Having an external hard drive for data backup is all the way good, no matter what the initial causes were that made you get one. Since I always take care of my data, it is obvious to me to have an external portable drive, Besides, I always have extolled such portable storage media, as I very much understand the worth of data for anyone out there. You might get confused while searching for an external drive, as you have to pick one out of many, right in front of you. In such a case, selecting one becomes really a very difficult job. Another factor pushing you into a pit of confusion is the price and you stuck over many ones.LaCie Little Big Disk Thunderbolt

If the price is the real issue restraining you from purchasing it, you no longer have to wait to get one. In fact, you can easily get 1TB external portable hard drive in just $100 or less. Through this post, I am going to walk you through a brief introduction of top 5 external portable drives supporting USB 3.0, as many computers today provide it.

LaCie Little Big Disk Thunderbolt (1TB SSD)

In case you can pay $999 to keep your crucial data sheltered, LaCie Little Big Disk Thunderbolt external drive is best for you. In fact, this LaCie external drive is the most recent version in the series of aluminum-clad thoroughbred, and is capable of keeping your data secure with immediate response. As per the tests conducted, this LaCie drive is the fastest drive, which also defeats multi-mechanism RAID arrays costing almost double it price.

Delving deeper spotlights its internal configuration, which alike an earlier (240GB SSD) version of LaCie Little Big Disk Thunderbolt external drive unites two SSDs into a 1.6-by-3.3-by-5.5-inch (HWD) frame, each of 512GB SATA III assembled in RAID 0 configuration. However, you can turn RAID 0 (stripping) configuration into RAID 1 (mirroring) configuration using Disk Utility based on your requirements. Along with the SSD is a Thunderbolt cable of $49 that lets you hook it up to a Mac.

While talking about the performance of the LaCie Little Big Disk Thunderbolt (1TB SS) external drive, the word that strikes in my mind is a ‘Speed Demon’, as it offers a reading speed of 620MB/sec and writing speed of 380MB/sec over the Thunderbolt cable. For those who never compromise with speed, the LaCie Little Big Disk Thunderbolt drive is the best option.

LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt (150GB SSD)

In case you have been searching for the high-speed rugged external portable drive, LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt USB 3.0 150GB SSD is perfect for you. Though this LaCie SSD is best suitable for Mac OS X, it is capable of performing significantly faster with PCs as well. To get this LaCie Rugged SSD, you have to pay a fare of $199.99, as you can use it on both Mac and Windows computers interchangeably. Moreover, you already know that a price of $199.99 to get an SSD is all the way unquestionable.

From its outer appearance, the LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt USB 3.0 SSD is quite similar to an earlier 500GB SSD released by the LaCie, and it is trimmed down to a pocket-sized metal and plastic enclosure, which is then wrapped up in a protective orange rubber bumper. As far as the life of the LaCie Rugged 120GB SSD is concerned, since we are talking about an SSD – a drive with no moving component – drive, LaCie assures the consumers that it will survive more than a typical SSD does. Well, purchasing this SSD gets you a Thunderbolt cable worth $49 used to connect it to your Mac or a Windows based computer. Based on tests performed, the LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt 120GB SSD is the fastest single mechanism drive.

Lenovo ThinkPad Secure Hard Drive

The purpose of purchasing an external hard drive is to store backup copies of your crucial files in a simple and secure way. However, you cannot consider your data stored on an external drive secure enough, unless some security means are incorporated. In fact, both security and simplicity sound quite opposite to each other, while no more security issue persists on Lenovo ThinkPad Secure Hard Drive that provides built-in security mechanism.

In 2009, Lenovo launched a secure external hard drive with inbuilt lock system to provide self-governing security system, and it does not implement system-dependent and/or software-dependent algorithm. The only way to access data stored on this drive is typing-in the correct password. Once you unlock this drive, it appears on your Mac or Windows computer just like a conventional external/removable disk.

Lenovo ThinkPad Secure Hard Drive is a shirt-pocket-sized (0.8×3.4×4.8 inch) storage media that is available in two different versions 750GB ($199.99) and 500GB ($169.99), while both employ 256-bit AES encryption. Both these hard drives are provided with a 12-key keypad. The drives initially come formatted as NTFS, which you can format for Mac or Linux as well. Locking/unlocking the drive as easy as pressing a key, also you can set a default locking time of five (5), ten (10) or twenty (20) minutes. Besides, the drive with USB 3.0 is pretty faster while both reading and writing data.

Seagate Backup Plus

While people are busy in moving their crucial files to external drives to keep them secure, all they require is to be ensured for data security. Seagate was busy in manufacturing reliable and secure hard drives, aiming to provide consumers what they actually want, i.e. versatility and security. Incrementing its GoFlex line of hard drives, Seagate brings Backup Plus ($139.99 for 1TB) line of external drives in order to fill someone’s big shoes (i.e. do the job that they used to do).

The outer appearance of Seagate Backup Plus drive is measured to be 0.5×3.0x4.75 inch with the USM (Universal Storage Module). However, there is a slight variation in its measurement without USM, i.e. 0.5×3.0x4.4 inch. You can connect the hard drive to your computer with a USB 3.0 cable, a FireWire, or a Thunderbolt cable, in order to perform data read/write operations.

Seagate Backup Plus drive comes as NTFS formatted, and it has a shortcoming that it fails to provide compatibility with Mac machines. Being able to provide data read/write operations with a USB 3.0, a FireWire, or a Thunderbolt cable, this drive is fastest in its series.

Seagate Backup Plus Portable Drive for Mac

Seagate brings a brand new storage media for Mac users to back up their crucial files in a speedy and secure manner. Seagate Backup Plus Portable Drive for Mac comes in 1TB version for just $129, and it performs significantly faster when copying data. This Seagate drive is compact, portable, and it comes with a removable USM interface. With this, you can connect to your computer with USB 3.0/2.0 cables to connect to an optional connector, i.e. Thunderbolt ($99) or FireWire 800 ($25). The physical measures of this Seagate drive are about 0.57×3.25×5.0 inch, which make it an ultra portable drive.

The Seagate Backup Plus Portable Drive for Mac has got its case painted dull silver that makes it match your MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. However, all other sides of the drive are white. Talking about the performance of the drive points USB 3.0 that makes it give decent performance with Mac machines.

The Bottom Line: Based on the aforementioned quick reviews of top 5 USB 3.0 external portable drives, though all five are pretty good; however, you can choose one as per your budget and required features.

Author Bio: Vishal is a technical writer who covers topic on Mac OS X. He keeps experimenting on his MacBook Pro and share useful information with Mac users. You can catch him on Facebook & Google + for more updates on OS X.