USB drives
This list is a stock price reference for on-site services provided, such as data recovery or on-site computer repairs. These drives are available when you call for data recovery. Prices gst inclusive. USB drives are not for sale without the service.
| External USB drive description | price | |
|---|---|---|
 HD | 1Tb | $85 |
| 2Tb | $112 | |
| 4Tb | $172 | |
 USB-C SSD | 1Tb | $160 |
updated Jul 2024
What external drive is better to buy
Performance-wise all Hard Drives are similar. SSDs are 5-10 times faster and have fewer chances to fail because of a mechanical shock, like bumping or dropping from a table.
Reliability wise, all data drives do fail, and it is just a matter of time. Which one is better? Unfortunately, exact statistics are hard to see. Data recovery services are flooded with popular brands, but it does not mean they fail more.
To prevent data loss backup business-critical data as often as you can and replace backup drives every two years. Do not use backup drives or USB sticks for everyday work because they are 100s times slower and less reliable. Hard USB drives are sensitive to physical stress. A slight bump while the USB drive is working on the desk may destroy years of your data. If you do use it for work - get a Solid State Drive USB; they are not sensitive to vibrations and at least 5 times faster than usual USB hard drives.
USB sticks
USB sticks are less reliable than hard drives or SSDs and 100s times slower. Hence working directly from USBs make impression that computer is slow. Consider USB sticks as temporary storage only to move data from one computer to another. To save time and prevent data loss, copy data from USB onto the computer and then open it to a program. When finished, copy changed data back to USB.
There is a massive difference in USB sticks performance. Twice more expensive USB3 sticks maybe 10 times faster. USB Type-C sticks are usually faster.
Thunderbolt backup drives
New Thunderbolt 3 4 is interchangeable with USB-C in the sense of the external storage. Since late 2016 Mac laptops come with sockets supporting both Thunderbolt and USB-C. To use the drive with an older USB3.0 plug with Mac you will need to buy a Thunderbolt to USB adapter online from Apple for $29 or a third-party USB-C to USB adapter from the local IT shop for $3.
USB2 used to be much slower than Thunderbolt 1 before 2013 or so. Today USB3 and USB-C are the most common. Thunderbolt 4 is at least twice faster than USB-C. You still may find old Thunderbolt backup drives for sale, although they are not compatible with PCs.