Are you trying to find 3 tb external hard drives among various brands on the market but aren’t sure where to begin? To assist you in finding the right one, we’ve put together a list of the 7 best to help you pick the perfect one!
We investigated and evaluated a number of the top-selling 3 tb external hard drives on the market in order to create our list of the best. Making a decision among the many options available is never simple. There are an infinite number of models available, each with a distinct price. And as you’ll find out, the best options aren’t usually the ones you imagine! This comparison is rich and relevant because of the numerous factors that were employed. You will find products featured in this ranking not only based on their pricing but also on their features and other customers reviews. To write this review, we completed 22 hours of research and did 42 3 tb external hard drives tests. You won’t need to pick products at random any more. If you’re unsure of what to look for, browse our list and consult the buying guide!
An overview of our top picks
Table of contents
The best 3 tb external hard drives you can buy today
- Easily store and access 4TB of content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive.Specific uses: Personal
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- Sleek profile design with a matte, smudge-resistance finish
- Plug & Play - Easy to use with no software to install
- Quickly add more storage capacity to your PC and other compatible devices
- USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatible with no external AC power cord needed
- Pre-formatted NTFS for Windows PC (reformatting required for Mac computers)
- High capacity in a small enclosure – The small, lightweight design offers up to 6TB* capacity, making WD Elements portable hard drives the ideal companion for consumers on the go.
- Plug-and-play expandability
- Vast capacities up to 6TB[1] to store your photos, videos, music, important documents and more
- SuperSpeed USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps)
- High capacity in a small enclosure – The small, lightweight design offers up to 6TB* capacity, making WD Elements portable hard drives the ideal companion for consumers on the go.
- Plug-and-play expandability
- Vast capacities up to 6TB[1] to store your photos, videos, music, important documents and more
- SuperSpeed USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps)
- Slim durable design to help take your important files with you
- Vast capacities up to 6TB[1] to store your photos, videos, music, important documents and more
- Back up smarter with included device management software[2] with defense against ransomware
- Help secure your important files with password protection and hardware encryption
- 3-year limited warranty
- English (Publication Language)
- Designed for PC, Mac, and Tablet (check compatibility at Toshiba's Consumer HDD website).
- Formatted exFAT for cross-device compatibility (2).
- USB-C ready, USB 3.0 compatible.
- Versatile design. Includes USB-C and USB-A cables.
- Shock, drops up to 4 feet, dust and water resistant for all-terrain use
- For Mac compatibility this Hard Drive requires reformatting. Refer to Application Guide for more details
- Password protection built in. Maximum speed is 130 mb per second
- Uses USB 3.0 which is up to 4 times faster than USB 2.0 (USB 2.0 compatible)
- Includes 1-month complimentary membership to Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps Plan. Must redeem by January 31, 2020
- English (Publication Language)
- Automatic backup software to easily back up your content (free download, for Windows PC only).
- Password protection software to help prevent unauthorized access to your data (free download, for Windows PC only).
- USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatible.
- Compact design with stylish, textured finish and color options to fit your lifestyle.
- Compatible devices: Mac (reformatting required)
- USB 3.1 Interface that works with PC, Mac, Linux
- IP68 Waterproof, tested for 60 minutes in 2 meter of water
- IP68 Military-Grade Shockproof MIL-STD-810G 516.6
- IP6X Dustproof
- 3 Year Warranty
- Built-in [ 3TB ] Capacity USB 3.0 External Hard Drive
- Works for any Windows OS Desktop PC, Laptop with USB 3.0 Port
- Expand computer hard drive storage instantly! Add extra storage to your Desktop PC / Laptop Without opening up the case
- Perfect for hard drive expansion and backup storage for your entire Windows OS system! (Do it before it crash, you never know when it will happen! "Daily schedule backup is no longer optional" )
- This external hard drive boasts a brand-new, premium HDD case paired with a excellent refurbished, top-tier internal 7200RPM enterprise hard drive from a leading manufacturer. With zero bad sectors and 100% health, it has passed rigorous factory quality tests to ensure exceptional performance and reliability. Fully researched and tested for outstanding performance and compatibility with PC & gaming consoles, it stands as the top choice in external gaming hard drives.
- World’s First 6TB 2.5” Portable Hard Drive
- Plug-and-play expandability
- Vast capacities up to 6TB[1] to store your photos, videos, music, important documents and more
- SuperSpeed USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps)
- Built-in 3TB Capacity Hard Drive (HDD Storage for Game Console)
- Compatible with XBOX ONE X, S, Orginal Game Console
- Game Console File System Pre-Formatted, Expand Game Console hard drive storage instantly!
- Add extra storage to your game console without opening up the case
- This external hard drive boasts a brand-new, premium HDD case paired with a like-new refurbished, top-tier internal 7200RPM enterprise hard drive from a leading manufacturer. With zero bad sectors and 100% health, it has passed rigorous factory quality tests to ensure exceptional performance and reliability. Fully researched and tested for outstanding performance and compatibility with PC & gaming consoles, it stands as the top choice in external hard drives.
- USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 Compatibility
- Fast data transfers
- Improve PC Performance
- High Capacity; Compatibility Formatted NTFS for Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7; Reformatting may be required for other operating systems; Compatibility may vary depending on user’s hardware configuration and operating system
- 2 year manufacturer's limited warranty
- Built-in 3TB Capacity USB 3.0 External Gaming Hard Drive (7200RPM Enterprise HDD, Designed for 24/7)
- You can play PS4 games directly from USB extended storage, which lets you save space on your PS5 console storage for PS5 games. To play PS5 games, you need to copy game data from your USB extended storage drive back to your PS5 console's internal SSD storage. It’s much quicker to copy a PS5 game from USB extended storage than to re-download it.
- Compatible with PS5 Game Console, Expand game console storage instantly! NOTE: You cannot download PS5 games direct to USB Hard Drive, It has to download to internal SSD and then "Move/Copy" to USB HDD after that. (about 3 ~ 5 min transfer a game)
- PS5 Game has to play on internal SSD, you can "Move & Store" your PS5 Games from SSD to USB HDD when you're not play it. And it's always faster than re-download it online. That will free up your Internal SSD Space for more games.
- This external hard drive boasts a brand-new, premium HDD case paired with a excellent refurbished, top-tier internal 7200RPM enterprise hard drive from a leading manufacturer. With zero bad sectors and 100% health, it has passed rigorous factory quality tests to ensure exceptional performance and reliability. Fully researched and tested for outstanding performance and compatibility with PC & gaming consoles, it stands as the top choice in external gaming hard drives.
- Built-in 3TB Capacity External Gaming Hard Drive
- Compatible with PlayStation 4 Original, PS4 Pro & Slim
- PS4 File System Pre-Formatted, Expand game console storage instantly!
- Add extra storage to your game console without opening up the case
- This external hard drive boasts a brand-new, premium HDD case paired with a like-new refurbished, top-tier internal 7200RPM enterprise hard drive from a leading manufacturer. With zero bad sectors and 100% health, it has passed rigorous factory quality tests to ensure exceptional performance and reliability. Fully researched and tested for outstanding performance and compatibility with PC & gaming consoles, it stands as the top choice in external hard drives.
- Get NVMe solid state performance with up to 1050MB/s read and 1000MB/s write speeds in a portable, high-capacity drive(1) (Based on internal testing; performance may be lower depending on host device & other factors. 1MB=1,000,000 bytes.)
- Up to 3-meter drop protection and IP65 water and dust resistance mean this tough drive can take a beating(3) (Previously rated for 2-meter drop protection and IP55 rating. Now qualified for the higher, stated specs.)
- Use the handy carabiner loop to secure it to your belt loop or backpack for extra peace of mind.
- Help keep private content private with the included password protection featuring 256‐bit AES hardware encryption.(3)
- Easily manage files and automatically free up space with the SanDisk Memory Zone app.(5)
- English (Publication Language)
- High-capacity add-on storage.Compatibility : Windows 10 plus, Reformatting required for use with MacOS.
- Fast data transfers
- Plug-and-play ready for Windows PCs
- WD quality inside and out
- 【Plug and play for home and office equipment】YOTUO HDD01 USB 3.0 external hard drive. Suitable for Windows XP/2003/Vista/7/8/10/11, Linux, Mac OS system. As well as laptops, desktop computers, PS4, PS5, XBOX 360, XBOX ONE, XBOX series X/S and other office equipment and gaming equipment. The product is plug-and-play when used in Windows. For Mac users, first format the drive and select the ExFat format.
- 【The first time you use this product in your gaming device, you will need to install an external hard disk into your gaming device】XBOX Simply follow the steps prompted by the system pop-up window to use it in the device. PS5 may receive the message "This USB drive's file system is unsupported" when plugging in an external hard disk and may display an incorrect storage capacity. There is no need to worry. You can simply find "USB Storage Device" in the "Settings" screen, follow the steps prompted by the system to install the drive and format it, and it will be ready for use. PS4, please find "USB Storage Device" in "Device" interface in "Settings".
- 【Gaming device manufacturer restrictions for different generations of games】Due to restrictions imposed by gaming device manufacturers, the PS5 can read and run PS4 games directly from an external hard drive, but cannot run PS5 games directly from an external hard drive; PS5 games on the external hard drive need to be moved to the device in order to run. Similarly, the Xbox X Series and Xbox S Series can only run Xbox One games directly from an external hard drive.
- 【Patented silicone sleeve protects hard drive】 The patented silicone sleeve inside wraps around the hard disk. It protects the hard disk more effectively against shocks and drops.
- 【About the discrepancy between the nominal capacity and the actual capacity】The actual capacity of the hard disk is not the same as the nominal capacity because the measurement method (binary) used by the hard disk manufacturer is different from the measurement method (decimal) used by the computer system. This is normal.
