With the ever-increasing storage space required by software and games, purchasing a 4TB external hard drive is becoming more and more the norm. However, it's hard to decide between all the brands on the market. HDD or SSD? Our guide will help you and answer the main questions you may have.
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Our selection
"At 3.5″ in size, the Seagate Expansion is the perfect solution for storing and backing up your data. Easy to use, just select your file…"
"Sold at a very good price, the WD Elements hard drive has a capacity of 4Tb. It's compact and powerful, allowing you to take it…"
"It is a portable safe with incredible transfer speeds thanks to the SSD drive. FIPS certified, it is a secure model with great compatibility."
"This is a 4TB external hard drive that you can use to set up a personal NAS server since it has an RJ-45 Ethernet port.…"
At 3.5″ in size, the Seagate Expansion is the perfect solution for storing and backing up your data. Easy to use, just select your file and drag it into the Seagate.
See the priceWith a capacity of 4TB and a USB 3.0 port, the Seagate Expansion external hard drive is more than enough to transfer your files or old data stored in your old HDD. Don't waste time transferring large files thanks to the USB 3.0 port, which is twice as fast as USB 2.0.
This is a model that fits all ports, as it has an external power module. Embedding a hard drive in 3.5″ format, it is compact with the following dimensions: 17.6 (L) x 12 (W) cm. You can place it in your bag easily with a weight of 950 g. On the software side, it comes with the Dashboard program that allows you to program it to make automatic backups of your files.
Sold at a very good price, the WD Elements hard drive has a capacity of 4Tb. It's compact and powerful, allowing you to take it with you wherever you go.
See priceRelieve your internal hard drives by transferring your data to the WD Elements at a high speed. This is possible with the help of the USB 3.0 port which is capable of transferring large files at a maximum speed of 5 Gb/s. This model also works well with computers that only have a USB 2.0 port, but with half the performance.
The enclosure has been designed to hold a 2.5″ size hard drive, making it twice as compact. Portability is increased here, as it is an external drive that does not require a power supply to operate. In addition, WD ships a protective cover with its product. Apple product owners will have to reformat the drive to EXFAT or HSF + J format. Note that you will be able to play video files directly from your TV.
It is a portable safe with incredible transfer speeds thanks to the SSD drive. FIPS certified, it is a secure model with great compatibility.
See priceThe design announces the color on the level of security present on this iStorage diskAshur PRO2 hard disk. With a capacity of 4Tb, the exterior is covered with an epoxy resin protecting it from external attacks. The disk is protected by a PIN code and has a complex data encryption key certified FIPS, 140-2 level 3 (US).
You have a very powerful external hard drive, because the case has an interface with a USB 3.1 port, maximum transfer speed of 10 Gb/s, and a very responsive disk, an SSD. The installation is simple since it is enough to connect the USB cable to a port of your laptop.
This is a 4TB external hard drive that you can use to set up a personal NAS server since it has an RJ-45 Ethernet port. Moreover, it has two USB 3.0 ports!
See the priceThis is a 4TB external hard drive that has an extra bay. This allows you to install another hard disk, of equivalent size, or with a view to setting up a home Nas. Indeed, it has an Ethernet connector of RJ-45 type and a Realtek RTD1295PB-CG A53 processor with 4 cores. It is compatible with Windows 10, 8 and 7, Mac OS Sierra (10.12) or various devices running Android and IOS, for example.
Despite the fact that it is in 3.5″ format, multiplied by 2, it is a fairly portable external device with a height of 10 cm and a weight of 2.4 kg.
Any specific needs?
The best 4TB external hard drive in 2021
The best entry-level 4TB external hard drive
The best high-end 4TB external hard drive
A very good 4TB external hard drive
Your guide :
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| TOP OF THE TOP | CHEAP | TOP OF THE LINE | VERY GOOD | |
In accordance with our commitment, this buying guide does not contain any sponsored products. |
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7/10 |
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| OUR SELECTION |
Seagate Expansion 4To, 3.5''
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WD Elements, USB 3.0 4TB
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iStorage diskAshur PRO2, SSD
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WD My Cloud Home Duo 4To Blanc
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At 3.5″ in size, the Seagate Expansion is the perfect solution for storing and backing up your data. Easy to use, just select your file and drag it into the Seagate.
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Sold at a very good price, the WD Elements hard drive has a capacity of 4Tb. It's compact and powerful, allowing you to take it with you wherever you go.
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It is a portable safe with incredible transfer speeds thanks to the SSD drive. FIPS certified, it is a secure model with great compatibility.
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This is a 4TB external hard drive that you can use to set up a personal NAS server since it has an RJ-45 Ethernet port. Moreover, it has two USB 3.0 ports!
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Easy to install
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A carrying case
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A portable safe
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Possibility of mounting its disks in RAID
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Has its own power supply
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Retro USB 2.0 compatible
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Very fast, USB 3.1 and SSD
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Great compatibility
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Convenient Dashboard software
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Great portability, 2.5″ size
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Compact, one inch thick
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Very intuitive to set up
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This is, in a nutshell, the access time to the data stored on the 4TB external hard drive with magnetic platter. The higher this value is, the faster your disk will be. It is good to know that it is expressed in revolutions per minute, or rpm in English, and that there are two main variations: 5400 and 7200 rpm. For best performance, we recommend choosing models with a speed of 7200 rpm. This is the current standard. If you have a better budget, you can opt for external devices with an SSD.
