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| | | PC World - 3 hours ago (PC World)Calling all gamers! Whether you consider yourself a competitive pro or someone who’s more casual, we’ve got quite the diverse list below. The best part is that every gaming laptop has been tested by a member of PCWorld and we’ve checked out everything from graphics performance and typing experience to connectivity options and image quality. These rigs can basically do anything a desktop PC can do, and we’ve tested dozens after dozens of them to bring you this roundup of the best gaming laptops around.
Why you should trust us: It’s in our name! PCWorld prides itself on laptop experience and expertise. We’ve been covering PCs since 1983, and we now review more than 70 laptops every year. All of the picks below have been personally tested and vetted by our experts, who’ve applied not only performance benchmarks but rigorous usability standards. We’re also committed to reviewing gaming laptops at every price point to help you find a machine that matches your budget.
See our roundup of the best laptops for even more recommendations—premium laptops, ultraportables, Chromebooks, and more.
Update May 10, 2024: We added the Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 as an alternative option underneath our Best Connectivity Features pick. Not only does it offer great connectivity options and strong performance, but it also has a bigger screen. We’ve also updated our list of recent laptop reviews and added a new “at a glance” section below.
Best gaming laptops at a glance
Alienware m16 R2 (Best overall gaming laptop) $1,849.99 at Dell
MSI Titan 18 HX (Best high-end gaming laptop) $5,449 at Amazon
Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition (Best gaming laptop under $1,000) $955 at Amazon
HP Omen Transcend 14 (Most portable gaming laptop) $1,699.99 at Best Buy
Razer Blade 16 (Best 4K gaming laptop) $4,299.99 at Razer
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 (Best connectivity features) $1,884.99 at Walmart
Acer Chromebook 516 GE (Best gaming Chromebook) $449 at Best Buy
Alienware m16 R2 – Best overall gaming laptop
Pros
Great gaming performance
Durable
Long battery life
Cons
Dim display
Why we like the Alienware m16 R2
The Alienware m16 R2 is a well-rounded gaming laptop, especially for the price and performance. Not only are you getting great graphics performance, but you’re also getting long battery life, an unusual combination for a gaming laptop. The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU are a powerful duo, as shown in our testing. It averaged 144 frames-per-second when running the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark, which is nothing to sneeze at. According to our review, it’s just “four frames-per-second slower than the Razer Blade 16,” which is rocking a more powerful RTX 4090 GPU and a $3,000+ price tag. It also lasted 11 hours and fifteen minutes on a single charge, which is more than a full work day.
Who should buy the Alienware m16 R2
Anyone looking for a fantastic gaming laptop. You can play most games on the High or Ultra graphics preset and the 90 watt-hour battery will keep you going long into the night. The 1600p IPS display is also quite spacious at 16-inches and the 240Hz refresh rate should result in smooth gameplay. The picture quality is quite good, but it’s not an OLED panel, where the colors would be more saturated. While it’s not the brightest or most color rich display we’ve ever tested, it’s still fine for gaming. Besides, if you’re really desperate, you can always plug into an external monitor.
Alternative option: If you’re looking for the same great Alienware package with a bigger screen, the Alienware m18 R2 is worth considering. It offers strong gaming performance, an 18-inch display, and a fantastic mechanical keyboard with Cherry switches. That said, it’s very expensive and the laptop itself weighs a colossal nine pounds (!!!). Talk about a back-breaker!
Read our full
Alienware m16 R2 review
MSI Titan 18 HX – Best high-end gaming laptop
Pros
Tons of connectivity options
Rugged build quality
Fantastic mechanical keyboard
Phenomenal CPU and GPU performance
Cons
Very expensive
Mediocre touchpad
Why we like the MSI Titan 18 HX
The MSI Titan 18 HX is one hell of a powerhouse, so performance is no issue here, as it’ll run pretty much anything you throw at it. Inside the beast’s shell, you’ll find an Intel Core i9-14900HX CPU, an Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU, 128GB of RAM, and 4GB of SSD storage. Holy cow. When we ran the Metro Exodus: Enhanced Edition benchmark, it churned out an outstanding 87 frames-per-second at 1080p resolution with the Extreme detail setting switched on. Did we mention it also has a phenomenal 4K Mini-LED display?
Who should buy the MSI Titan 18 HX
If you’re after the ultimate gaming experience, the MSI Titan 18 HX will certainly deliver. In addition to the massive amount of power this thing generates, it also has loads of connectivity options for those times when you want to hook up to an external mouse or monitor. That said, it’s an incredibly expensive machine. If money is no object, then the MSI Titan 18 HX is the right pick for you. For those on a stricter budget, check out our best budget pick below.
Alternative option: We strongly considered putting the recently reviewed MSI Raider GE78 HX 14VIG on this list. It’s similar to the MSI Titan 18 HX as far as sheer power goes, but it didn’t make the cut because of the finicky rear power port and loud fan noise. That said, these nitpicks are relatively minor. I will say, the MSI Raider GE78 HX 14VIG is less expensive than the MSI Titan 18 HX at $3,799.99.
Read our full
MSI Titan 18 HX review
Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition – Best gaming laptop under $1,000
Pros
All-day battery life
Robust chassis
Gorgeous 16:10 display
Cons
720p HD camera leaves little to be desired
Keys feel a little soft
Why we like the Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage
The Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition is something of a unicorn and I mean that in the best way possible. It exhibits strong graphics performance as well as long battery life. Long battery life? A gaming laptop? How preposterous! Well, not anymore! The Asus TUF managed an incredible 11 and a half hours on a single charge. Also, thanks to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 GPU inside, it achieved an impressive 123 frames-per-second in the Rise of the Tomb Raider benchmark. That’s nothing to sneeze at, especially for a sub-$1,000 gaming machine.
Who should buy the Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage
The Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition is a good option for those on a tight budget. For under a grand, you’re getting reliable graphics performance, a spacious keyboard, and long battery life. It also works as a good general purpose machine, which is perfect for college students that want to work and play. With a Cinebench R20 score of 589, it should have “no trouble running lightweight apps and programs,” according to our review.
Alternative option: The recently reviewed Lenovo LOQ 15 is another good budget option. It’s affordable and it comes with a better GPU (RTX 4060). Despite getting a high rating, it didn’t earn the nod here because of poor battery life and limited connectivity options. If you plan on mostly staying plugged in and don’t need a long battery life, the Lenovo LOQ may be a better option due to its more capable graphics.
