Our Experts Written by David Carnoy Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement Why You Can Trust CNET 16171819202122232425+ Years of Experience 14151617181920212223 Hands-on Product Reviewers 6,0007,0008,0009,00010,00011,00012,00013,00014,00015,000 Sq. Feet of Lab Space How we test CNETs expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise. What to consider Budget Before anything else, you'll want to figure out how much you're willing to spend on a new external drive and whether you can afford a Solid State Drive in the capacity you want. Capacity External drives start at 500GB and go all the way up to 22TB or so. For a lot of people, especially if you're looking at a faster SSD, the storage sweet spot is 1TB or 2TB. Data transfer speeds You'll have to decide just what kind of performance you want and need based on your use case and the PC you have. Compatibility Most external drives are compatible with a wide variety of computers, including Macs, Windows PCs and Chromebooks. Things get more complicated when you get into the realm of game consoles. Security Some of you may be storing sensitive data on your external storage drive. If that's the case, look for drives that include security features, including encryption. Table of Contents