Shop for external hard drives

• CNET Editor rating:
  4.0 stars Excellent

  Overall score: 8.3 (4.0 stars)
• Average user rating: 0.5 stars out of 1 review

The Bottom Line: The WD My Passport Portable makes an excellent portable drive for use with both desktop and laptop computers, at home or while on the road. Read review

Specs: 2 TB, External hard drive, SuperSpeed USB 3.0

• CNET Editor rating:
  4.0 stars Excellent

  Overall score: 8.4 (4.0 stars)
• Average user rating: 2.0 stars out of 12 reviews

The Bottom Line: Even with the slightly low USB 3.0 performance, the GoFlex Ultra still makes an excellent portable external hard drive for people who need to expand their computer's storage. Read review

Specs: 1.5 TB, External hard drive, SuperSpeed USB 3.0

• CNET Editor rating:
  4.0 stars Excellent

  Overall score: 8.2 (4.0 stars)
• Average user rating: 1.0 stars out of 1 review

The Bottom Line: Versatile, good-looking, and fast enough for most applications, the Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt HD-PATU3 makes an excellent buy for those looking for a portable Thunderbolt storage device. Read review

Specs: 500 GB, External hard drive

• CNET Editor rating:
  4.0 stars Excellent

  Overall score: 8.0 (4.0 stars)
• Average user rating: 1.5 stars out of 4 reviews

The Bottom Line: With its embossed cover and rainbow of colorful designs, the Samsung G2 Portable hard drive is a consumer-focused external hard drive that offers the most basic plug-and-play storage functionality. You don't get many extras, but impressive benchmark scores, a competitive cost-per-gigabyte, and a generous three-year warranty demonstrate its core competency and earn this drive our CNET recommendation. Read review

Specs: 500 GB, External hard drive, USB, 2.5 in

• CNET Editor rating:
  4.0 stars Excellent

  Overall score: 8.1 (4.0 stars)
• Average user rating: 1.0 stars out of 1 review

The Bottom Line: The Silicon Power Armor A80 makes an excellent portable drive for travelers and home offices alike. Read review

Specs: 500 GB, External hard drive, SuperSpeed USB 3.0, 2.5"

• CNET Editor rating:
  0.0 stars

  Overall score: 0.0 (0.0 stars)
• Average user rating: 0 stars No reviews, write one!

Specs: 2 TB, External hard drive

• CNET Editor rating:
  4.0 stars Excellent

  Overall score: 8.0 (4.0 stars)
• Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 3 reviews

The Bottom Line: While other external hard drives offer built-in backup software, automatic data encryption, or rugged casing protection, the Transcend StoreJet 25F only promises, and delivers, the fastest data transfers at the lowest price. The missing FireWire prevents us from giving this Transcend an Editors' Choice award, but we still highly recommend this drive to storage hounds who don't mind USB 2.0. Read review

Specs: 500 GB, External hard drive, Hi-Speed USB, 2.5"

• CNET Editor rating:
  3.5 stars Very good

  Overall score: 7.8 (3.5 stars)
• Average user rating: 0.5 stars out of 1 review

The Bottom Line: Although we dinged its predecessor because of its inflated price tag, the Samsung S2 Portable hard drive earns high marks and our recommendation for being reasonably priced, having fast file-transfer speed, and for having a generous three-year warranty. Read review

Specs: 640 GB, External hard drive, Hi-Speed USB, 2.5"

• CNET Editor rating:
  0.0 stars

  Overall score: 0.0 (0.0 stars)
• Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 16 reviews

Specs: 1 TB, External hard drive, Hi-Speed USB, 16 MB

• CNET Editor rating:
  3.5 stars Very good

  Overall score: 7.8 (3.5 stars)
• Average user rating: 2.0 stars out of 18 reviews

The Bottom Line: The Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus is a good choice for the average home user who wants a fast and simple-to-use external hard drive for backup and storage. Mac users will want to find a different restore utility to use with it. Read review

Specs: 500 GB, External hard drive, IEEE 1394 (FireWire) / Hi-Speed USB, 3.5", 16 MB, 7200 rpm

• CNET Editor rating:
  3.5 stars Very good

  Overall score: 7.9 (3.5 stars)
• Average user rating: 5.0 stars out of 1 review

The Bottom Line: We're impressed by the Lenovo ThinkPad USB Secure Hard Drive's burly security features and rigorous performance results, but the bloated price tag prevents us from recommending it to anyone other than business consumers. If you're shopping for an external hard drive, competing drives give you a cheaper cost per gigabyte in a fancier package. Read review

Specs: 320 GB, External hard drive, Hi-Speed USB, 5400 rpm

• CNET Editor rating:
  0.0 stars

  Overall score: 0.0 (0.0 stars)
• Average user rating: 0 stars No reviews, write one!