Read our full
Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition review
HP Omen Transcend 14 – Most portable gaming laptop
Pros
Compact and lightweight
Gorgeous OLED screen
Good performance for the price
Cons
Keyboard is a bit mushy
Annoying bloatware
Why we like the HP Omen Transcend 14
The HP Omen Transcend 14 is a great machine because of its lightweight design (3.6 pounds!), stunning OLED display, and reliable performance for the price. Most gaming laptops tip the scales at around five pounds or more, so the fact that this machine is a little heavier than your standard ultraportable is downright impressive. In addition to its lightweight design, it also has an all-metal chassis, which means it’s rugged enough to handle the daily abuses of life. The hinge that connects the display to the keyboard deck also feels pretty solid. As for performance, it’s no slouch! Thanks to the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, it achieved a respectable 93 frames-per-second during the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark.
Who should buy the HP Omen Transcend 14
Anyone that likes to game on-the-go! It’s both lightweight and powerful, which is a rare combination when it comes to gaming laptops. Battery life is quite good, too. The HP Omen Transcend 14’s large 71 watt-hour battery lasted eight and a half hours on a single charge, which is impressive, as most gaming laptops tend to die at the four or five hour mark. The 14-inch 1800p OLED display is lovely as well. It has a maximum brightness level of 500 nits and a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. According to our reviewer, who normally uses IPS displays on a day-to-day basis, “OLED displays like this one look incredibly beautiful” to him.
Alternative option: If you’re interested in an alternative option, check out the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. It weighs a scant 3.31 pounds, which is a little less than our current pick. Although it has a nice OLED screen, an exquisite and portable design, and packs a decent punch in the performance department, its ho-hum webcam lands it behind the HP Omen Transcend 14 here.
Read our full
HP Omen Transcend 14 review
Razer Blade 16 – Best 4K gaming laptop
Pros
Dual-mode display is easy to use and beautiful to look at
Attractive design
Powerful
Cons
High price tag
Case is a fingerprint magnet
Why we like the Razer Blade 16
Woo boy. I’m not sure where to begin with this one. The Razer Blade 16 is a unique gaming laptop because it’s like having two displays in one. You get to choose between two modes, the native 3840×2400 panel with a 120Hz refresh rate or the 1920×1200 panel with a 240Hz refresh rate. You can switch between the two with Razer’s Synapse app. So, what does it all mean then? It means you can enjoy intensive shooters at 1080p 240Hz or you can take things slow and soak in all the details in your favorite strategy game. The laptop comes loaded with an Intel Core i9-13950HX CPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090, so you’re getting gobs upon gobs of power over here.
Who should buy the Razer Blade 16
Anyone who desires gaming in 4K! If it weren’t for the $4,000+ price tag (ouch), I’d be tempted to buy this machine myself, as I’m a fan of city management games and would love to get up close and personal with every detail. The price of this laptop is a hard pill to swallow, even with these awesome specs, but the 4K dual-mode display really makes it stand out from the rest of the competition.
Read our full
Razer Blade 16 review
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 – Best connectivity features
Pros
Reasonably priced
Fantastic connectivity options, includes two Thunderbolt 4 ports
CPU and GPU performance is strong for the price
Cons
Off-center touchpad is awkward to use
Audio is too quiet
Display experienced some stuttering
Best Prices Today:
$1199.99 at Acer$1,629 at Amazon
Why we like the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16
The Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 comes packed with loads of ports and surprising gaming performance. Thanks to the Intel Core i7-13700HX CPU and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU inside, you’ll get reliable performance for productivity tasks or gaming. Where the laptop really shines is its diverse selection of ports. It has two Thunderbolt 4 ports, three USB-A ports, an HDMI port, Ethernet, a Micro SD card slow, and a 3.5 combo jack for audio. The Thunderbolt 4 ports make “downloading files at up to 40Gbps while streaming to an external display as easy as pie,” according to our review.
Who should buy the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16
Anyone who needs a lot of connectivity options. Maybe you’re just the type of person that likes to hook up to an external keyboard, mouse, or monitor. If you look inside of yourself and find that to be true, then the Acer Helios Neo 16 is the one for you. It’s a bit unwieldy when on the go, but as far as connectivity and price-to-performance goes, you can’t get much better than the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16.
Alternative option: The Acer Predator Helios Neo 18 offers plenty of connectivity options, speedy performance, and a comfortable keyboard and touchpad. It just has a bigger screen than our top pick, which some gamers may prefer.
Read our full
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 review
Acer Chromebook 516 GE – Best gaming Chromebook
Pros
Attractive design
Excellent CPU performance
Plenty of wired and wireless connectivity
High resolution 1600p display
Cons
Mediocre keyboard and touchpad
Disappointing speakers and microphone
Display falls behind in contrast and color vibrancy
Why we like the Acer Chromebook 516 GE
The Acer Chromebook 516 GE offers reliable day-to-day performance as well as smooth cloud gaming gameplay, thanks in part to its fast, high-resolution display. Just so we’re clear–Chromebooks aren’t designed to run games locally, so you’ll need to be a member of a cloud gaming service like GeForce Now or Amazon Luna. Fortunately, this Chromebook has an Ethernet port, which scores major brownie ports as far as stable Internet connections go. Plus, compared to other budget Windows laptops, the $650 MSRP isn’t bad.
Connectivity options are good, too. You’re getting two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, one HDMI, one Ethernet, and one 3.5mm combo audio. Additional goodies include a 1080p webcam, a 65 watt-hour battery, and a high refresh rate display (120Hz to be exact).
Who should buy the Acer Chromebook 516 GE
Anyone that wants to give cloud gaming a whirl on a reasonably priced Chromebook. The Acer Chromebook 516 GE features strong day-to-day performance and, according to our review, “gameplay felt perfectly smooth” while playing on GeForce Now. That said, if you want to install and run games locally, or have a poor internet connection, one of the Windows-based budget gaming laptops above would be a better option.
Read our full
Acer Chromebook 516 GE review
Recent laptop reviews
Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro 14: The Samsung Galaxy Book4 Pro 14 is a lightweight, elegant all-rounder for business professionals.
Acer Predator Helios Neo 18: Want a lot of performance for $1,500? Acer’s gigantic Helios Neo 18 is a good bet.
Lenovo Yoga 7i: The Lenovo Yoga 7i (16IML9) is a competent and well-built at a palatable price. It’s not the best value for a standard laptop, but it’s flexibility may make up for its shortcoming for some users.
Acer Swift Go 14: The Acer Swift Go 14 is a reliable travel workhorse through and through.
How we test gaming laptops
The PCWorld team puts each and every Windows laptop through a series of benchmarks that test GPU and CPU performance, battery life, and so on. The idea is to push the laptop to its limits and then compare it against others we’ve tested. Below, you’ll find a breakdown of each test and the reasons why we run them.
