1 Do I want an internal or external drive?
We’ve reviewed internal drives here, although with an external adapter you can use a USB drive instead. While USB 3.2 Gen 2 speeds are considerably faster than previous generations, they’re not as quick as internal drives by a long shot. USB 3.2 Gen 2 2x1 runs at up to 10Gbits/sec, which works out at around 1,250MB/sec, a fraction of the maximum speeds of the latest SSDs. So why bother?
External drives are useful if you need to move data from one computer to another, or you want to take a secure backup of files, storing the drive in a different location or even a safe. External drives are also useful for devices that are hard to upgrade, such as laptops.
There’s a big disadvantage: files on an external drive aren’t accessible if the drive’s not connected. That makes external drives largely unsuitable for storing apps or files you often need.
2 Should I get an SSD or a mechanical drive?
It’s staggering to see mechanical hard disks still available.