Specs: 2 TB, External hard drive, IEEE 1394b (FireWire 800) / IEEE1394 (FireWire) / SuperSpeed USB 3.0 / Hi-Speed USB / eSATA, 3.5"

• CNET Editor rating:
  4.0 stars Excellent

  Overall score: 8.1 (4.0 stars)
• Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 6 reviews

The Bottom Line: A sexy, slim design and backup software set make a compelling argument for the Seagate BlackArmor PS 110 external hard drive. We like the unique Try and Decide feature preloaded on the drive, and the throughput speed scores stomp the competition. Shoppers on a strict budget should look into the Fujitsu Handydrive for the best cost per gigabyte, but the BlackArmor PS 110 offers many extra features for just a few more dollars more. Read review

Specs: 500 GB, External hard drive, Hi-Speed USB, 2.5", 5400 rpm

• CNET Editor rating:
  3.5 stars Very good

  Overall score: 7.3 (3.5 stars)
• Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 4 reviews

The Bottom Line: As far as basic external hard drives go, the SimpleTech SimpleDrive is compelling for its low price and generous online storage bundle. We like it. Read review

Specs: 320 GB, External hard drive, Hi-Speed USB, 3.5", 8 MB, 7200 rpm

• CNET Editor rating:
  3.5 stars Very good

  Overall score: 7.8 (3.5 stars)
• Average user rating: 1.0 stars out of 26 reviews

The Bottom Line: The Maxtor OneTouch 4 Plus is a good choice for the average home user who wants a fast and simple-to-use external hard drive for backup and storage. Mac users will want to find a different restore utility to use with it. Read review

Specs: 250 GB, External hard drive, IEEE 1394 (FireWire) / Hi-Speed USB, 3.5", 16 MB, 7200 rpm

• CNET Editor rating:
  0.0 stars

  Overall score: 0.0 (0.0 stars)
• Average user rating: 0 stars No reviews, write one!

Specs: 30 GB, External hard drive, IEEE 1394 (FireWire) / Hi-Speed USB, 2 MB, 4200 rpm

• CNET Editor rating:
  0.0 stars

  Overall score: 0.0 (0.0 stars)
• Average user rating: 0 stars No reviews, write one!

Specs: 1 TB, External hard drive, Hi-Speed USB / eSATA-300

• CNET Editor rating:
  4.0 stars Excellent

  Overall score: 8.0 (4.0 stars)
• Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 4 reviews

The Bottom Line: The Transcend StoreJet 25 Mobile stomps the competition and lives to fight another day, thanks to its rugged military-grade exterior. It also delivers chart topping transfer speeds and offers the cheapest cost per gigabyte on the market today. We fully recommend this tough little drive. Read review

Specs: 320 GB, External hard drive, Hi-Speed USB, 2.5"

• CNET Editor rating:
  0.0 stars

  Overall score: 0.0 (0.0 stars)
• Average user rating: 0 stars No reviews, write one!

Specs: 3 TB, External hard drive, SuperSpeed USB 3.0, 7200 rpm

• CNET Editor rating:
  4.0 stars Excellent

  Overall score: 8.0 (4.0 stars)
• Average user rating: 0 stars No reviews, write one!

The Bottom Line: The Transcend StoreJet 25 Mobile stomps the competition and lives to fight another day, thanks to its rugged military-grade exterior. It also delivers chart topping transfer speeds and offers the cheapest cost per gigabyte on the market today. We fully recommend this tough little drive. Read review

Specs: 320 GB, External hard drive, Hi-Speed USB, 2.5"

• CNET Editor rating:
  0.0 stars

  Overall score: 0.0 (0.0 stars)
• Average user rating: 0 stars No reviews, write one!

Specs: 2 TB, External hard drive

• CNET Editor rating:
  0.0 stars

  Overall score: 0.0 (0.0 stars)
• Average user rating: 0 stars No reviews, write one!

Specs: 1 TB, External hard drive, Hi-Speed USB, 8 MB, 12 ms, 5400 rpm

• CNET Editor rating:
  0.0 stars

  Overall score: 0.0 (0.0 stars)
• Average user rating: 0 stars No reviews, write one!

Specs: 3 TB, External hard drive

• CNET Editor rating:
  0.0 stars

  Overall score: 0.0 (0.0 stars)
• Average user rating: 0 stars No reviews, write one!

Specs: 500 GB, External hard drive, SuperSpeed USB 3.0, 5400 rpm

• CNET Editor rating:
  0.0 stars

  Overall score: 0.0 (0.0 stars)
• Average user rating: 0 stars No reviews, write one!

Specs: 500 GB, External hard drive, Hi-Speed USB, 5400 rpm