PCMark 10: PCMark 10 is how we determine how well the laptop handles lighter tasks like web browsing, word processing, spreadsheets, and so on.
HandBrake: HandBrake is more intensive than PCMark 10. It basically measures how long a laptop’s CPU takes to encode a beefy 30GB file.
Cinebench: Cinebench is a brief stress test of the CPU cores. It does this by rendering a 2D scene over a short period of time.
3DMark: 3DMark checks if 3D performance remains consistent over time by running graphic-intensive clips.
Gaming tests: We benchmark each gaming laptop using several titles.
Video rundown test: To gauge battery life, we loop a 4K video using Windows 10’s Movies & TV app until the laptop dies.
For a much more detailed explanation, check out how PCWorld tests laptops.
Buying Guide: How to pick the perfect gaming laptop
While there’s no such thing as a perfect gaming laptop, you can always find one that fits your budget and lifestyle. Need an affordable, entry-level gaming laptop? First of all, the GPU is the most important aspect to consider. If you think of a game like a vehicle, then the GPU is its driver. You’ll also need a good amount of SSD storage for your games library as well as a high refresh rate display, which keeps visuals looking nice and smooth.
For additional reading, be sure to check out this comprehensive guide on the gaming laptop features that matter most. If you’re on a strict budget, then you should dive into this piece about what a $1,000 gaming laptop really gets you. Otherwise, our FAQ below dives deep into several component considerations for gaming laptops
FAQ
1.
What’s the ‘best’ screen for a gaming laptop?
When you buy a gaming laptop, one of the most important decisions you’ll need to make regards the screen. After all, what you get on day one is what you’re stuck with until you junk the device. You could run an external monitor but then, what’s the point of a laptop? Look for an IPS or OLED display, though gaming laptops under $1,000 sometimes include a TN panel. You can get buy with a 60Hz display if you mostly play single-player games, but thankfully, most gaming laptops these days opt for faster 120Hz+ panels instead.
2.
What’s the ‘best’ screen size for a gaming laptop?
The size of the screen dictates the size of the laptop itself, and thus weight. You can’t, for example, get a 17-inch gaming laptop that’s four pounds (although MSI’s excellent GS75 gets awfully damned close at five), so think long and hard about whether you’re willing to take the weight penalty in exchange for the screen real estate.
If the laptop is going to be your only gaming machine, having a 17-inch screen might be ideal. We should also add that a 17.3-inch screen is easier on weaker eyes than a 15.5-inch screen. This is very much a matter of personal preference.
3.
What’s the ‘best’ screen resolution for a gaming laptop?
The buzzword today is “4K.” That high resolution delivers sharper photo viewing and more space for video editing, but that doesn’t mean it’s for everyone. Anything not using the panel’s native resolution of 3840×2180, such as games running at lower-than-4K resolution, won’t look quite as sharp unless you exponentially increase the graphics power of the laptop.
If you’re running at 1920×1080 resolution because your GPU can’t hit 60 fps at 4K, that feature is moot. For many gamers, 1920×1080 (1080p) or 2560×1440 (1440p) is more optimal.
4.
IPS vs. TN vs. OLED: What’s the difference?
The panel technology is also a key feature. IPS (in-plane switching) generally produces much greater color accuracy and superior off-axis viewing, but tends to lag in response times, which can lead to blurring. TN (twisted nematic) panels can offer far higher refresh rates and usually better response times than IPS, but can look washed out or just blah.
A middle-ground technology that’s appearing more often is VA (vertical alignment). VA is sometimes alternately referred to as “wide viewing angle” technology. (Many assume this to spec to be IPS, but it’s not). In our experience, we’ve found VA panels to run the gamut from being worthy competitors to IPS to being worse than the better TN panels.
Generally, if color accuracy is important, go IPS (a trademark of Sharp), and if you want the fastest response times go for a gaming-oriented TN panel. With the variability of VA, we recommend you check feedback from reviewers and users of a particular model.
The wildcard in all this is OLED. OLED-based panels have been used in phones for years but have recently migrated to larger screens in laptops. IPS, TN, and VA all use LEDs behind the screen or along the edges. “Black” is produced by a shutter-like mechanism that blocks light from coming through. As you can imagine, there’s usually some light leakage, which means the black tends to be gray.
OLED panels don’t rely on edge- or backlighting. Instead, each pixel generates its own light. To produce black, it just switches off the light. This amounts to truly stunning contrast ratios and vibrant colors. OLEDs also boast fantastic response times.
The negatives include smaller screen sizes (we haven’t seen anything larger than 15.6 inches yet), higher cost, and lack of support for variable refresh rate. OLED panels can also use more power than conventional methods if the image is on a white background.
5.
Should a gaming laptop have G-Sync or FreeSync support?
Okay, we called this section G-Sync and FreeSync, but the reality is, when it comes to beefy gaming laptops, it’s a GeForce GPU world. And that means it’s a G-Sync world. In a nutshell, Nvidia and AMD’s respective variable-refresh-rate technologies help synchronize the monitor and the GPU to greatly reduce screen tearing. Variable refresh rates can make gaming at 40 fps far smoother to your eyes than a screen without it.
The first variable-refresh-rate panels for laptops maxed out at 75Hz, only marginally better than the standard 60Hz. More recently, we’ve begun to see laptop panels that can push 120Hz, 144Hz and even 240Hz. This generally means smoother and sharper gaming to your eyes. It even helps smooth out everyday tasks such as scrolling a browser page or Word document.
The downside of high-refresh rate panels is the technology it’s available on: TN. As we said earlier, TN generally looks less vibrant and less accurate than IPS. The off-axis view is generally inferior, too. You’ll also need a far more powerful GPU to feed that high-refresh rate monitor at its native resolution.
One last very important note: G-Sync screens have to be connected directly to the laptop’s discrete GPU, which means a large hit in battery life. In most laptops without G-Sync, the Intel integrated graphics is connected directly to the screen, so the GPU can be turned off when not being used. So while G-Sync is beautiful to behold, the cost in battery life is huge.
Which is right for you? If it’s primarily a gaming laptop—go for a high refresh rate and G-Sync (or FreeSync, if you can find a laptop that supports it with a Radeon GPU). If you tend to also push pixels in Photoshop or do any color-critical work, skip variable refresh for an IPS panel.
6.
What should you look for in a gaming laptop keyboard and trackpad?
A new trend in gaming laptops is the offset trackpad, which is more conducive to gaming than a dead-center trackpad. The concept is sound, but anyone who actually cares about PC gaming will just plug in a mouse. The worst thing about that offset trackpad is when you try to use it for non-gaming purposes.
