Hard Drives

You've found your way to the part of our website where you should be if you need a new external hard drive or internal hard drives. Like with all of our categories we're here to find the best external hard drive deals, and help you compare the specifications of the various hard drives currently available. If you want a top quality external hard drive then brands such as Samsung, Western Digital, Seagate and Toshiba are eager to provide one for you. The cost of hard drives has come down a lot recently, you can get a one terrabyte (1TB) external hard drive for under £60, 1tb internal hard drives are available for under £50. An external hard drive is handy to keep a backup of important data, as it's much easier to connect an external hard drive up to a computer than internal hard drives are. To help you get the best deal we've also attached any relevant vouchers and coupons to each offer if we have one available. To help your external hard drive hunt further, we have collect vouchers and coupons from around the internet and attached them to relevant offers. ... View more - View less

View the Hard Drives Buyers Guide

6149 Results from 13 retailers

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- Western Digital Elements SE 500GB Portable USB 2.0 Hard Drive - Black
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- £54.99
- WD Elements SE Portable Black
- £54.99
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
- Origin Storage Enigma SED - Hard drive - 250 GB - internal - 2.5 - SATA-300 - 5400 rpm - for Dell Inspiron XPS M1210; XPS M1210
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- £151.21
- Origin Storage Enigma SED - Hard drive - 250 GB - internal - 2.5 - SATA-300 - 5400 rpm - for Dell Inspiron XPS...
- £151.21
  inc P&P - £158.21
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: Within 24 Hours
- Iomega UltraMax Plus Hard Drive FireWire 800/FireWire 400/USB 2.0- 2.0TB (2HD x 1.0TB)
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- £324.06
- Iomega UltraMax Plus Hard Drive FireWire 800/FireWire 400/USB 2.0- 2.0TB (2HD x 1.0TB) Style plus performance...
- £324.06
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: 3+ Weeks
- Western Digital My Passport Essential Portable Hard Drive, 500GB, Red
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- £74.95
- See your life safe in one place with WD's ultra-portable My Passport® Essential™ USB drive. It features...
- £74.95
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: In stock • Warranty: 2 year guarantee included.
- Western Digital WDBACG0010HCH-EESN
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- £144.95
- The Western Digital My Book Live is a NAS (Network Attached Storage) drive and media server which supports...
- £144.95
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: Check Site • Warranty: 1 Year
- Amacom EZ-2-DISK 500GB USB2 & eSATA
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- £341.09
- The unrivalled features of the ez2disk provide the ideal solution for desktop and laptop users to store, edit...
- £341.09
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
- Asus 500gb 2.5" Sata For Asus Laptop Hard Drive 5400 Rpm
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- £57.70
- BRAND NEW FROM MANUFACTURER FACTORY SEALED CAPACITY 500GB INTERFACE SATA - ALSO CALLED SERIAL ATA WARRANTY 1...
- £57.70
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: In stock
- Quantum LTO-4 Tape Drive Half Height Internal
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- £1,310.94
- Quantum Lto-4 Tape Drive Half Height Internal
- £1,310.94
  inc P&P - £1,315.73
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: 2-3 Days
- LaCie Rugged Portable External Hard Drive - 500 GB (grey/orange)
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- £97.99
- Neil Poulton has designed LaCie's whole range of super-stylish external hard drives, including the...
- £97.99
  inc P&P - £105.99
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: 1-2 days • Best prices on over 1,300,000 references! IN STOCK! Next day and standard delivery options available.
- Western Digital Elements External Hard Drive - 1TB, Black
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- £80.32
- The affordable Western Digital Elements External Hard Drive offers a generous 1 TB of storage space. It's...
- £80.32
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: 1 to 3 days • Warranty: See Site
- CnM Secure 4 Channel CCTV System with DVR & 2 Bullet Cameras
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- £179.98
- CnM Secure 4 Channel H.264 DVR 160GB Hard drive with 2 X 420TVL SONY Bullet CamerasThe Complete home or small...
- £179.98
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: In stock
- Western Digital Wdbacy5000abk
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- £69.99
- Simple. easy to use and cost effective storage. this portable hard drive is the affordable way to save all...
- £69.99
  P&P: Free
  
  Availability: In stock
- Dell PowerVault™ TL2000 Tape Library PV TL2000 LT04-120 FC Single Drive Half Heigh Silver Base (includes cleaning tape)
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- £4,899
- DELL PowerVault™ TL2000 Tape Library PV TL2000 LT04-120 FC Single Drive Half Heigh Silver Base (includes...
- £4,899
  inc P&P - £4,959
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually ships in 10-15 days
- Origin Storage - Hard drive - 146 GB - hot-swap - 2.5 - SAS - 10000 rpm - for Dell PowerEdge 1950, 1950 III, 2950, 2950 III, 2970, 6850, M600, M605, R805, R900, R905
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- £209.50
- Origin Storage - Hard drive - 146 GB - hot-swap - 2.5 - SAS - 10000 rpm - for Dell PowerEdge 1950, 1950 III...
  
