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The Best External, Portable Hard Drives

 

Offering high storage capacity up to 4TB, the best external, portable hard drives, are designed to free up more space and effectively improve the performance of your PC, laptop or game station. Compact and lightweight, these important devices, provide a portable great function without the use of an extra power supply; a top gift, for anyone who has a Mac or PC or gaming device.

You can store files like, photos, videos, games, documents and music, easily on the best external, portable hard drives and with the latest 2-4TB capacity you should be able to save documents, without using all the available space for a few years.

We’ve looked into the best hard drives available globally to help you find the most suitable external portable drive for your needs. If you love the benefit of being able to take extra storage with you, on business trips, vacations, college courses, that will easily fit in your laptop bag, a portable 2-4TB hard drive is for you.

Without further hesitation lets go through my choice of Best External, Portable Hard Drives (2-4TB) to make your job of finding the one for you easier.

1. WD_Black 4TB P10 Game Drive, Portable External Hard Drive Compatible with Playstation, Xbox, PC, & Mac

There’s a new number 1 standing on the podium, in my list of The Best External, Portable Hard Drives. The portable WD Black is a gamers dream and a PC users best friend. With capacity up to 5TB’s you can store the equivilent of 125 games or enough photos for a few years and then some. The casing shows that it was especially  designed for gamers.

The WD_Black seems on breaking all of the industry standards; a 3-year manufacturer’s limited warranty is much better than the usual 1 year cover. With over 11000 customers giving the WD_Black a 5 star rating our of 5, it’s a vital and trustworthy drive.

A customer who gave it 5 out of 5 stars said: “I bought them because until now the biggest external USB drive you could get that didn’t require an external power supply was 2TB. Now it’s up to 5TB and I’m replacing the old ones. I’ve had good luck over the years with WD.”

The Best External, Portable Hard Drives

1. Silicon Power 2TB Rugged Portable External Hard Drive, Armor A60, Shockproof USB 3.0 for PC, Mac, Xbox and PS4 – The Best External, Portable Hard Drives

At last there is an almost perfect external hard drive to go with your outdoors life and add extra storage for all your Go pro videos. Military grade shock proof and IPX4 water resistant, take this on your cycling, hiking and mountaineering adventures. The simple cable storage design means the cable fits neatly out of the way without it getting lost or tangled in endless wires. It works equally well in your office at home as a desk top storage unit.

Compatible with Xbox and PS4, Macs or PCs this striking device will store a heap load of data. A touch bigger than other devices on here, that shouldn’t be a sticking point. Simply drag and drop your files and enjoy our number one choice in The Best External, Portable Hard Drives list

The Best External, Portable Hard Drives
Silicon Power 2TB Rugged Portable External Hard Drive Armor A60, Shockproof

2. Seagate Portable 4TB External Hard Drive HDD – USB 3.0 for PC, Mac, Xbox, & PS4 – 1-Year Rescue Service (STGX4000400) – The Best External, Portable Hard Drives

A few years back, if you mentioned there is a portable 4TB portable hard drive available, that can fit in the palm of your hand, you’d have received disbelieving stares and queries about the state of your mind. Nowadays over 70,000 customers who’ve bought it on Amazon will back your claim. Not only that they’ve awarded this diminutive hard drive 4.5 out of 5.

It may look small but the specs are massive. Just plug and play the Seagate works with PC and Mac and with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0. USB 3 works best; transfer a full-length HD movie in a fraction of the time it takes with USB 2.0. USB 3.0 adds a new transfer rate referred to as SuperSpeed USB (SS) that can transfer data at up to 5 Gbit/s (625 MB/s). You can read more about the benefits of USB 3 here.

Seagate say they have built the drive for, “demanding requirements for durability, shock tolerance and long-term reliability.”

Preormatted for Mac and Windows, PS4, Xbox, this device is ready to save you space and save your most prized information by the cart load.

The Best External, Portable Hard Drives
The Best External, Portable Hard Drives

2. Seagate Backup Plus, Slim 2TB External Hard Drive, Portable HDD (Silver) USB 3.0 For PC Laptop And Mac -The Best External, Portable Hard Drives.

With 1 year Mylio Create and 2 Months Adobe CC Photography (STHN2000401) Ideal for backups, simply plug in the Seagate into any computer with the USB 3.0 cable and schedule periodic backups or perform it with a single click. The cool brushed metallic finish gives the drive a high end appearance, where it won’t look out of place next your top of the range Mac. Slip this hard drive easily into any lap top pocket.

I personally like the photo sharing software that comes free. Edit, manage, and share photos with a 1 year complimentary subscription to Mylio Create. The 2 month membership to Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plan is a nice introduction to Adobe photo application should you wish to get heavily involved in photography. A two year warranty gives peace of mind. A vital piece of gear for any serious computer user.

The Best External, Portable 2TB Hard Drives | Great Gift Ideas
The Best External, Portable Hard Drives. Seagate Backup Plus Slim(2TB External Hard Drive) Portable HDD – Silver USB 3.0

3. Toshiba (HDTC920XK3AA) Canvio, Advanced 2TB Portable External Hard Drive USB 3.0, Black – The Best External, Portable Hard Drives

Nice and small, this clever device works for PC and Mac. The first thing that stands out is Toshiba’s password protection for your hard drive giving you extra protection on the road or at home. After following easy instructions to format, you’ll even be able to store your PS4 games. You don’t need to install software so prepping your device for use isn’t a drawn out experience.