As far as keyboards go, the most important gaming feature is n-key rollover. This means the keyboard physically scans each key separately. If you wanted to, you could press 20 keys simultaneously and they’d all register, as each is independently wired. That probably sounds excessive, but keyboards that lack this feature can suffer missed keystrokes, which both ruins gameplay and hurts in everyday tasks. Anyone who’s used an Adobe product that might require a left-Alt, left-Shift, left-Ctrl plus two more keys to do something may have run into the limitations of non-n-key keyboards.
Other keyboard considerations include LED backlighting (which adds ambiance but does nothing for gameplay) and mechanical keys vs. membrane. Mechanical keys are excellent—but are available on only a handful of laptops that usually weigh a ton. We have seen a few designs with low-profile mechanical keyboards, but even we admit they can be an acquired taste.
7.
What kind of storage is best for a gaming laptop?
Having your games load from an SSD instead of a hard drive significantly cuts down on load times. But beyond that, we haven’t found it to matter that much whether it’s a super-fast NVMe PCIe drive or a slower SATA SSD.
What does matter more today is the size of the SSD rather than the interface it uses. With games now topping 50GB and some touching 100GBs, a once-spacious 256GB SSD will feel too small with just four games installed.
So when spec’ing out that gaming laptop, be mindful of just how much total storage you have. If you go for laptop with a small SSD and large hard drive combo, expect to install your games to the hard drive. If the laptop will have an SSD only, choose an absolute minimum of 512GB, with 1TB preferred.
8.
How much RAM do you need in a gaming laptop?
When laptop makers spec out gaming laptops, one of the levers they use to try to convince you to buy their product is upping the amount of RAM. It’s not hard to find gaming laptops with “upgraded” configurations that go from 16GB of RAM to 32GB.
While having an adequate amount of RAM is important for gaming, today’s games typically top out at 16GB of RAM, and sometimes can run fine with just 8GB of RAM. Most people should invest in a gaming laptop with 16GB of memory if possible, and it makes sense to opt for 32GB if you plan on holding onto your gaming laptop for a long time. Modern games are only getting more memory-ungry.
9.
Should a gaming laptop have dual-channel or single-channel RAM?
Besides the amount of memory, a couple of other important, but not critical, questions to ask is what clock speed and what mode. Modern CPUs let you run RAM in sets to increase the memory bandwidth.
More memory bandwidth immediately helps laptops that are running integrated graphics, but the conventional wisdom has long been that discrete GPUs in laptops don’t benefit as much because they have their own dedicated, much faster GDDR5 RAM to use. That’s typically the case, but the performance of today’s GPUs and CPUs can make this conventional wisdom wrong.
Gaming performance is often about a balance between the CPU and the GPU, and how graphically intensive a game is. With games that are graphically intensive, the GPU is the primary bottleneck on performance. Play a game that isn’t graphically intense, though, and the CPU can rapidly become the bottleneck on performance.
With the power of today’s GPUs, a lot of games, especially at a sedate resolution of 1920×1080, have shifted more performance to the CPU. The reason we’re talking about this now is if you rob the CPU of memory bandwidth, even a decently fast one, you can take a sizable hit in gaming performance.
The basic lesson is you should opt for dual-channel memory bandwidth configurations when possible. On a laptop spec sheet, you typically would see this expressed as “dual-channel” or “2 x 8” to indicate that two 8GB memory modules were used in a laptop.
Some laptop makers will express memory in clock speed, so you’ll see “DDR4/2,133 or DDR4/2,400.” While a higher memory clock does increase memory bandwidth, the impact isn’t quite as great as going from dual-channel to single-channel mode.
10.
How many CPU cores do you really need in a gaming laptop?
How many cores do you need in a gaming laptop? For most people on a budget, a 4-core CPU with Hyper-Threading will function just fine in most games, especially when combined with a lower-cost and lower performance GPU.
Still, if you have the extra cash, a 6-core CPU with Hyper-Threading is likely the sweet spot for today and tomorrow. If you plan to stream your gaming live or edit it, investing in a 6-core is recommended.
Intel and AMD’s top-end 8-plus-core CPUs will deliver the greatest benefit to those who might do other graphics-intensive tasks, such as 3D animation or video editing. If you also plan to record and stream video, the 8-core will offer a performance benefit there, too.
If you’re thinking, great, let me buy a 4-core Core i5 or Ryzen 5 CPU with a luxury laptop to save money, you usually can’t, because PC makers typically only offer budget CPUs with other budget parts. Why? Well, most budget shoppers can’t afford any luxury items, and most PC makers like to add in the extras to increase the profit.
11.
What GPU is best for a gaming laptop?
The single most important piece of hardware in a gaming laptop is undoubtedly the GPU. For AMD fans, the situation is as sad as it is in CPUs: It’s an Nvidia GeForce world. As with CPUs though, the good news is that the dominating products are top-notch.
The hardest part will be deciding just how much GPU you need. Our general guidance is to buy as fast a GPU as you can afford and are willing to heft. Generally, the faster the GPU (or GPUs), the larger and heavier the laptop. If you’re talking about playing on a higher-resolution panel of 2560×1440 at high-refresh rates, then keep increasing the amount of money spent on the GPU.
12.
What kind of battery life should a gaming laptop have?
The last topic we’ll cover is battery life. The best way to understand battery life on a gaming laptop is to accept that it’ll be horrible for all things gaming.
The minute you crank up a GPU on a gaming laptop to play a game, you’re basically limiting yourself to an hour or an hour and a half of battery runtime. Period. And in some cases, far less than that.
The only reason to consider battery life on a gaming laptop is if you want to use your laptop unplugged for non-gaming purposes. In that respect, you’ll find a lot of variance, with some offering decent battery life, albeit with a trade-off in gaming performance.
Gaming, Gaming Laptops, Laptops Read...Newslink ©2024 to PC World | |
| | | PC World - 3 hours ago (PC World)Most enthusiasts know that a PC’s CPU will throttle down to prevent overheating. GPUs and even most PCIe 50. SSDs ship with huge heat sinks and blowers. But the latest casualty of thermal throttling might be the PCI Express bus itself — which is being programmed to reduce the link speed or even shut off some of its lanes.
That’s the eyebrow-raising scenario that a new driver from Intel suggests. Phoronix, which has been monitoring Intel’s development of a PCI Express driver for Linux, noted that the latest revision allows limiting the PCI Express link speed in case of thermal pressure. The key term is “bwctrl.”
