Here’s a seemingly boring topic that could be of great importance: backing up files. Whether you need to back up your computer or create more space for a growing media library, external hard drives remain the most cost-effective way to expand storage. They’re convenient to use and easy to carry with a laptop to more than one location. We had a chance to use Western Digital’s WD My Passport Ultra in the 6TB variation.

There is quite a bit of misconception about the usefulness of external hard drives, given that SSDs are everywhere. The key advantage of HDDs is the price-to-storage ratio. Some may point to options like an NVMe M.2 drive used in an enclosure because it’s very fast. Sure, it is fast, but a 2TB M.2 drive, depending on read and write speeds, can be expensive. And let’s not get into the pricing of a 4TB option. Something like the My Passport Ultra is cheaper, even if you choose the 6TB variant.

Also, people may say M.2 is blazing fast, but do you need that level of speed in your workflow? For example, I use an M.2 option but keep it for larger video files that require editing, or to load games across systems. When you need frequent data exchange, an M.2 drive is good to have, say, you’re in a business where colleagues are often sharing data and videos that are time-sensitive. Such storage options suit that kind of workflow.

An external drive, for me, is helpful for storing photos and videos for reference. Family photos, videos and important documents are stored in these drives. I don’t need to access them frequently, and if data access is not frequent, HDD works.

Then there is the question of safety. If you drop it, how safe is the HDD? Of course, you shouldn’t drop any hard drive, but accidents happen. There is a metal design for added durability to take anywhere. Also, the ever-present query arises: Why not an internal drive? Not everyone has the flexibility to add an extra internal drive to their system, or there may be hardware limitations. In some cases, installing an additional internal hard drive may mean sacrificing the area needed to mount a fan. It all depends on priority.

Everything comes back to the price point. If you can store more data on external storage without breaking the bank, why not? The WD option we have for review is perfect for someone who is always on the move, capturing plenty of videos and photos. Say you go birding and end up taking 1,000 photos, where do you save these high-resolution snaps before clicking the next 1,000? An external HDD is handy.

WD packs in a few selling points, one of them being the included Acronis True Image for Western Digital software, which schedules backup of precious files. You can set a password to encrypt the data; there is built-in 256-bit AES encryption. File transfers using the SuperSpeed USB-C to USB-C cable reach 5Gbps, cutting down video transfer times greatly. It’s difficult to get metrics on which hard drive models are more reliable over the long run, but this one comes with three years of limited warranty, meaning it should last a long time. It’s a small package for a 6TB drive, but it can hold your most important files — those that are truly invaluable.