This is a feature that is closely related to the spin speed and will affect the data access time. It is the ability of your drive to run at its maximum speed for longer. You can find drives with buffers ranging from 8 to 64 MB, which is perfect for purely domestic use. To summarize, a 7200 RPM hard drive with an 8MB buffer will be faster than any other 5400 RPM drive and will be suitable for office use. For a more mixed use, games, office and graphics, we suggest a Buffer between 32 and 64 MB.
In contrast to internal hard drives that connect directly to the SATA connector of the motherboard, on external devices we must use a USB cable. Indeed, the disks are stored in an enclosure and it is the latter that has a panel of connectors. Nowadays, it is better to avoid models using only a USB 2.0 port. With a 4TB external hard drive, you'll be waiting and waiting for your transfer to be completed. Whether it's an SSD or HDD, you have the same external hard drive enclosure mechanism. Each enclosure has a mini motherboard with various connectivity like Thunderbolt, Type-C faster than Type-A, or next generation USB 3.0 ports like Gen1 or Type-A 2. The best solution, without breaking the bank, is to opt for a model with a USB 3.0 port, at least Type-A. That's 10 times better than a USB 2.0 Type-A.
There are two hard drive sizes: 2.5″ and 3.5″. A 3.5″ hard drive will perform better than a 2.5″ one, but it will have a larger case. So the format affects the portability of the device. But more than that, a 3.5″ format will consume more power and tend to heat up more. They require, in general, the presence of an external power cable to operate.
A
4TB external hard drive is basically used to make a backup of important data. With a capacity of 4TB, it becomes vital to have a good file protection system. In most cases, this is a firmware provided by the manufacturer, such as Seagate or LaCie, and it allows you to create encrypted areas inside your drive.
Sometimes you may need to transfer files to a PC that only has different USB 2.0 ports. In this kind of case, it is good to know that your external device will work, but only at the speed of the USB port, in this case: 2.0 slower. On the other hand, the transfer speed of your box will not increase if you connect it to a USB 3.1 or 3.2 port.
Therefore, your transfer time will be extended by a few hours if it is a file of more than 10 GB. To get around this technological barrier, you can remove your disk from its case and connect it directly to the motherboard. The transfer speed will then be taken care of by the quality of the motherboard's SATA connectors which are, in general, faster than the USB 2.0 connectors of your case.
This is also a method, to try, to improve your transfer speed if you notice a decrease in your data transfers via a USB 3.0 port. Sometimes the connectors on your PC case may be of poor quality or may be faulty.
Featuring a 2.5″ or 3.5″ form factor, magnetic platter hard drives are the most affordable on the market. With attractive overall performance, an external HDD will work well for any purpose. Whether you're a professional or a computer enthusiast, you'll be able to save your documents, videos or photos on it without worry.
SSD drives are all 2.5″ in size. They are twice as fast, if not faster, than an HDD and are less prone to failure because they have no mechanical parts. All of this translates to a higher price and better portability. The characteristics of the SSD make it a better candidate for professionals looking for more speed and regularly transferring large volumes of files on a daily basis.
A 4TB external hard drive type HDD will be the most suitable to make backups for you and me. Inexpensive, it's within everyone's reach. On the other hand, a device with an SSD is more suitable for people with a good budget.
Change the USB cable
In most cases, the cable supplied with the external hard drive may not be long enough. Know that you can replace it by buying a better model on the market.
USB 2.0 or 3.1 cable?
It
depends on the existing ports on your laptop or desktop PC. In order to recognize the version of a port, look at the color inside the connector. A USB 3.0 port will be blue.
Encrypt your sensitive data
The
majority of external hard drive manufacturers provide encryption firmware. It allows you to create an encrypted folder where you can save your important files. In case the firmware is not present, you can download it from the web or from the manufacturer's website.
Prefer NTFS formatting
Since the
capacity of the hard drives presented in this article has a capacity of 4TB, it is advisable to prefer the NTFS file system. It allows to transfer a file of 2TB and more. Unlike FAT 32 which is limited to 2TB by Windows. This is more suitable for USB drives.
Store it safely
With
such a large amount of data, 4TB, you should avoid accidentally dropping your external hard drive. This could cause the internal connectors of the case to malfunction.
The best 4TB external hard drive depends on your needs and your budget. Read our buying guide to find out which products are the best.
For a backup device, it is the current standard to store your data and make space in your internal drives. Video files, software, or games are constantly increasing in size.
No, none. Normally, 3.5" external hard drives require an external power supply while 2.5" are self-contained.
Yes, the only concern is that your transfer speed will be equivalent to a USB 2.0 port. This will not speed up the copying of your files. This is also true if your external hard drive has a USB 3.0 or 3.1 and you plug it into a USB 2.0 port.
Yes. The only requirement is that you buy the right version of the cable. If your device has a USB 3.0 port, consider buying the same type of cable.
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