Written by Jos
You no longer have enough storage space on your PC or laptop to store your photos, videos, and other documents. To store these files, you're looking for external storage. In this article, I'll help you on your way with choosing the type of external storage that best suits your needs.
- External SSD: quick and easy to carry
- External HDD: large storage capacity
- NAS: personal cloud and streaming
External SSD: quick and easy to carry
Do you not necessarily need a high storage capacity, but is speed important to you? Then you choose an SSD (Solid State Drive), which is up to 10 times faster than an HDD. SSDs are available with a maximum storage capacity of up to 2TB, so they're suitable for smaller amounts of files, for occasional file transfers, or for working on the go. In addition, an SSD is very fast, it's shockproof, and less prone to wear.
- Fast
- Shockproof
- Compact
- Relatively high price
External HDD: large storage capacity
Do you keep a lot of photos and videos or do you need a lot of storage space for other files? Then an external hard drive, or external HDD (Hard Drive Disk), is the best choice for you. With an HDD you have a lot of storage space for a relatively low price. You can store 40 movies in 4K quality and more than 80,000 high-resolution photos on a 4TB hard drive. There are even hard drives available with a storage capacity of up to 20TB.
- Lots of storage
- Relatively cheap
- Relatively slow
- Shock sensitive
NAS: personal cloud and streaming
Do you want to store photos and videos wirelessly from your phone or laptop? Then choose an NAS (Networked Attached Storage). You connect the NAS to various devices via your home network. This way you can stream movies and series via your TV, and you can even view your favorite photos on the go on your smartphone via the internet. An NAS has a built-in hard drive that can be expanded for some models, so that you have a lot of storage space.
- Stream data wirelessly to devices
- Your personal cloud
- Lots of storage
- Slower than SSD