  Compare Dell Ultra320 Hard drive 146 GB internal 3.5 SCSI prices
- £209.50
  inc P&P - £216.50
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: 3-5 Days
- Origin Storage - Hard drive - 73 GB - hot-swap - 2.5 - SAS - 15000 rpm - for Dell PowerEdge 1950, 1955, 2950, 2970, 6850, M600, M605, R805, R900, R905
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- £250.23
- Origin Storage - Hard drive - 73 GB - hot-swap - 2.5 - SAS - 15000 rpm - for Dell PowerEdge 1950, 1955, 2950...
  
  Compare Origin Storage Hard drive 73 GB hot-swap 2.5 SAS 15000 prices
- £250.23
  inc P&P - £257.23
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: Within 24 Hours
- Dell 500GB SATA 7.2k 3.5 (9 cm) HD Cabled Non Assembled - Kit
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- £179.99
- Dell 500GB SATA 7.2k 3.5 (9 cm) HD Cabled Non Assembled - Kit The Dell 500 GB Hard Drive offers an ideal data...
- £179.99
  inc P&P - £186.99
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: 24-48 Hours
- Dell 200GB Solid State Disk SAS 6Gbps 6cm (2.5) Hybrid HD Fully Assembled in 9cm (3.5) Carrier
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- £2,031.99
- Dell 200GB Solid State Disk SAS 6Gbps 6cm (2.5) Hybrid HD Fully Assembled in 9cm (3.5) Carrier The 200 GB...
- £2,031.99
  inc P&P - £2,038.99
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: 24-48 Hours
- Dell 250GB (5400Rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive - Kit
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- £84.99
- Dell 250GB (5400Rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive - Kit The 250 GB 5400 RPM Serial ATA Hard Drive from Dell™;...
- £84.99
  inc P&P - £91.99
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: 24-48 Hours
- Origin Storage - Hard drive - 500 GB - internal - 2.5 - SATA-150 - 5400 rpm - black - for Dell Latitude E6500
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- £120.96
- Origin Storage - Hard drive - 500 GB - internal - 2.5 - SATA-150 - 5400 rpm - black - for Dell Latitude E6500...
  
  Compare Dell SATA-150 Hard drive 500 GB internal 2.5 5400 prices
- £120.96
  inc P&P - £127.96
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: Within 24 Hours
- Origin Storage - Hard drive - 2 TB - hot-swap - SATA-150 - 7200 rpm
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- £199.10
- Origin Storage - Hard drive - 2 TB - hot-swap - SATA-150 - 7200 rpm Origin Storage manufactures a full range...
  
  Compare Origin Storage SATA-150 Hard drive 2 TB hot-swap 7200 rpm prices
- £199.10
  inc P&P - £206.10
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: Within 24 Hours
- Origin Storage Enigma SED - Hard drive - 250 GB - internal - 2.5 - SATA-300 - 5400 rpm - for Dell Latitude E6500
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- £151.21
- Origin Storage Enigma SED - Hard drive - 250 GB - internal - 2.5 - SATA-300 - 5400 rpm - for Dell Latitude...
- £151.21
  inc P&P - £158.21
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: Within 24 Hours
- Origin Storage - Hard drive - 300 GB - hot-swap - SAS - 15000 rpm - for Dell PowerEdge 1855
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- £465.95
- Origin Storage - Hard drive - 300 GB - hot-swap - SAS - 15000 rpm - for Dell PowerEdge 1855 Marketing...
  
  Compare Origin Storage Hard drive 300 GB hot-swap SAS 15000 rpm prices
- £465.95
  inc P&P - £472.95
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: Within 24 Hours
- Dell - 500 GB - (7,200Rpm) - Serial ATA - 9 cm (3.5) - Hard Drive - Kit
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- £179.99
- Dell - 500 GB - (7,200Rpm) - Serial ATA - 9 cm (3.5) - Hard Drive - Kit The Dell™; 500 GB Hard Drive offers...
- £179.99
  inc P&P - £186.99
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: 24-48 Hours
- Western Digital WD My Book Essential WDBACW0010HBK - Hard drive - 1 TB - external (desktop) - USB 3.0
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- £82.32
- WD My Book Essential WDBACW0010HBK - Hard drive - 1 TB - external (desktop) - USB 3.0 Put your digital life on...
- £82.32
  inc P&P - £89.32
  
  Availability: In stock • Delivered: Usually Ships In: Within 24 Hours

Buying Guide - External Drives

Written by Pure Content

Types/sizes

An external drive or external HDD is a convenient back-up system for your data that is generally very easy to use. An external drive can be kept separate from your computer, meaning that the external drive data can be used on any computer if and when this becomes necessary.

couple on laptops

An external drive or external HDD can typically store far more data than most other domestic data storage systems, such as CD-ROM or the older technology floppy disk. Unless you have a particularly large amount of data for storing on your external drive, you will be likely to need only the one external drive on which to periodically back up data from the main hard drive of your computer. You could even use an external drive to back up data from a number of computers, making it a way of combining filing systems before transferring the data to a new computer.

