash-based competitors, these portable hard drives can often be several times bigger and still remain significantly less expensive. They are a great choice when looking for price efficiency or just large amounts of storage.
What Features Should You Look For in a Portable Hard Drive From Samsung?
Before buying a Samsung drive, it's a good idea to determine exactly what you need your portable hard drive to do before you make the purchase. Start with the product description so you have a good idea of the specifications of the particular device and consider the following features:
- OS Support: Check whether the hard drive supports Mac OS X natively as it uses a different file system than Windows.
- Transfer Speeds: An external SSD won't give you its best if you only have a slow USB 2.0 port to put it on.
- Automatic Backup: A hard drive with dedicated backup software is a great way to keep all your data safe.
- Storage Space: Decide whether you want a high-capacity external hard disk or a very fast one.
Using a Samsung External Drive
The first thing to do is plug it in: some Samsung models only require a single USB connection for both data and power, especially portable SSDs. That makes them a great choice for on-the-go computing. If you do need to use an external power supply the drive is better as a backup rather than in a simple portable capacity. It's also an easy way to upgrade your laptop, and you can carry your data to your new computer.
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