But unlike a normal external hard drive, a NAS drive adds a network connection, so it can be linked via your internet router to your home network and the web. It allows your entire photo and video collection to be stored in one physical location in your home or studio, just like a conventional external hard drive. However, if you want to use them with Time Machine, they'll need to be reformatted, but it's a simple procedure.Ī NAS (Network Attached Storage) drive is essentially an external hard drive on steroids. It's slower on paper but will operate at similar speeds to the Extreme Pro when connected to a USB 3.2 port.Īlso bear in mind that both these drives will be pre-formatted to work with both Windows and Mac. If you're using an older Intel-powered Mac, then we'd recommend the cheaper SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2 (opens in new tab) (non 'Pro') as a portable option. That means this SSD can still unleash its maximum speed potential of up to 2000MB/s, really putting the 'extreme' in Extreme Pro.Ĭapacities range from 1TB to 4TB, which isn't all that much next to some 10+TB desktop drives, but the payoff is that this is one of the very fastest external hard drives for a modern Mac. But the USB 4 ports on an M1 or M2 Mac are backward compatible with USB 3.2 Gen 2x2. This is linked to your Mac via the short-lived USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 connection: the USB generation that directly preceded the current USB 4 standard.
Strictly speaking, this is a portable storage solution, rather than a device that lives on your desk, but there's no reason why it can't be used in place of a bigger external desktop hard drive.Īnd while most external drives use older, slower mechanical hard disk drives to store your data, the Extreme Pro Portable SSD V2 is based around a blazing-fast NVMe SSD.
Now, on with our list of the best Mac external hard drive options available today. This is a simple process, but on this list, we're only featuring hard drives that come pre-formatted to work with both Windows and Mac straight away: no special setup is required.Īlternatively, if you'd rather move everything to the cloud, we've also got a guide to the best cloud storage providers to check out. While pretty much any hard drive can be made to work with a Mac, some hard drives come set up for exclusively Windows compatibility out of the box and would need to be reformatted to work with a Mac. Capacities range from 4TB up to 30+TB, giving you plenty of space for high-res RAW files or high bit-rate 4K video. These desktop-mounted hard drives are powered by a mains AC outlet and attach to your Mac via a USB or Thunderbolt connection.
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