There’s no better value for storage than the best hard drives. Not only are they cheaper than their solid state counterparts, but they offer more storage capacity as well. For instance, a 4TB HDD and a 1TB SSD will end up costing you the same, making the hard drive the better buy.
So, if you’re trying to save money but need a lot of space, get one of the best hard drives 2021 has to offer. It’s true that the best SSDs come with higher speeds and are more durable, but hard drives are still reliable and as capable of retrieving, saving, and protecting your important documents and projects.
No matter if you’re looking for an external hard drive that can live on the road with you or one of the best hard drives to upgrade the best gaming PC you just bought, there’s something here that will meet your needs. And, you’ll save enough buying one of these, that you should have no problem getting a second one.
As Prime Day 2021 approaches, there will be more and more Prime Day deals including the best hard drives on this list. Every year, hard drives seem to get the biggest discounts on Prime Day, and we expect this year’s Prime Day, which starts on June 22, to be no different. So, if you’re thinking of buying a new hard drive, it may be worth holding off for a little bit longer to see how low prices drop on Prime Day.
Get 5TB of cloud storage for just $3.48
IDrive, the cloud backup veteran, delivers tons of storage online for an incredibly small outlay. 5TB for $3.48 for the first year is unmatched till now and so is the support for unlimited devices and the extensive file versioning system available.
Seagate BarraCuda drives offer a great gigabyte-per-dollar ratio and speed benefits to top it off. (Image Credit: Seagate)
High RPM and storage at a low price
Interface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 2 – 3TB | Cache: 64MB | RPM: 7,200
Low cost
Fast spinning disks
Limited cache
It’s almost impossible to talk about hard drives without mentioning Seagate’s BarraCuda lineup – it’s a force to be reckoned with. And, it’s not hard to see why, Seagate BarraCuda drives offer a great gigabyte-per-dollar ratio and speed benefits to top it off. The 2TB model hits a sweet spot by balancing high performance and affordability. Since this drive combines 7,200rpm platters and high density data, computers outfitted with this drive will be able to read data extraordinarily fast.
The Toshiba X300 is a high-capacity, high-performance champ worth taking a look at. (Image Credit: Toshiba)
Big drives at nimble speeds
Interface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 4 – 8TB | Cache: 128MB | RPM: 7,200
Massive storage
High speeds
Short warranty
Even if its laptops aren’t as popular as they used to be, Toshiba is still a huge name in computing, and has a lot to offer. When it comes to the best hard drives, the Toshiba X300 is a high-capacity, high-performance champ worth taking a look at. The X300 drives boast great gigabyte-to-dollar value without sacrificing on performance. These drives all spin at 7,200 rpm and include 128MB of cache for higher speeds. The only downside is the warranty only lasts two years, which feels short for a drive meant to store so much important data.
Kick it old school with one of the best hard drives with the WD VelociRaptor. (Image Credit: Western Digital)
Faster spinning, faster gaming
Interface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 250GB – 1TB | Cache: 64MB | RPM: 10,000
Insane HDD speed
Built-on cooler
Priced like an SSD
When it comes to PC gaming, it’s better to be fast than capacious. So, if you’ve been resisting the allure of an SSD, and looking to kick it old school with one of the best hard drives, the WD VelociRaptor should be up your alley. Not only does this drive have a whopping 10,000 rpm spin speed, but you’re going to want to pay attention to it. With capacities up to 1TB, the VelociRaptor drives are ready to store large game libraries, and the super fast platters will help your games launch and load quickly.
The WD Blue is a viable pick for almost any type of PC build that’s sticking to a budget. (Image Credit: Western Digital)
Heavy on storage, light on price
Interface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 500GB – 6TB | Cache: 64MB | RPM: 5,400 – 7,200
An option for every budget
Faster option available
Less value from smaller drives
Western Digital offers a solid bargain with its line of WD Blue hard drives. With a wide variety of storage options from a small 500GB to a capacious 6TB, the WD Blue is a viable pick for almost any type of PC build that’s sticking to a budget. The best value comes from the larger drives – they’ll give you much more storage per dollar spent. And, if you’re looking for a bit more speed, there are also 7,200rpm models available that don’t come with too much of a price hike.