Although there are different varieties of external drive, the most common types of external HDD for a domestic user will be the desktop external drive and the portable external drive. As the names suggest, the difference between these two types of external HDD is essentially one of mobility: one external drive is designed to be kept in one place, attached to a computer via USB connection, while the other external drive is designed to be moved from one location to the next. These can easily be carried in a bag for when you need to take your external HDD with you whilst on the move. For an office situation with a number of interconnected computers, a network external drive is also available, so that the external drive or external HDD can be shared between the different computers on the office network.

Storage explained

The way in which your computer stores most of its data is via an internal hard drive, which is housed within either the desktop or the laptop computer. The internal hard drive is used to store more permanent data, such as the operating system and any applications used regularly. As a result, right from the start a good portion of your available storage space is taken up by your system's minimum requirements. In addition, the system often builds up more and more data as it operates, from updating itself and carrying out antivirus checks, not to mention the growing number of documents that you will be likely create and save throughout the lifetime of the computer.

Modern user applications also use increasingly large amounts of storage space for the data that they produce, whether this is in the form of images, graphics, video, or highly formatted documents and other media. All this means that the hard disk within your computer will fill up quickly, and if you have the same computer for a number of years, the accumulated data can become very substantial.

Solutions such as storage on a CD-ROM or floppy disk have been used for smaller segments of data, such as a selection of files or images, but to conveniently and reliably back up all your data from your computer, a storage space with a larger capacity is needed, and that is where the external drive or external HDD comes into play.

External drive or external HDD models are similar to the hard disk inside your computer, but with an external HDD, none of the operating system software or application files are required, as the external drive is usually run by your computer over a USB or FireWire interface. In short, you are free to copy whatever data you need onto the external drive, and the external drive will not automatically fill up with system data. Furthermore, as technology has advanced, external hard drive models on the market are able to store more and more data, meaning that it is even easier to make a full backup of all your personal data onto your external drive.

Connections

When you decide on the connection type between your computer and your external drive, you are likely to base this on the connection sockets that are already available on your computer. Even so, if you want to use a connection of a specific type for your external drive it is often possible to have a port for this added to the circuit board on your machine.

hard drive

Typically, however, your choice of connection type between your computer and your external drive will be between a USB interface and a FireWire interface. It is likely that a modern computer will be fitted with a number of USB ports, so this choice is the safer option for your external drive or external HDD if you are uncertain of compatibility. Even if you have an older computer with just one or two USB ports, it is possible to buy a USB hub, which is a fairly cheap way of splitting the USB connection, effectively providing you with several USB connections that you can use for your external drive, in the same way that you can purchase electrical extension cables for more than one electrical socket.

FireWire is a more recent type of connection and is convenient for extremely large files, such as long videos or large multimedia files, as the FireWire connection allows for a much faster data transfer rate. Not all computers are necessarily fitted with a FireWire port however, so you should check this before you commit to a FireWire interface for your external drive.

Speed

In terms of the way that your external drive works, the main thing to look for apart from storage volume is rotation speed, as this shows the efficiency of external hard disks in the same way as for internal hard disks. The higher the speed of the rotation of any external hard drive, the faster they can work to transfer data to and from the computer.

In general terms, the internal hard disk of a typical home computer is likely to have a rotation speed in the area of 7,200 rotations per minute (rpm), and that can act as your comparison point when looking at the rotation speed of an external HDD. Other computers may have rotation speeds that are faster or slower, as may the external drive, but you certainly should try not to get an external drive with a rotation speed of less than 5,400 rpm, as this would almost certainly reduce the efficiency of the connection with your computer.

An external drive or external HDD rotation speed of more than 7,200 rpm, such as up to 10,000 rpm, is possible if you have a particular need for fast data transfer, but an external drive with this sort of rotation speed is also likely to have less memory space available for data storage.

With a regular external drive rotation speed, you can usually find a desktop external drive with a storage capacity of up to a terabyte of space (1,000 gigabytes), or a portable external drive with a storage capacity of up to 500 gigabytes. Network external drive hard disks have greater storage capacities still, but domestic users will seldom require such capacity unless they have particularly great storage demands, for example, high definition video files or other media that require extremely large file sizes.

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