When it comes to the top external hard drives, it's more about personal needs and tastes than it is any one or two defining attributes that make one drive "better" than another. For instance, there are external hard drives that are designed just for quick, almost novel data transfers, and there are others that can withstand floods and fire. Knowing which is best for you depends on your particular data needs, but having a list of the top-ranked drives is an excellent place to start.
The following are top rated external hard drives, rated by consumers of the drives and presented here in no particular order:
Seagate Slim 500 GB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive (STCD500100)
*Upload to multiple social networks at once via share feature
*Use between PC's and Mac's without reformatting thanks to a pre-loaded NTFS driver
*USB 3.0 for fast data transfers, but backwards compatible with USB 2.0
*Use as backup from social media network profiles
*Portable drive is ultra-thin
*Top rated external hard drive on Amazon
Seagate Expansion 1.5 TB USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive (STBX1500100)
*No native power required - runs on power from USB
*Huge storage capacity of 1.5 Terabyte immediately boosts any pc's storage potential
*No software needed, simply plugin and use
*Get lightning fast data transfers via USB 3.0, but backwards compatible with USB 2.0 as well
*Reliability of Seagate, a top name in external hard drives
Western Digital My Passport 1 TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive (WDBBEP0010BBK-NESN)
*1 Terabyte instantly adds space for thousands of videos, movies, pictures, songs, files and more
*USB 3.0 transfers data at an astonishing 5GBps
*Comes standard with password protection and data encryption
*Schedule automatic backups to protect your data
*Sleek, portable design makes it easy to transport
*Shock resistant
*2 Year Warranty
*Legendary Western Digital customer service
Toshiba - Canvio 3.0 500GB External USB 3.0/2.0 Portable Hard Drive
*USB 3.0 for fast data transfers is also backward compatible with USB 2.0 for maximum versatility
*500GB offers storage for thousands of videos, music, files and programs
*Automatic backup and storage notifications
*Internal shock sensor helps protect unit from failure and data loss
*5400 RPM for fast read/write access
*Small size and easy portability
Western Digital Elements 320 GB
*For those with smaller data needs, up to 320 GB
*For use in both Mac and PC systems
*Simple plug and play operation
*USB 2.0 compatible with most systems
*Top rated external hard drive by reviewers on both Amazon and Best Buy
IoSafe Solo G3 (3 TB)
*Designed to sustain floods over 10 feet and fires for up to 3 hours
*Heavy duty construction protects hard drive from disaster
*3 Terabytes of portable data storage space
*For Mac or PC
*Available in 1TB, 2TB or 3TB
*Virtually silent operation
*Comes with data recovery plan in most cases
*Among top rated external hard drives on Best Buy.com
There are a number of other leading external hard drives, but these are the most popular and best-reviewed products currently listed on Amazon, eBay and Best Buy. So if reviews and ratings are any indicator, these 6 external hard drives should provide the right selection for nearly anyone looking for the best external hard drives currently on the consumer market.