Christmas Gift Guide 2008 >

Hard Drives

Régis Jehl
Updated: November 25, 2008

If you wane to add more storage space to your computer, you've got two choices: either open it up and replace the internal hard drive, or plug in an external hard drive.

It's not quite as simple as that, though--if you bought your PC from a big manufacturer, for instance, installing a new hard drive may well invalidate your warranty, but if you've got a laptop you might even be able to change the hard drive.

While you're thinking about a new disk, you might also want to consider some of the new options you have today--like hard drives that connect directly to your TV for watching movies, or doing away with physical connections altogether and going wireless.

Budget Buyer:
Western Digital Caviar Blue SE 16 640 GB
This is a truly excellent internal hard drive, and Western Digital has successfully paired quiet running with powerful performance.

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Simplicity First:
Western Digital My Book Studio Edition 500 GB
This hard drive has all the connectivity options you'll need to use it with a PC or a Mac: USB, FireWire 400 and 800, eSATA), as well as a very handy guage that gives you a quick idea of how full it is.

Demanding User:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1.5 TB

Hot news right now, this new drive is the very first to have one and a half terabytes on board. As competition is still on the ground, you'll pay quite a lot for all those juicy gigabytes.

On The Go:
Memup Kwest Evolution 2.5 250 GB
If you've already got an eSATA port on your computer, then the 2.5'' version of the Kwest Memup Evolution is a great choice. As well as excellent speeds, you'll get a nice neat black box that doesn't take up too much space.

Prices unavailable Recommended alternatives

Expert:
Western Digital VelociRaptor 300 GB
If you're looking for a super-fast hard drive, you need look no further: this is the model you need. You might want to be careful with your wallet though, as it doesn't come cheap ...