That suggests that even a properly-cooled GPU or SSD might not be able to access as much as data as it normally would because the PCI Express link itself would slow down. Even worse, there is a possibility that the drivers could shut down some of the PCIe lanes themselves if necessary, to keep everything running cool. In other words, a PCI Express x16 connection could throttle down to a slower speed, then start turning off lanes — turning it into a x8 connection, possibly.
The notice on kernel.org notes that the latter won’t be possible until PCI Express 6.0, however — though that’s not too far away.
“This series adds PCIe bandwidth controller (bwctrl) and associated PCIe cooling driver to the thermal core side for limiting PCIe Link Speed due to thermal reasons,” Intel engineer Ilpo Järvinen wrote. “PCIe bandwidth controller is a PCI express bus port service driver. A cooling device is created for each port the service driver finds if they support changing speeds. This series only adds support for controlling PCIe Link Speed. Controlling PCIe Link Width might also be useful but AFAIK, there is no mechanism for that until PCIe 6.0 (L0p) so Link Width throttling is not added by this series.”
The PCI Express 6.0 specification was announced in 2022, though hardware has yet to arrive. (That should happen soon, however, as the PCI-SIG originally projected March 2024 for devices to begin supporting that specification.) Right now, Intel appears to be eyeing its cooling solution with servers in mind.
But PCIe 5 SSDs exist, and they already need dedicated coolers. It’s not too hard to believe that PCIe 6 will need even more aggressive cooling, and PCI Express bandwidth throttling and link-width control may be an unfortunate side effect in extreme scenarios.
Computer Storage Devices, Graphics Cards Read...Newslink ©2024 to PC World | |
| | | Ars Technica - 4 hours ago (Ars Technica)Exploit code for critical `use-after-free` bug is circulating in the wild. Read...Newslink ©2024 to Ars Technica | |
| | | PC World - 5 hours ago (PC World)External USB/Thunderbolt drives are a super-convenient way to quickly back up your important files, as well as store any data that you don’t need on your computer’s internal storage. They’re also an extremely handy way to transport data between locations and devices.
While any of these would be a great reason to pick up an external drive, the advantages of having reliable backup is the number-one reason your setup isn’t complete without one. Why? Chances are you have important data on your PC that you can’t afford to lose. To protect that data you’ll want to do two things: store it off-site on the cloud if possible and back it up to an external drive. This way you ensure your data is completely safe should anything go wrong with your computer.
While we highly recommend that you consider cloud storage as a backup option, restoring from local storage is generally far, far faster than pulling your data down from the cloud. Therefore, an external drive should be your primary hedge against disaster.
Why you should trust us: We’re PCWorld. We’ve been putting computer hardware through its paces for decades. We’ve seen it all and we know how to root out a drive’s strengths and weaknesses, using a combination of rigorous benchmark testing and real-world hands-on use. Below we offer our expert recommendations on the best external drives for everything from blazing-fast performance, to budget options, to portability, and more.
Updated May 10, 2024 to include two new additions to our list of recommendations: The SK Hynix Tube T31, a thumb drive that offers the performance of an SSD; and the SanDisk Desk Drive, which is a compelling SSD option for large backups. Read our summaries below to learn more.
Crucial X9 Pro – Best 10Gbps external SSD
Pros
Super small form factor
Great 10Gbps performance
Handsome design
Cons
Not the least expensive 10Gbps SSD available
Best Prices Today:
$94.99 at Amazon
Not everyone wants or even needs 20Gbps USB drive performance, which comes at a price premium anyway. The Crucial X9 strikes a compelling balance between top-shelf performance and affordability that should please the majority of users. In our benchmark tests, it traded top scores with the SK Hynix Beetle (our runner-up choice below), but at a significantly lower cost. Making it an indisputable win-win for consumers.
It’s also handsome, described by our reviewer as “a svelte object of desire.” More importantly, it feels well made, and is rated for IP55 dust and spray resistance, so you don’t have to baby this portable drive when you take it out.
Read our full
Crucial X9 Pro review
SK Hynix Beetle X31 – Best 10Gbps external SSD runner-up
Pros
Top 10Gbps performer
Compact, rounded design
Cons
Available only in pale gold
Pricier than the competition
Best Prices Today:
$96 at Amazon
As stated above, the SK Hynix Beetle X31 is every bit the performer as our top pick in the 10Gbps realm, with the two enjoying an equal number of wins in our benchmarks and handily besting the competition. But where the SK Hynix loses its edge is on price. Right now, it’s about $13 more for 1TB than the Crucial X9.
It’s also more blinged out. Peep that gold scarab-inspired exterior. It will sit proudly on any desk, and for some buyers that might make the extra cost worth it.
Read our full
SK Hynix Beetle X31 review
Crucial X6 Portable SSD (2TB) – Best budget 10Gbps external SSD
Pros
Ergonomic design
Good everyday performance
Very affordable for an external SSD
Cons
Performance tanks when cache runs out
Best Prices Today:
$49.89 at Amazon
The Crucial X6 Portable SSD is square to be hip (search Huey Lewis). Or placed in your hip pocket, at any rate. In a sea of portable SSDs whose shape and sometimes sharp edges makes them a literal pain when situated in your shirt or trousers, the thin, rounded-edge X6 is a sigh of relief. It’s not state-of-the-art fast, but it’s fast enough for most users and extremely affordable.
Read our full
Crucial X6 Portable SSD review
SK Hynix Tube T31 USB SSD stick – Best thumb drive SSD
Pros
Fast like an external SSD
Decently affordable
Small form factor
Captive Type-A USB connector
Cons
Costs more than the common thumb drive
Best Prices Today:
$79.99 at Amazon
There’s something to be said for the thumb drive form factor. It’s eminently portable, being both small and eschewing the necessity of a connector cable. It’s also versatile as it can slot into the ubiquitous USB-A port.
The SK Hynix Tube T31 combines all that thumb-drive convenience with SSD performance, for the best of the both worlds.
With 10Gbps NVMe storage, the wee Tube T31 performs like a cable-attached SSD, and definitively outperformed other thumb drives in its class. And while it’s priced relatively high compared to a standard thumb drive, it’s priced competitively for its performance.
There’s no better option if fast and cable-free storage is what you’re after.
Read our full
SK Hynix Tube T31 USB SSD stick review
Lexar SL600 Blaze – Best 20Gbps external SSD
Pros
Good 20Gbps performer
Top bang for the buck
Five-year warranty
Cons
4TB model not yet available
Best Prices Today:
$129.99 at B & H Photo
Let’s face it, the competition is very close in the top tier of 20Gbps external drives, with name-brand contenders trading wins up and down the benchmark charts. Nevertheless, a winner is a winner, and cumulatively, the Lexar nudged out our previous champ, Crucial’s X10 Pro, even if only by a hair.