The SeaGate FireCuda is the best hybrid hard drive on the market. (Image Credit: Seagate)
Faster than a HDD, cheaper than an SSD
Interface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 1TB – 2TB + 8GB | Cache: 64 MB | RPM: 7,200
NAND-boosted performance
An already fast platter
No competition
SSDs are incredibly popular, and it’s not hard to see why. But, if you need a lot of fast storage, and you don’t have a vault of cash, hybrid hard drives are a great option. The SeaGate FireCuda is the best hybrid hard drive on the market. It can fit up to 2TB of data, and then its 8GB of solid state cache storage learns which data you use most, so that you can access it quickly. That speed boost is even sweeter when you consider that this drive spins at 7,200rpm. With a 5-year warranty and an approachable price tag, it’s easy to see why this is one of the best hard drives you can buy today.
Seagate IronWolf NAS drives come at a premium (Image Credit: Seagate)
Storage-galore for the network
Interface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 6 – 12TB | Cache: 256MB | RPM: 7,200
Ready for RAID
Faster than smaller options
Pricier than non-NAS drives
It’s a little unfortunate that the Seagate IronWolf NAS drives come at a premium, but they aren’t priced much more expensively than a standard hard drive at their capacity. However, their native NAS optimization makes that premium totally worth it. These drives are capable of running at a fast 7,200rpm spin rate 24/7 without having to worry about drive failure. Really, if you have one of the best NAS devices for your business or home, the Seagate IronWolf NAS really is your best bet.
Seagate’s 2.5-inch FireCuda hybrid drive strikes a nice balance. (Image Credit: Seagate)
Adds more pep to a laptop than an HDD
Interface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 500GB – 2TB + 8GB | Cache: 64 MB | RPM: 5,400
Multiple capacity options
Performance above a standard HDD
Flash storage comes at a premium
Upgrading the storage in a laptop can be tough, since the hard drives are much smaller. There aren’t a lot of impressive 2.5-inch hard drives, as anything fast comes with a serious markup, but Seagate’s 2.5-inch FireCuda hybrid drive strikes a nice balance. It offers an easy way to add loads of storage to a laptop while also giving it a speed boost thanks to 8GB of flash storage. A five-year warranty on the drive will also help ensure it lasts a long time.
The WD My Book strikes an amazing balance of storage and price. (Image Credit: Western Digital)
For when you need to fit all the games
Interface: USB 3.0 | Capacity: 3 – 20TB
Massive storage options
Simpler upgrade solution
Potentially slower
Game consoles hard drives fill up fast with massive libraries. And, like laptops, the upgrade path for 2.5-inch hard drives isn’t all that great, but that’s where an external drive comes in. The WD My Book strikes an amazing balance of storage and price, offering enough room for massive game libraries. Running on USB 3.0, it may not be quite as fast as an internal drive upgrade, but it will run games and offer more storage at a cheaper rate.
The G-Technology G-Drive offers huge amounts of storage but thanks to Thunderbolt 3 compatibility. (Image Credit: G-Technology)
Life in spinning disks
Interface: USB 3.1 (Type-C) | Capacity: 4 – 10TB
Fantastic performance
USB Type-C V2
Bigger than expected
A lot of people seem to think that the best hard drives are ancient and dead technology. However, with devices like the G-Technology G-Drive, you can show the naysayers in your life that spinning disks have their own place in the future. Not only does this external hard drive offer huge amounts of storage – up to 10 TB – but thanks to Thunderbolt 3 compatibility, it can even charge your laptop while you work. If you have a MacBook Pro, it’s hard to think of a better work companion.
Read the full review: G-Technology G-Drive
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So, if you’re trying to save money but need a lot of space, get one of the best hard drives 2021 has to offer. It’s true that the best SSDs come with higher speeds and are more durable, but hard drives are still reliable and as capable of retrieving, saving, and protecting your important documents and projects.
No matter if you’re looking for an external hard drive that can live on the road with you or one of the best hard drives to upgrade the best gaming PC you just bought, there’s something here that will meet your needs. And, you’ll save enough buying one of these, that you should have no problem getting a second one.