Coming in a range of neat colors, the black matte version looks great. USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatible with no external AC power cord neededmeans your data will fly at up to an impressive  5 Gbits a second.

With a standard Toshiba 2 year limited warranty, you’ll have confidence buying this useful piece of equipment.

The Best External, Portable 2TB Hard Drives
The Best Portable External Hard Drives

4. WD 2TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive, USB 3.0 – WDBU6Y0020BBK-WESN – The Best External, Portable 2-4TB Hard Drives

Holding a massive 2 TB of storage in a device that can fit in your hand, the WD 2TB is as sleek as it is powerful. The USB 3.0 offers fast transfer of files including photos, documents, movies among others. Another device with password protection, it is a useful security option and auto back up, too is a neat addition. Formatted NTFS for Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7 (with formatting instructions for other operating sysytems)

In short the WD gives extra space to your PC, Mac or PS4 (when you’re gaming) at a comfortable price. It’s no wonder this pocket marvel is in our top picks of best portable external hard drives. A two year warranty provided should assure any doubters.

WD 2TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive, USB 3.0
WD 2TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive, USB 3.0

With over 100,000 customers giving this device over 4.5 out of 5, it’s massive testimony to this pocket marvel. One customer who gave it 5 out of 5 said: “Set up was SUPER EASY on PS4 as it already has the settings to format it. Not only that, it was quick in the formatting process. It’s such a relief to know that I have so much extra space now. 500GB to 2TB? That’s a nice jump I’ll say.”

The Best Portable External Hard Drive
WD 2TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive, USB 3.0 – WDBU6Y0020BBK-WESN

5. LaCie Rugged USB-C 2TB External Hard Drive Portable HDD – USB 3.0 compatible, Drop Shock Dust Rain Resistant, for Mac and PC Computer Desktop Workstation Laptop, 1 Month Adobe CC (STFR2000800)

Not as slick or cool looking to some, the LaCie is the Volvo of the portable external hard drive devices. Under it’s staid design is a heap of great specifications and a rugged exterior. Another device with a massive storage capacity of 2 TB, the LaCie is shock, drop, crush and rain resistant. One-month membership to the Adobe Creative Cloud, maybe, to some, a nice introduction to Adobe photo and video apps, to others Indian giving.

What is clear is the 2 years rescue data recovery service is a very reassuring bonus when you buy the LaCie. USB 3.0 and USB 3.0-C means date will fly along. The design is also beginning to grow on me. A good purchase and unsurprisingly on our list of The Best External, Portable Hard Drives.

Best External, Portable 2TB Hard Drives, USB 3.0 | Great Gift Ideas
LaCie Rugged USB-C 2TB External Hard Drive Portable HDD – USB 3.0 compatible, Drop Shock Dust Rain Resistant, for Mac and PC Computer Desktop

6. Generrica External Hard Drive, Hard Drive Portable Slim External Hard Drive USB 2.0 1TB 2TB

This bold looking data drive, has an upgraded USB 2.0, for very fast uploads and downloads; it may not be USB 3.0 but the upgrade works superbly. Fitting in the palm of your hand it is hard and lightweight compared with some. The system is compatable with icrosoft Windows 10/ Windows 8.1/ Windows 8/ Windows 7/ Apple MAC/Android and up. Be aware this drive works best for saving photos, images and videos – software saving was gray area which did not work at the time of writing.

External Hard Drive, Hard Drive Portable Slim External Hard Drive USB 2.0
External Hard Drive, Generrica Hard Drive Portable Slim External Hard Drive USB 2.0

 

 

Conclusion

Firstly an external hard drive is a great gift or a vital part of serious computer users, bloggers or gamer’s kit. For about the same price as the others, the shock resistant hard drives are my personal choice, namely the Silicon Power 2TB and LACie. After all, why turn down more special features for about the same price.

At the end of the day each device on this list of ‘The Best External, Portable Hard Drives  have enough storage space to last the avid gamer or serious computer user a few years. Easy to use, these portable drives are fool proof for the beginner as they allow you to simply drag and drop content. Whether you want to back up your hard drive or your website these amazing devices now allow you to take them with you as they’re so compact and light.

The Best External, Portable Hard Drives
The Best External, Portable Hard Drives

I hope you enjoyed, ‘The Best External, Portable Hard Drives’. Compact and lightweight, these important devices, provide a portable great function; a top gift, for anyone who has a Mac, PC or gaming device.

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Yogesh Mankani is the Chief Editor at TheDeviceStore. He is a tech enthusiast and loves to write about it. His passion for blogging, giving words to his ideas and thoughts on latest devices is what makes him fall more in love with his profession, which he takes very personally. Links on TheDeviceStore may provide us with commisssion - see terms and conditions.

2 replies on “The Best External, Portable Hard Drives | 2TB – 5TB”

  • Toby
    October 27, 2020 at 1:46 pm

    I’m loving the green outdoorsy one. Technology certainly has improved. It seems like yesterday you got a few 100 MB.

  • November 6, 2020 at 11:08 pm

    Very good prices and they keep going down. Every time each GB comes out cheaper and with better performance. The limits are over. Thank you

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