The upshot is that you can expect excellent performance from the Lexar SL600. On top of that, it comes in a uniquely shaped form factor, complete with an opening to accommodate a lanyard, if that’s how you roll. You can even take the highly portable drive’s design a step further by opting for the SL660 variant that comes with RGB lighting around its miniature handle. The drive comes with the standard five year warranty.
When performance is this closely matched among products, the determining factor should be price. And in that respect, too, the SL600 is neck-and-neck with the Crucial X10 Pro, and priced slightly to significantly cheaper than some of its competitors, at least as of this writing — particularly at the 2TB level.
Teamgroup M200 – Best budget 20Gbps SSD
Pros
Fast everyday performance
Available in up to 8TB (eventually) capacity
Attractively styled
Cons
No TBW rating
Company will change components if shortages demand
Writes slow to 200MBps off cache
Best Prices Today:
$46.87 at Amazon
Rated for 20Gbps and selling for $90 with 1TB of storage, the Teamgroup M200 is an attractive (in a military fashion) external drive for the budget-conscious performance enthusiast.
It might not be as cheap as the Crucial X6, but for the extra outlay you get outstanding everyday performance — in many tests, it’s the fastest 20Gbps drive we’ve ever tested. At just 4.13-inches long and 2.18-inches wide and weighing under 3 ounces, it’s also extremely portable and its slick styling will appeal to gamers.
Read our full
Teamgroup T-Force M200 20Gbps USB SSD review
Samsung T7 Shield 4TB – Best 20Gbps high-capacity performance drive
Pros
Fast 1GBps sustained transfers
Excellent real world performance
Vast 4TB capacity
Svelte and handsome
Cons
Not cheap
Small 4K performance glitch under CrystalDiskMark 8 writing 4K files
Best Prices Today:
$319.99 at Amazon
Once our top pick overall, the Samsung T7 Shield has been overtake in raw speeds by the two newcomers above. But if the 2TB limit of the drives above has you feeling too confined, the T7 Shield 4TB is a good option.
The T7 Shield also leans into physical protection, with an IP65 ratings against particulate matter and water spray. Going hiking with your data? A T7 Shield is a good choice, and you can secure it with software-based password protection in lieu of a fingerprint.
With its top-tier speeds and large capacity, the T7 4TB model is capable of handling the largest end-user data sets on the go.
Read our full
Samsung T7 4TB review
Sandisk Pro-Blade Transport – Best 20Gbps modular storage
Pros
Fast 20Gbps performance
Modular storage
More affordable than you might think (as currently discounted)
Cons
Some non-fatal operational glitches
Best Prices Today:
$49.99 at Western Digital$159.99 at Amazon
The SanDisk Pro-Blade Transport is a portable SSD dock that can be thought of as a cross between removable media and high-speed NVMe. It comes with easy-to-use removable storage cartridges for fast rotating backup. Additionally, it’s a good way to organize projects by their own media as well. The SanDisk Pro-Blade Transport’s modular design allows users to expand their TB count over the same connection and keep everything together and organized in neat, handsome cartridges.
The cartridges come in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities and are all capable of transferring at speeds of 20Gbps. In our speed tests, the Pro-Blade’s cartridges did well in both synthetic benchmarks as well as real-world transfers, with good sustained speeds throughout both the shorter 48GB and longer 450GB read/write tests. We did notice a few hiccups though when the drive’s system would lock up and we needed to manually reboot it to fix the issue. These only came about during rigorous testing scenarios and aren’t likely to affect day-to-day usage. Also, this is something that SanDisk should be able to fix with a software update and it wasn’t a major issue anyways. Overall, this sleek storage system is a great option for organizing your storage and for those who need ultimate flexibility.
Read our full
Sandisk Pro-Blade Transport review
OWC Express 1M2 USB4 SSD – Best USB4/Thunderbolt combo external SSD
Pros
Over 30GBps transfers with USB4
Works with all USB and Thunderbolt 3/4 ports
Available unpopulated so you can leverage any NVMe SSD
Cons
A bit pricey when loaded with an SSD
Large (but beefy) for an external SSD
Best Prices Today:
$219.99 at OWC
Sure the SanDisk Pro-G40 is a fast, dual USB/Thunderbolt drive, but the OWC Express 1M2 takes fast USB transfers to a whole new level with USB4. The new USB4 technology allows for blazing-fast data transfer rates up to a maximum of 40Gbps — the same as Thunderbolt 4. And the OWC Express proves it. In our tests, it was the fastest external drive over every bus: Thunderbolt 4, 20Gbps USB, and 10Gbps USB. So no matter what you choose to use, the 1M2 is the ultimate drive for speed.
The drive itself looks very much like a giant silver heatsink (the pink hue is the result of lighting) and feels quite large and hefty compared to some of the other drives on this list. We don’t mind it as the whole design makes the drive feel like it means business, but it doesn’t make the 1M2 the most portable external SSD either. Regardless, the OWC Express 1M2 is currently one of the absolute fastest external drives around if you’re feeling the need for speed.
Read our full
OWC Express 1M2 USB4 SSD review
SanDisk Desk Drive 10Gbps USB SSD – Best external SSD for backups
Pros
Available in large 4TB and 8TB capacities
Good 10Gbps performer
Attractive and unusual, if somewhat large, heat-shedding design
Cons
Requires AC adapter
Best Prices Today:
$249.99 at Western Digital
As the name suggests, the SanDisk Desk Drive isn’t meant to be portable, unlike many of the external drives on this list. It’s not only to bulky for a pocket, or even a laptop bag, but it also requires an AC adapter.
But that doesn’t detract from its utility, because the Desk Drive is really best suited for backups. That’s evident in the fact that it only comes in 4GB and 8GB capacities, priced competitively at $250 and $700 respectively.
Granted, that’s a lot more per-gigabyte than you’d pay for a backup hard drive. But with the Desk Drive you get brisk 10Gbps performance, and the assurance that comes from an SSD’s lack of moving parts. In other words, the price-per-performance makes it a wash with an HDD.
Read our full
SanDisk Desk Drive 10Gbps USB SSD review
WD My Passport 5TB – Best external hard drive
Pros
Up to 5TB in capacity
Low price per gigabyte
Innovative and attractive styling
Cons
A bit slower than most external hard drives
Best Prices Today:
$112.25 at Amazon$149.99 at WD
If your primary need from an external drive is data backup, WD’s My Passport 5TB is for you. You want to know why? It’s right there in the name — that extra 1TB can be invaluable in this age of 4K/8K. Furthermore, you don’t need the speed of an SSD to perform maintenance backups, which can be scheduled for times that create the least possible disruption. And by going with a hard drive over SSD, you can save loads of money.