As Prime Day 2021 approaches, there will be more and more Prime Day deals including the best hard drives on this list. Every year, hard drives seem to get the biggest discounts on Prime Day, and we expect this year’s Prime Day, which starts on June 22, to be no different. So, if you’re thinking of buying a new hard drive, it may be worth holding off for a little bit longer to see how low prices drop on Prime Day.
- SSD vs HDD: which is best for your needs?
- Best portable SSD: top external solid state drives
- Best cloud storage online: free, paid and business options
Get 5TB of cloud storage for just $3.48
IDrive, the cloud backup veteran, delivers tons of storage online for an incredibly small outlay. 5TB for $3.48 for the first year is unmatched till now and so is the support for unlimited devices and the extensive file versioning system available.
Best hard drives at a glance
- Seagate BarraCuda
- Toshiba X300
- WD VelociRaptor
- WD Blue Desktop
- Seagate Firecuda Desktop
- Seagate IronWolf NAS
- Seagate FireCuda Mobile
- WD My Book
- G-Technology G-Drive
Seagate BarraCuda drives offer a great gigabyte-per-dollar ratio and speed benefits to top it off. (Image Credit: Seagate)
Best hard drive: Seagate BarraCuda
High RPM and storage at a low price
Interface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 2 – 3TB | Cache: 64MB | RPM: 7,200
Low cost
Fast spinning disks
Limited cache
It’s almost impossible to talk about hard drives without mentioning Seagate’s BarraCuda lineup – it’s a force to be reckoned with. And, it’s not hard to see why, Seagate BarraCuda drives offer a great gigabyte-per-dollar ratio and speed benefits to top it off. The 2TB model hits a sweet spot by balancing high performance and affordability. Since this drive combines 7,200rpm platters and high density data, computers outfitted with this drive will be able to read data extraordinarily fast.
The Toshiba X300 is a high-capacity, high-performance champ worth taking a look at. (Image Credit: Toshiba)
Best high capacity hard drive: Toshiba X300
Big drives at nimble speeds
Interface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 4 – 8TB | Cache: 128MB | RPM: 7,200
Massive storage
High speeds
Short warranty
Even if its laptops aren’t as popular as they used to be, Toshiba is still a huge name in computing, and has a lot to offer. When it comes to the best hard drives, the Toshiba X300 is a high-capacity, high-performance champ worth taking a look at. The X300 drives boast great gigabyte-to-dollar value without sacrificing on performance. These drives all spin at 7,200 rpm and include 128MB of cache for higher speeds. The only downside is the warranty only lasts two years, which feels short for a drive meant to store so much important data.
Kick it old school with one of the best hard drives with the WD VelociRaptor. (Image Credit: Western Digital)
Best gaming hard drive: WD VelociRaptor
Faster spinning, faster gaming
Interface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 250GB – 1TB | Cache: 64MB | RPM: 10,000
Insane HDD speed
Built-on cooler
Priced like an SSD
When it comes to PC gaming, it’s better to be fast than capacious. So, if you’ve been resisting the allure of an SSD, and looking to kick it old school with one of the best hard drives, the WD VelociRaptor should be up your alley. Not only does this drive have a whopping 10,000 rpm spin speed, but you’re going to want to pay attention to it. With capacities up to 1TB, the VelociRaptor drives are ready to store large game libraries, and the super fast platters will help your games launch and load quickly.
- This product is only available in the US and UK at the time of this writing. Australian readers: check out a fine alternative in the Seagate FireCuda
The WD Blue is a viable pick for almost any type of PC build that’s sticking to a budget. (Image Credit: Western Digital)
Best budget hard drive: WD Blue Desktop
Heavy on storage, light on price
Interface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 500GB – 6TB | Cache: 64MB | RPM: 5,400 – 7,200
An option for every budget
Faster option available
Less value from smaller drives
Western Digital offers a solid bargain with its line of WD Blue hard drives. With a wide variety of storage options from a small 500GB to a capacious 6TB, the WD Blue is a viable pick for almost any type of PC build that’s sticking to a budget. The best value comes from the larger drives – they’ll give you much more storage per dollar spent. And, if you’re looking for a bit more speed, there are also 7,200rpm models available that don’t come with too much of a price hike.
