Years ago, external hard disk drives were reserved for advanced and experienced users and were not a common item on the average computer users' desk. The options of selecting one were limited and the pricing was high. Today, things have changed. All hard disk manufacturers have entered the external hard drive market and have started producing a wide range of drives with different characteristics. Which one is the right for you?

#1. Capacity is most important.

Today's external hard drives have varying storage capacities, starting with 160 GB and ending with 2 TB. The best value for money comes with the 1 TB drive at the moment but things can change in a matter of months. With the increasing size of media files, it doesn't do justice to acquire a low capacity drive and pay more per gigabyte of storage.

#2. Size comes next.

Today's external hard disk drives come in all sizes and more recently, shapes and colors. As with other computer related accessories - pink, red and blue are in fashion. All drive cases from the previous generation looked like a big ugly brick but things are different today. There are a couple of very attractive models available on the market but they come with a price. Smaller, pocket size hard drives are more expensive as well but they've yet to reach capacities of 1 TB or more.

#3. External doesn't necessarily mean portable.

Not all external drives are suitable for portability. Most external hard drives are made of cheap, non scratch resistant and easy to brake plastic. That means most are best suitable on your desk and not on your portable computer bag. If you are looking for a portable hard drive and data is important to you, you are best off selecting a metal case external drive. You can even purchase a waterproof hard drive or one with increased shock resistance.

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