Read our full
WD My Passport 5TB external hard drive review
Our latest external drive reviews
Adata SD810: This is a solid 20Gbps drive, as long as you aren’t in the habit of writing very large amounts of data to it on a regular basis, because in our tests, the drive slowed down considerably in that scenario. That being said, the 4TB capacity is a particularly good value at just $300.
Lexar SL500: A stablemate of the Lexar SL600 — our pick for best 20Gbps external drive — the SL500 stands out for its very slim and attractive form factor. It has almost identical performance to the SL600, with the exception of performing slower than its sibling in our 48GB file writes.
Corsair EX100U: This handsome drive, which could easily slide into a pocket, isn’t a great all-around performer, but if you’re mostly concerned with light workloads it will handle those tasks capably. On sale, it could easily earn its keep in that regard.
What you need to know before you buy
Yes, USB4 will provide the same massive throughput as Thunderbolt 3 at lower prices eventually, and likely far more products too.
Yes, USB4 will provide the same massive throughput as Thunderbolt 3 at lower prices eventually, and likely far more products too.
Yes, USB4 will provide the same massive throughput as Thunderbolt 3 at lower prices eventually, and likely far more products too.
Capacity versus price
For most consumers, the primary shopping criteria for external storage are capacity and price. However, while you might think that the lowest-cost drives provide the most value–they don’t. In fact, dollar for dollar, cheaper low-capacity drives have always been the worst deal in terms of price per terabyte.
You can see the phenomena in the charts below where we compare the popular WD Elements desktop hard drive’s available capacities and prices. You’re paying more than twice as much per terabyte for the lowest-capacity drive versus the next step up. It’s almost as bad on the WD Elements Portable drive.
The worst value for an external hard drive is typically the lowest-capacity drive.
The worst value for an external hard drive is typically the lowest-capacity drive. IDG
The worst value for an external hard drive is typically the lowest-capacity drive. IDG
IDG
The best “value,” as you can see, typically means the most capacious hard drives. But it also means higher total cost, and not everyone needs maximum capacity.
How much capacity do you need?
So how much storage do you actually need? For backup, we recommend a drive that’s at least twice the capacity of the total amount of data residing on your PC’s internal storage.
If you have 1TB of storage in your PC, a 2TB drive allows you to make a full backup while keeping previous versions, as well as additional differential and incremental backups. I.e., the larger the capacity, the more backups over a longer period of time you can keep, or the more PCs you can back up to the same drive.
While a desktop hard drive (read 3.5-inch) provides far more capacity (up to 26TB currently if you’re a data center), it also requires a power cable, weighs more, and generally won’t be as shock resistant as a portable 2.5-inch hard drive. The latter is designed to take bumps in a laptop, even when powered up. Then again, if you really want rugged–go the SSD route.
Interface
The vast majority of external drives today are USB drives. However, USB comes in many speeds: 5Gbps, 10Gbps, 20GBps, and—eventually with USB4—40Gbps as with Thunderbolt 3/4. Ignore the version number (3.x) and look for the speed.
The USB Forum has changed its nomenclature to indicate throughput speed—SuperSpeed USB 5Gbps (formerly USB 3.x gen 1), SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps (formerly USB 3.x gen 2), and SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps (formerly USB 3.2 2×2). For the sake of brevity (and our sanity), we generally shorten those to, for example, USB 10Gbps, 10Gbps USB, 10Gbps etc.
All USB hard drives use a slower standard, typically USB 5Gbps. No hard drive, unless combined with other drives in RAID 0 or above, can saturate even the 5Gbps interface (roughly 500MBps real-world after overhead). Because of that, you’ll never see one rated higher.
Where SuperSpeed 10Gbps/20Gbps, USB4, or Thunderbolt are of value is with the aforementioned RAID hard drive setups, or more likely—an SSD. USB 10Gbps is fast enough for most users, and getting cheaper by the week. A 10Gbps Samsung T7 Shield can be had for $80 in a 1TB capacity.
Faster USB 20Gbps (Gen 2×2) basically doubles speed but moves you into a higher-price bracket, with the Seagate Firecuda Gaming SSD costing $100 for only 500GB of storage. Although far faster than 5/10Gbps, there still aren’t a lot of USB 20Gbps/USB4 ports out there.
Thunderbolt 3 and the newer Thunderbolt 4 (almost exactly the same thing with stricter implementation requirements) are the highest-performing interfaces for external storage. The key negatives are the premium pricing and a general lack of compatibility with the far more popular USB.
That said, there are dual Thunderbolt/USB SSDs available such as the Sandisk Pro-G40. The G40 is pricey at $160 for 1TB, but a fantastic drive for those who can afford it. Pure Thunderbolt external SSDs can be even pricier, as they’re almost all sold by Mac-oriented boutique vendors such as OWC and Sabrent.
The top drive uses the older, slower Mini-USB interface. The second drive features the connector that replaced it: Micro B SuperSpeed. The Orange drive features both a SuperSpeed Micro B and Thunderbolt 2 (mini DisplayPort connector). The bottom drive features USB-C or USB Type C.
The top drive uses the older, slower Mini-USB interface. The second drive features the connector that replaced it: Micro B SuperSpeed. The Orange drive features both a SuperSpeed Micro B and Thunderbolt 2 (mini DisplayPort connector). The bottom drive features USB-C or USB Type C.
The top drive uses the older, slower Mini-USB interface. The second drive features the connector that replaced it: Micro B SuperSpeed. The Orange drive features both a SuperSpeed Micro B and Thunderbolt 2 (mini DisplayPort connector). The bottom drive features USB-C or USB Type C.
Ports
External drives come with a variety of ports, though they’re gradually (and thankfully) consolidating on the orientation-agnostic Type-C connector. Here’s the list of connectors you might see on your drive:
USB 3 Micro-B — This wider, flatter port is still very common on many lower-cost portable and desktop external hard drives. It’s actually the same Micro USB port used on your phone, but with more data lines to hit USB 3.0 speeds. It’ll do 5Gbps and is fine for hard drives and SATA (internally) SSDs. Micro-B cables are generally Type-A on the PC end.
USB 3 Type-B is the larger, squarer version of USB 3.0 Micro B. Type B ports are becoming rare, though you might find one on older 5.25-inch enclosures, printers, and scanners. It supports speeds up to 5Gbps and cables are generally Type-A on the PC side.
USB Type-C or simply Type-C is the latest USB connector and the one the world is standardizing on. It’s small, easy to insert, and you don’t have to worry about which side faces up as with Type-A.
