Question 1

What's the difference between a portable and a desktop external hard drive?

Accepted Answer

A portable (2.5") external hard drive is powered entirely through its USB cable, making it compact and travel-friendly, while a desktop (3.5") drive requires a separate mains power adapter. Portable drives typically offer up to 5TB and are the right choice for most home users. Desktop drives go up to 20TB and suit permanent desk setups where capacity matters more than mobility.

Question 2

Is an external hard drive fast enough for video editing?

Accepted Answer

For most video editing, a standard USB 3.0 external hard drive is borderline — it can handle 1080p footage but will struggle with 4K RAW files, where you need sustained read speeds above 200 MB/s. Spinning-platter drives typically max out around 120–130 MB/s. If you're editing 4K or above, an external SSD is a much better fit. External HDDs are excellent for archiving finished projects, but not ideal as an active editing drive.

Question 3

Should I be worried about external hard drive reliability?

Accepted Answer

All hard drives fail eventually — the question is when, not if. Spinning-platter drives are mechanical devices with moving parts, and portable models are particularly vulnerable to knocks and drops. The most important thing is not to rely on a single drive for data you can't afford to lose. Follow the 3-2-1 backup rule: three copies of your data, on two different media types, with one stored offsite. A drive with a 3-year warranty from Seagate or Western Digital is a reasonable reliability signal, but it's not a substitute for a proper backup strategy.

Question 4

Do I need to reformat an external hard drive for Mac?

Accepted Answer

Most external hard drives sold in the UK come pre-formatted as exFAT or NTFS, which means they'll work with Windows straight out of the box but may have limited functionality on macOS — specifically, NTFS drives are read-only on Mac without third-party software. If you're using the drive exclusively with a Mac, reformatting to APFS or HFS+ gives you full read/write access and Time Machine compatibility. Western Digital sells Mac-specific versions of its drives (like the My Passport for Mac) that come pre-formatted for macOS, which saves the hassle.

Question 5

Are cheap external hard drives from lesser-known brands worth buying?

Accepted Answer

Generally, no — and this is one category where brand reputation genuinely matters. Seagate, Western Digital, and Toshiba have decades of manufacturing data behind their reliability figures; a no-name drive at half the price offers no such assurance. The cost of data recovery if a cheap drive fails prematurely can run into hundreds of pounds — far more than the saving on the drive itself. Brands like Verbatim and Transcend occupy a reasonable middle ground: not the cheapest, but with enough of a track record to be trustworthy for non-critical storage.

Question 6

What capacity external hard drive do I need for a full PC backup in 2026?

Accepted Answer

For a full Windows PC backup, 2TB is sufficient for most users — the average Windows installation with applications and documents rarely exceeds 500GB to 1TB. If you store large media libraries (RAW photos, video footage, downloaded films), step up to 4TB or 5TB. A good rule of thumb: buy a drive that's at least twice the size of the data you currently need to back up, to allow for growth over the drive's lifespan.

Question 7

What are the pitfalls of buying a rugged external hard drive?

Accepted Answer

The main pitfall is paying a rugged premium for a drive that will never leave your desk. Rugged drives — particularly the LaCie Rugged range — carry a meaningful price premium over standard portable drives of the same capacity. That premium is justified if the drive genuinely faces drops, dust, or water exposure. It isn't justified if "rugged" just sounds reassuring. Also worth noting: rugged does not mean indestructible. Even IP-rated drives have limits, and a severe impact can still cause data loss. The rubber bumper absorbs shocks; it doesn't make the drive immortal.

External Hard Drives Price Comparison

Seagate Basic external hard drive 5 TB 2.5" 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Silver

Western Digital My Passport external hard drive 1 TB 2.5" 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Black

Seagate Basic external hard drive 2 TB 2.5" 2.0 Silver

Seagate Expansion STKP8000400 external hard drive 8 TB 3.5" 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Black

Seagate Expansion STKM5000400 external hard drive 5 TB 2.5" 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Black

Seagate Expansion STKM4000400 external hard drive 4 TB 2.5" 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Black

Seagate STKM2000400 external hard drive 2 TB USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Black

External Hard Drives Price Comparison