If your computer is going at a speed more like a steam train than a Ferrari then it probably means it’s memory is starting to fill up. This leads you with a decision to be made.

Do you buy a whole new computer that will be faster but won’t have any of the information from your last computer or do you free up space on your old computer by using an external hard drive.

For me there’s only one choice - an external hard drive.

This will save you money and won’t put you through al the stress of moving information from one computer to another.

If you’ve come to the same decision then you’ve probably come to your next hurdle.

What external hard drive do you buy. Well there are a few things you need to consider.

What Size External Hard Drive You Need

Well that depends very much on what you want it for.

If you want to use it as a storage device in your own home then the external hard drive market really is your oyster with a huge range of sizes, shapes and memory options available.

You will find though if you’re looking for a portable device (i.e. something you can put in your pocket) that the range will narrows, the price rises and the space available decreases.

I would therefore seriously think about exactly how you want to use it before you buy otherwise you could pay a lot for a feature you don’t need or pay less for something that is then going to break your back as you log it from home to the office.

How Is The External Hard Drive Going To Be Powered?

If you’re buying a external hard drive to take on the move with you then you’ve got to make sure it’s a USB or Firewire powered device, otherwise you’re going to be running up and down the train in the vain hope of finding a plug socket.

How Much Memory Do You Want?

Personally I’m of the opinion you should buy as much memory as you possibly can. It can be very tempting to buy a cheap external hard drive with 40GB of memory because “it’d do for now”.

Well that is true but you’re only going to end up having to pay out more when you fill it up!

Make Sure You Buy A Hare Not A Tortoise

It’s important to make sure you get an external hard drive that will finish storing your information before you go old and grey ( or alternatively before you get so annoyed with how slow it is you throw it out the window..)

Make sure that your external hard drive has a RPM of at least over 5000 but if you can afford to go high I would really recommend it.

Get An External Hard Drive That Will Save Your Bacon

Many external hard drives these days come with some form of backup or recovery software included. This is really worth having because you never know when your computer is going to ….. (I’ve gone all superstitious and can’t say it…

Why Should I Buy My External Hard Drive?

The best value for money is always going to be online and there are some great online stores just waiting to help you out which include PC World, SVP Communications, Maplin and Memory Bits.

Popularity: 17% [?]

With so much technology around today that we can use with our computers we’re filling them up with files quicker than we ever have before.

The result of this is slow computers that stop functioning so well to use these things.

Something of a double edged sword I think you’ll agree.

So what can we do about it?

Well personally I think external hard drives are the way to go.

These allow you to keep all that data without cluttering up your computer and also offer great security because it doesn’t then matter if your computer dies because all the important stuff is on the external hard drive.

If you’re agreeing with these sentiments but have yet to get one for yourself now really is the time to buy because Maplin have reduced their 750 Gb external hard drive from £149.99 to £89.99 which is an enormous saving of £60!

Check out the 750 Gb external hard drive discount out for yourself at Maplin.

Popularity: 14% [?]

The Toshiba 320GB External Hard Drive is one of the best looking external hard drives that I’ve seen on the market but it’s not just about looks.

This is also an incredibly portable external hard drive measuring only 2.5″ and storing a massive 320gb!

If you buy it in store at PC World then you’ll have to pay £89.99 but if you order online then you’ll only pay £84.99.

Find out more about the Toshiba 320GB External Hard Drive.

Popularity: 28% [?]

If you’re after a new hard drive make sure you check out Dell before the 28th May 2008 because they’re offering 15% off all standalone hard drives.

Click here now to order your discount hard drive from Dell.

Popularity: 17% [?]

If you’re someone who takes a lot of photos or videos then I’d really recommend considering PC World’s latest external hard drive offer.

It’s for the Western Digital My Book World 1TB Network Hard Drive which is currently available with a £60 discount meaning you’ll pay £149.99 instead of £209.99.

This is a huge amount of space (1000GB in fact) so it’s not likely you’re going to have to buy another one any time soon!

Click here now to order your 1TB External Hard Drive from PC World

Popularity: 18% [?]

Looking for a great value external hard drive to store all these photos and videos on?

Well Maplin has an amazing deal currently running on their 500GB Seagate External Hard Drive which is currently available for £74.99.

This is a great price but won’t be around for long as it’s a special promotion.

Click here NOW to order this 500GB External Hard Drive at an amazing price.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Are you running out of room on your computer but don’t want to just delete all those photos and videos you’ve got stored on the computer?

Well with an external hard drive you won’t have to as you can move it all onto there quickly and easily. If you haven’t got one already then now is the perfect time to get buying as Maplin are offering £70 off the 750GB external hard drive pictured above.

This is a huge amount of memory which can easily hold 214,000 photos, 187,000 MP3s or 300 hours of DVDs so it’s not likely to get filled up too quickly and if you buy before the 15th April 2008 it will cost you £109.99 instead of £179.99!

Click here to order your 750GB external hard drive.

Popularity: 18% [?]

I’m after a new external hard drive to back up my files and store all the new video files I will be producing with my new camcorder.

As you know though I won’t buy the first thing I see. I’m someone who wants to get a great deal and if that means shopping around a bit then I will.

Now I’ve not done too much searching yet but I think I may have already found a great bargain.

It’s for a 250GB Maxtor External Hard Drive and it’s available for only £49.99 which is a web only offer.

For this tiny price you and I can store up to 80,000 images, 250 hours of video or 4,165 hours music which you’ll have to admit is very very impressive!

If you want to check out it’s specs or have a look through it’s manual then it’s all available at Maplins.

Popularity: 15% [?]

The 500GB Seagate FreeAgent Hard Drive.

Now you might think this is just a hard drive but it’s not.

This is a lifesaver.

This box of technological bits is what’s going to make sure that you still have all those precious photos and files when your main computer decides to die on you.

This clever bit of kit is what’s going to allow you to load all of your old files onto a new computer without running back and forth with CDs.

This isn’t just a hard drive.

This is going to change your life.

And for the time being it’s going to do it for a lot less than you’d expect it to as Maplin have knocked £55 off the price.

That means the 500GB Seagate FreeAgent Hard Drive is only going to cost you £74.99 instead of £129.99.

Well that’s unless you buy after the 18th March 2008 and then you’ll have to pay the full amount which would be silly so don’t wait and buy now!

Click here for the 500GB Seagate FreeAgent Hard Drive at Maplin.

Popularity: 13% [?]