PCWorld's Ultimate Guide to Judging External Storage
External computer data storage technologies have undergone a fascinating evolution over the years, transitioning from the clunky, low-capacity floppy disks of the 1980s to the modern, high-speed NVMe SSDs that reign supreme today. For those of you scratching your head at some of the jargon, don’t worry – we’ll break it down. There are a multitude of options available, ranging from USB hard drives and optical discs to USB thumb drives and the latest NVMe SSDs housed in high-speed Thunderbolt or USB 4 enclosures. With so many choices, picking the right storage solution can feel like navigating a minefield.
PCWorld has been at the forefront of reviewing these external storage devices since the era of floppy drives. Yes, floppy drives – those endearing, now-antiquated relics that could barely hold a text file by today’s standards. Fast forward to now, and we’re talking about SSDs that can store and transfer terabytes of data. Every SSD we’ve tested over the years is still operational, as are all the hard drives from roughly the last five years. This longevity is crucial, especially when dealing with terabytes written (TBW). TBW is a metric that tells you how much data can be written to an SSD before it starts to wear out.
While SSDs are generally more durable than their spinning-disk counterparts, 2.5-inch external hard drives are particularly vulnerable to physical shocks and vibrations – they don’t fare well when dropped, for example. Desktop drives, whether SSD or HDD, also require stability features such as non-skid feet to prevent mishaps. Larger 5.25-inch hard drives and high-capacity USB 3.x SSDs typically need an AC adapter, which is something to keep in mind if you are short on power outlets. On the flip side, most single external 2.5-inch hard drives are powered solely through their USB connection, making them more convenient to use.
When it comes to speed, 5Gbps USB SSDs and their 10Gbps counterparts have different performance ceilings. The former typically max out just under 500MBps, whereas the latter can reach speeds up to 1GBps. However, faster is not always better – it’s best to compare storage devices within their technological categories. For instance, evaluating a 10Gbps USB SSD against another 10Gbps USB SSD offers a more balanced perspective than comparing one to a Thunderbolt 3 device.
Historically, there’s been a near 1:1 ratio between benchmark speeds and real-world performance for SSDs, but NVMe SSDs have shattered this paradigm. Internal PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSDs can hit almost 15GBps, while the fastest Thunderbolt SSDs manage around 4GBps. Real-world performance can vary, especially when dealing with large file transfers, which may cause drives to drop to their native write speeds – anywhere from 150MBps to nearly 1GBps, depending on the SSD’s design and capacity.
Even our fastest NVMe SSDs pale in comparison to a 58GB RAM disk, which remains unbeaten in speed. This RAM disk is like the Usain Bolt of data storage, and while it’s impractical for everyday use, it offers a tantalizing glimpse into the future of storage speed. As technology continues to evolve, who knows what kind of speeds we’ll see next? For now, we sit back and enjoy the ride, knowing that the future of data storage is as exciting as ever.
