Monday, October 25, 2010

1Tb External Hard Drive - Is This Amount of Storage Enough?

In today's technological market a 1tb external hard drive no longer seems extremely large for storage. Nor is it as expensive as you would think. The hard drive can range in price from a few hundred dollars to a $1000. Depending on your storage needs on the unit, you should purchase. There are two categories for external hard drives, direct-attached storage (DAS) and network-attached storage (NAS).

Direct-attached storage is great for a single user with large storage needs. Therefore, if you just need a unit for your personal use, this is the one. The network-attached storage is ideal for multiple users. This unit is capable of being connected to a network so several users can utilize the device at the same time.
Connecting to a PC via a USB port is the preferred method for connection. However, the DAS is faster than the NAS when connecting in this method. With 7200 RPM spindle speed on most of the units, performance is fast and has a low latency.
The setup method for both is straightforward and easy. The largest different between setting them up is the connection interface and the drive configuration. To achieve the 1tb storage capacity the unit combines a multiple drive into one single logical volume. Windows operating system will recognize a drive as a terabyte giving the user the full terabyte of storage.
When purchasing a drive the user will receive a backup software package to assist in connecting the drive to the PC. The external drive is portable and therefore is movable between different devices. You can hook the drive up to your TV or Stereo and play music files stored on the device. In fact, multimedia files like video, music, and photos are playable on other multimedia devices.
A storage drive of this size can hold up to 4 million photos, 18,000 hours of music or 1400 hours of video. If you were a student in school, the drive could hold electronic schoolbooks, no more hauling heavy schoolbooks from class to class. The unit connects easily to a laptop for on the go storage.
Most hard drives are a durable and stylish aluminum design. The plug and play function means connection to other devices is quick and easy. A USB 2.0 interface will connect the external drive allowing for fast data transfer and universal connection to other devices.
Compatible with PCs and Macs the unit is diverse and does not require any special installation instructions for the different computer types. Just use the plug in play feature and you are ready to enjoy all the space you will need.
So how much is a terabyte? The word tera means 1012 SI, International System of Units and therefore is the equivalent to 1000 gigabytes. Most people would never use this much space, but it is nice to know if the space is needed the larger drive is present.
A terabyte hard drive might be too big for the average person, however once purchased the need for another device is minuscule. You will enjoy the convenience, portability, and reliability of an external drive.
I know of a site that is one of the UK's biggest suppliers of many different types of external hard drive, including one of our top sellers, a Western Digital 1TB external hard drive. The WD 1TB external hard drive is one of thousands of products that they sell, who have over £12 million worth of stock available for next day delivery.

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