External drives · Choosing a drive
What's the difference between a portable SSD and a desktop external drive?
Short answer: A portable SSD is small, bus-powered, fast and shock-resistant; a desktop drive is usually a bigger hard disk with its own power supply — more space for the money but slower. Use an SSD for apps and active work, a hard disk for archives.
A portable SSD is small, bus-powered and fast, with no moving parts — ideal for laptops and anything that travels. A desktop external drive is usually a larger hard disk with its own power adapter, giving lots of space for the money but slower access and more sensitivity to knocks.
How to choose:
- Running apps and active projects from it — a portable or NVMe SSD.
- Big archives, media you rarely open, or Time Machine — a desktop hard disk is fine.
- A MacBook you carry around — portable SSD.
Storage Studio works with both, but apps and folders you use every day feel best on an SSD — see what kind of drive to use.