The SeaGate FireCuda is the best hybrid hard drive on the market. (Image Credit: Seagate)
Best hybrid hard drive: Seagate Firecuda Desktop
Faster than a HDD, cheaper than an SSD
Interface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 1TB – 2TB + 8GB | Cache: 64 MB | RPM: 7,200
NAND-boosted performance
An already fast platter
No competition
SSDs are incredibly popular, and it’s not hard to see why. But, if you need a lot of fast storage, and you don’t have a vault of cash, hybrid hard drives are a great option. The SeaGate FireCuda is the best hybrid hard drive on the market. It can fit up to 2TB of data, and then its 8GB of solid state cache storage learns which data you use most, so that you can access it quickly. That speed boost is even sweeter when you consider that this drive spins at 7,200rpm. With a 5-year warranty and an approachable price tag, it’s easy to see why this is one of the best hard drives you can buy today.
Seagate IronWolf NAS drives come at a premium (Image Credit: Seagate)
Best NAS hard drive: Seagate IronWolf NAS
Storage-galore for the network
Interface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 6 – 12TB | Cache: 256MB | RPM: 7,200
Ready for RAID
Faster than smaller options
Pricier than non-NAS drives
It’s a little unfortunate that the Seagate IronWolf NAS drives come at a premium, but they aren’t priced much more expensively than a standard hard drive at their capacity. However, their native NAS optimization makes that premium totally worth it. These drives are capable of running at a fast 7,200rpm spin rate 24/7 without having to worry about drive failure. Really, if you have one of the best NAS devices for your business or home, the Seagate IronWolf NAS really is your best bet.
Seagate’s 2.5-inch FireCuda hybrid drive strikes a nice balance. (Image Credit: Seagate)
Best laptop hard drive: Seagate FireCuda Mobile
Adds more pep to a laptop than an HDD
Interface: SATA 6Gbps | Capacity: 500GB – 2TB + 8GB | Cache: 64 MB | RPM: 5,400
Multiple capacity options
Performance above a standard HDD
Flash storage comes at a premium
Upgrading the storage in a laptop can be tough, since the hard drives are much smaller. There aren’t a lot of impressive 2.5-inch hard drives, as anything fast comes with a serious markup, but Seagate’s 2.5-inch FireCuda hybrid drive strikes a nice balance. It offers an easy way to add loads of storage to a laptop while also giving it a speed boost thanks to 8GB of flash storage. A five-year warranty on the drive will also help ensure it lasts a long time.
The WD My Book strikes an amazing balance of storage and price. (Image Credit: Western Digital)
Best game console hard drive: WD My Book
For when you need to fit all the games
Interface: USB 3.0 | Capacity: 3 – 20TB
Massive storage options
Simpler upgrade solution
Potentially slower
Game consoles hard drives fill up fast with massive libraries. And, like laptops, the upgrade path for 2.5-inch hard drives isn’t all that great, but that’s where an external drive comes in. The WD My Book strikes an amazing balance of storage and price, offering enough room for massive game libraries. Running on USB 3.0, it may not be quite as fast as an internal drive upgrade, but it will run games and offer more storage at a cheaper rate.
The G-Technology G-Drive offers huge amounts of storage but thanks to Thunderbolt 3 compatibility. (Image Credit: G-Technology)
Best external hard drive: G-Technology G-Drive
Life in spinning disks
Interface: USB 3.1 (Type-C) | Capacity: 4 – 10TB
Fantastic performance
USB Type-C V2
Bigger than expected
A lot of people seem to think that the best hard drives are ancient and dead technology. However, with devices like the G-Technology G-Drive, you can show the naysayers in your life that spinning disks have their own place in the future. Not only does this external hard drive offer huge amounts of storage – up to 10 TB – but thanks to Thunderbolt 3 compatibility, it can even charge your laptop while you work. If you have a MacBook Pro, it’s hard to think of a better work companion.
Read the full review: G-Technology G-Drive
Continue reading...