terabyte external hard drive for macbook pro

Owners of the 17-inch MacBook Pro can add eSATA by using an ExpressCard/34 card. Many high-capacity drives offer eSATA (external Serial ATA), which, at 1.5 or 3 gigabits per second (Gbps)-depending on which version of Serial ATA is implemented-can be faster than FireWire 800. If you don’t have Thunderbolt on your Mac, you can’t use a Thunderbolt drive.

Unfortunately, no Thunderbolt drive currently available supports multiple interface types. While only a few drives feature Thunderbolt connectivity, all current Macs (except for the current Mac Pro) support this super-speedy interface. FireWire 800 is faster and is backwards compatible with FireWire 400 with the proper cable.ĬalDigit AV DriveThe latest connection type to hit the storage scene is If you have older Macs equipped with FireWire 400, then it’s nice to have a drive with FireWire 400. MacBook Airs and the recently discontinued white MacBook don’t have FireWire ports. USB 3.0 ExpressCard adapters and PCI cards are available, but they often only support a single manufacturer’s drives. USB 3.0 drives are compatible with USB 2.0, but they will operate at USB 2.0 speeds. USB 2.0 isn’t the fastest connection on the Mac, but it’s the most common. If you’re looking for a quick and painless way to add massive amounts of storage for your music, photos, videos, or system backups, an external hard drive is hard to beat. They can be disconnected from one computer and attached to another, and they come in a variety of sizes and forms.

Hard drives have faster data-transfer speeds than DVDs or CDs, and they’re easy to use. You can buy 1TB USB 2.0 external hard drives for under $100. External hard drives can be portable, generally using smaller 2.5-inch drives and can run off of USB or FireWire bus power, or they can be designed to find a home on your desk, using 3.5-inch drive mechanisms and requiring a power supply plugged into a wall outlet.Įxternal desktop hard drives are great because they have a more affordable price per gigabyte than portable drives, allowing you to backup your important data without worrying about capacity and cost.

An external hard drive is packaged in a case and connects to your Mac usually via USB or FireWire. Seagate GoFlex DeskExternal desktop hard drives buying guide Mac’s hard drive near capacity? Time to add more storage The hard drive in your Mac is often referred to as an internal hard drive.

Terabyte external hard drive for macbook pro