(Dec 04, 2008)
Matthew Elliott
Section Editor
External hard drives basically come in one of two flavors: those you directly attach to your PC and those network-attached storage drives that can be accessed from any computer on your network. The five drives on this page represent our favorites across both categories for their ease of use, smart design, useful feature set, low cost per gigabyte, fast throughput speeds, or some or all of the above.
Drobo
The Drobo's sleek looks drew admiring glances in CNET's offices, but once people found out what it does, the admiration turned to coveting. This Editors' Choice winner makes simple work of data protection. You don't have to fiddle with RAID arrays or burn a stack of DVDs. Simply fill the device with two or more drives, transfer your data over, and Drobo takes care of all the protection behind the scenes. We were pretty much wowed by this drive.
Price: $397.97 - $499.99 (check prices)
Filed in: Best 5 storage drives , Best external storage drives
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Synology Disk Station DS-107+
The Synology DS107+ is the most sophisticated NAS device we've tested to date. Its more advanced features require some networking know-how, but the included software and Web interface go a long way in helping you tackle the various offerings. You can't beat all the features you get for the price.
Price: $380.03 - $380.03 (check prices)
Filed in: Best 5 storage drives , Best network attached storage
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Seagate FreeAgent Go (blue, 320GB)
The Seagate FreeAgent Go is our favorite portable hard drive to date and takes our award for Editors' Choice. The drive is well designed and fast, and you won't find a better value for the price.
Price: $118.80 - $143.99 (check prices)
Filed in: Best 5 storage drives , Best external storage drives
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OWC Mercury On-The-Go (500GB)
It's big, and it's fast. The OWC Mercury On-The-Go offers fast throughput via USB 2.0, FireWire 400, and FireWire 800, and it's the biggest compact hard drive, at 500GB, you can get right now.
Price: $214.99 - $214.99 (check prices)
Filed in: Best 5 storage drives , Best external storage drives
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D-Link DNS-323 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure
The D-Link DNS-323 2-Bay Network Storage Enclosure is a comprehensive solution to extend your network storage and functionality. It offers great performance and, despite its long list of features, remains very easy to use.
Price: $139.80 - $303.79 (check prices)
Filed in: Best 5 storage drives , Best network attached storage
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