You’ve picked the perfect laptop for uni – but its internal storage drive can only hold so much. Much like your brain after your fourth lecture in a row, overloading your laptop can make it sluggish and unresponsive. Not to mention the risk of losing everything if your laptop’s stolen or broken.
To keep your stuff safe, you might want to pick up an external storage drive. They’ll let you back up all that hard work, so you’ll have peace of mind knowing your files are secure. But which one to choose?
What sizes do external storage drives come in?
Storage space is measured in megabytes (MB), gigabytes (GB) and terabytes (TB). You can find storage drives offering anything from 256GB to 16TB, depending on how much you’ll need for your course.
How much space do I need?
This depends on a few things. How big are the files you’re likely to be saving? What programs will you be using? How many projects do you expect to be working on?
If you’re studying a subject that largely focused on writing essays, you’ll need less space than a design student who regularly uses intensive software like Adobe Illustrator, Premiere or Revit.
Why? Because basic text files don’t take up that much space. Photos are a bit larger, whilst music, video and 3D design files are pretty storage-hungry. The below is a good rule of thumb…
500GB can hold: 8,330 hours of digital music / 160,000 digital photos / 500 hours of digital video / 125 DVD-quality movies
1TB can hold: 16,660 hours of digital music / 320,000 digital photos / 1,000 hours of digital video / 250 DVD-quality movies
[Source: Seagate]
Desktop or portable drive?
There are two types of external drive: desktop and portable.
Do you prefer to knuckle down at home or round your bestie’s flat? Are you more likely to be found hunched over a library desk or curled up working over a latte in town?
Before deciding on a desktop or portable drive, consider how likely you are to move around.
Desktop external drives
Desktop external drives are bigger and heavier than their portable counterparts and need to be plugged in to an external power source to work. However, their larger size means they tend to have more capacity than portable drives - at a more student-friendly price tag.
We’d recommend…
The Seagate Expansion External Hard Drive. With 6TB of storage and speedy USB 3.0, it’s got more than enough capacity for a degree length’s worth of large-scale projects. And to give you peace of mind, if you lose your files to water damage or a natural disaster, Rescue Data Services will help you recover all your hard work. Phew.
Portable external drives
Portable external drives are designed for life on the go. Light and slender, they’re perfect for throwing in your bag or pocket before you head out.
Unlike desktop external drives that need to be plugged into the mains, portable external drives are powered by your laptop. You can access your files wherever, whenever – perfect for making last-minute changes to a presentation outside your lecture theatre.
They can be pricier than desktop external drives, but you should still be able to get a hefty 1TB device without breaking the bank – like this Toshiba Canvio Basics Portable Hard Drive.
For serious security
Keen on keeping your Mac files safe and secure? The WD My Passport for Mac comes with built-in hardware encryption and password protection to keep your data safe and private. You can even set up a backup routine with Apple’s Time Machine software to automatically save your data whenever you choose.
Want to learn more about cyber security? Discover how to stay safe online.
Lots of photos and creative projects? Make speed a priority
If you’re a design student (or just have loads of Instagrammable photos), you’ll want to prioritise something that transfers bigger files fast.
Two options to consider are hard drives with USB 3.0 or USB-C connectivity, as well as super-speedy SSD hard drives.
USB 3.0 can transfer data at 5 gigabits per second – more than 10 times faster than USB 2.0. And USB-C is twice as fast as USB 3.0!
On the other hand, solid state drives (SSD) can transfer video in seconds. They’re up to 4x faster than traditional external hard drives, effortlessly backing up your photos, videos and files. They’re also extremely tough to crack because there are no moving parts.
Any recommendations?
The Samsung T7 is the perfect lightweight external SSD. At only 58g, it won’t hold you back whilst trudging around campus, and its all-round metal design can handle accidental drops. It has a huge 1TB capacity, transfers 4K videos and high-res photos in seconds, and lets you easily set up a password on PC and Mac. In other words, it’s the ultimate uni sidekick.
Think you’re at risk of running out of space? Check out our range of external storage drives.