Keep in mind that Type-C refers only to the connector itself. What is carried over the wires varies greatly: USB 2.0 High Speed (480Mbps) to USB 3.2 SuperSpeed 20Gbps, as well as USB4 and Thunderbolt 3 and any combination of them.
USB Type-A You won’t find this familiar rectangular port on any drive, but you will still find it on plenty of PCs and laptops as well as the male version on the other end of most Type-B and Type-C adapter cables.
Thunderbolt 2 is dead at this point. It’s found on older Macs, but even Apple put it out to pasture in 2017. There’s no need to invest in a Thunderbolt 2 drive unless it’s for legacy support issues. That said…
…Apple sells a bi-directional Thunderbolt 1/2 to 3 adapter if you need to connect the one generation to the other. The adapter does not, however, carry power, so bus-powered external drives (no power jack) will require a powered dock.
eSATA is another legacy port that’s disappeared from newer tech. Created for attaching external storage to your computer’s SATA bus, eSATA was a cheap way in its day to move beyond the toddling 60MBps performance of USB 2.0.
5Gbps USB 3.0 put the last nail in eSATA’s coffin. As with Thunderbolt 2, the only reason to invest in an eSATA drive is for use with older computers.
Two drives for backup?
There’s a fundamental maxim in backup, appropriately named the Rule of Three. It states that you should always maintain three copies of your irreplaceable data: the original data, a backup, and a backup of the backup.
Preferably, the two backups are kept in separate locations, one being offsite (online, or another location). Keeping a copy online is great for smaller amounts of data and certainly meets the offsite criteria.
However, for vast photo, audio, and/or video collections, external drives in pairs (or more), are a far faster solution. Especially with most broadband still being relatively limited in upstream speed.
For guidance on building out the best backup plan possible, see our roundups of the best cloud backup services and best Windows backup software.
How we test
Some of the older reviews you might find here feature results gathered on an Intel Core i7-5820K/X99 motherboard with 64GB of Kingston DDR4 memory running Windows 10. A discrete Gigabyte Alpine Ridge Thunderbolt 3 card and Ableconn USB 3.2 2×2 20Gbps card (Asmedia 2142 controller) were used for connecting the external drives. An Asus USB 3.1/10Gbps (Asmedia 1142 controller) card was employed for some of the really old drives on the chart.
Subsequently, drives were tested using Windows 11 64-bit running on an MSI MEG X570/AMD Ryzen 3700X combo with four 16GB Kingston 2666MHz DDR4 modules, a Zotac (Nvidia) GT 710 1GB x2 PCIe graphics card, and the Asmedia ASM3242 USB 3.2×2 card. Copy tests utilize an ImDisk RAM disk using 58GB of the 64GB total memory.
Currently, we’re using Windows 11 64-bit running on an X790 (PCIe 4.0/5.0) motherboard/i5-12400 CPU combo with two Kingston Fury 32GB DDR5 4800MHz modules (64GB of memory total). Both 20Gbps USB and Thunderbolt 4 are on the board and Intel integrated graphics are employed. The 48GB transfer tests utilize an ImDisk RAM disk taking up 58GB of the 64GB of total memory. The 450GB file is transferred from a Samsung 990 Pro 2TB which also runs the OS.
We run various synthetic benchmarks including Crystal Disk Mark 6/7/8, AS SSD 2, and Iometer. We also perform real-world transfer tests using a 48GB batch of small files and folders, as well as a large 48GB and 450GB files. The testbed boots from a NVMe drive, but the real-world (Windows) file transfers are performed to and from a 58GB RAM disk.
Note that all review charts feature results garnered from the same test bed.
External drive FAQ
1.
What is the difference between an SSD and an HDD?
HDDs (hard disk drives) have been around for more than 50 years. They are essentially boxes containing spinning platters with read/write arms that skim across them to detect the orientation of, or re-align particles in, the magnetic material that coats the platters.
SSDs (solid state drives), on the other hand, use flash memory and have no moving parts inside the drive. Data is instead stored in cells—aka, voltage traps—which are interconnected in a matrix. The matrix approach allows for data to be pushed or pulled to/from many different places at once and significantly increases both read and write speed—on the order of 100 times faster these days.
Generally speaking, SSDs are a better bet for your external drives due to their smaller size, faster speeds, and far superior ruggedness and durability. The main drawback to SSDs is that you pay quite a bit more per terabyte of storage. As technology and production techniques improve, the price of SSDs has and will continue to drop.
2.
How often should you back up your data?
Ideally, you should backup your data as often as possible. This is especially true if you are working on an important project or have data that you absolutely cannot afford to lose.
If you have your external hard drive connected to your computer at all times, it is a good idea to automate the backup process and have the drive back up your data every hour or so. If you disconnect or travel with your external hard drive, you should try to remember to back up your data onto it every time you change your data or at least every day. See our roundups of the best Windows backup software and the best online backup services to learn more.
3.
Why is my actual hard drive storage smaller than specified?
This comes down to the perceived size of storage (KB, MB, GB, TB) versus the actual size of that storage. Most consumers are led to believe that a Kilobyte (KB) is 1,000 bytes when it is actually 1,024 bytes. Most consumers then are led to believe that a Megabyte (MB) is 1,000 KB when it is actually 1,024 KB. So a manufacturer’s hard drive that claims to have 1 TB of storage actually has only 931.31 GB of storage. It is essentially a rounding error that manufacturers neglect to advertise because round numbers are easier to understand.
Another reason that actual storage may appear less than advertised is that hard drives have to be formatted to read and write data properly. When formatting, a portion of the storage space on the drive is allocated in order to catalog the data.
4.
How long does an external hard drive last?
The average lifespan of an external hard drive is about three to five years. However, this is highly dependent upon the make and model and the conditions of usage and storage. The more you use an external hard drive, the less reliable it becomes.
One way to guesstimate the lifespan of your hard drive is to look at the manufacturer’s warranty and the TBW (total terabytes written) number. You can determine the estimated daily amount of storage you write and then extrapolate from there to see how long you can continue to use it everyday until you reach the TBW. These numbers are not entirely reliable, and drives can last much longer than these two values, but they give an idea as to when you will likely begin to encounter issues.
5.
How do external hard drives fail?
There are a number of ways that an external hard drive may fail. They are especially susceptible to failure due to frequent mishandling, outdated drivers, connecting and disconnecting, and unsafe or forced ejections. To ensure that you keep your hard drive working properly, keep it stored in a safe place, try not to drop it, update your drivers, and make sure that you connect and disconnect it from devices properly.
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