- 【External hard drives including this product cannot transfer data between different brands of gaming devices or between gaming devices and office equipment】For example, PS4 and PS5 can transfer data and use each other, but cannot transfer data and use each other in XBOX and office equipment. For XBOX devices, selecting "Use for Media" after connecting an external hard disk allows you to transfer pictures and videos between office devices, but not for gaming. After use in gaming devices, you need to format the product or re-execute the hard disk partition according to the system before you can use it in office devices.
- 【Slim and compact unique appearance】The product has a sleek and minimalist look with a combination of mirror and frosted textures. Weighing only 0.16 kilograms, it's easy to carry and takes up little space.
- 【USB 3.0 SuperSpeed Transfer】 Utilizes an ultra-fast transfer USB 3.0 cable with transfer speeds of up to 5.0 Gbit/s.
- High-speed USB 3.0 and 2.0 connectivity offers plug-and-play functionality on your PC.
- Install the NTFS driver for Mac, and you can use the drive interchangeably between Windows and Mac computers without reformatting.
- Run a one-click backup or schedule an automatic backup plan to protect your files in your Backup Plus desktop drive at your convenience with Seagate Dashboard software
- Works interchangeably on PC and Mac computers—without needing to reformat
- The available storage capacity may vary.
- MADE FOR THE MAKERS: Create; Explore; Store; The T7 Portable SSD delivers fast speeds and durable features to back up any endeavor; Build your video editing empire, file your photographs or back up your blogs all in an instant
- SHARE IDEAS IN A FLASH: Don’t waste a second waiting and spend more time doing; The T7 is embedded with PCIe NVMe technology that brings fast read and write speeds up to 1,050/1,000 MB/s¹, making it almost twice as fast as the T5
- ALWAYS MAKE THE SAVE: Compact design with massive capacity; With capacities up to 4TB, save exactly what you need to your drive – from large working files to game data and everything in between
- ADAPTS TO EVERY NEED: Whether using a PC or mobile phone, count on the T7 for extensive compatibility²; It’s a true team player when it comes to heavy-duty application usage or file-saving
- HI RESOLUTION VIDEO RECORDING: Record Ultra High Resolution (4K 60fs) videos directly onto the T7 Portable SSD with your favorite camera or mobile devices; Supports iPhone 15 Pro Res 4K at 60fps video and more³
- ALL FOR THE SHOT: This strong, sturdy sidekick will help you see it through with shock resistance and fall protection up to 6 feet⁴; With its solid aluminum unibody construction, it’s made to withstand any adventure
- WORLD’S #1 FLASH MEMORY BRAND: Performance and reliability from the world’s #1 brand for flash memory since 2003⁵; All firmware and components are produced in-house, including our world renowned DRAM and NAND, for quality and you can trust
How to choose a good 3 tb external hard drives
Does the idea of finding a fantastic 3 tb external hard drives make you anxious? When it comes to purchasing this product, specifically when deciding which model to select, has your head been spinning between options? You are not alone if that is the case. We are aware of the pressure involved in the purchasing process!
Your presence here indicates that you are interested in 3 tb external hard drives. Before choosing which product would be the best for your needs after being inundated with information, locate a reliable source with genuine selections. You can get that information from a variety of sources, including buying guides and rating websites, word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family, online discussion forums where users can share their own experiences, product reviews that can be found all over the internet, and YouTube channels. You can only get the right product through exhaustive analysis. But you realize that’s not always simple. In order to ease your concerns, we have taken the time to develop a list of the top 3 tb external hard drives products available right now. You might be wondering how we came up with the list. How was this buying guide developed?
First, we used our algorithms to gather as much reliable data as we could about these products. To verify all the data gathered, we used both artificial intelligence and a lot of algorithms.
Then, our experts used criteria that are recognized in the business to evaluate them according to their quality to price ratio, allowing us to choose the top 3 tb external hard drives on the market right now!
The selection of the goods is not arbitrary. Before creating a list, we take into account a number of factors. Below are some of the criteria discussed:
Brand Value: What happens if you choose a dubious brand just because it appears to be a good deal? So the likelihood of receiving a product with a short shelf life increases. That is due to the fact that well-known brands have a reputation to uphold, while others do not. Top 3 tb external hard drives brands strive to provide some distinctive traits that set them apart from the competition. So, hopefully one or more of the items on our list will be perfect for you.
Features: Useful features are all you need, not tons of them. We consider the important aspects and select the top 3 tb external hard drives based on those.
Specifications: Numbers always help you measure the quality of a product in a quantitative way. We try to find products with higher specifications, but with the right balance.
Quality: A product’s quality may always be quantified with the aid of numbers. We look for goods with better standards that strike the proper balance. The best quality product that gets highly appreciated and recommended by experienced users.
Customer ratings: Would it be accurate to suggest that the 3 tb external hard drives were used by hundreds of customers before you? Superior ratings indicate that many customers had better service.
Customer Reviews: Like ratings, provide you with accurate and reliable information about the product from genuine customers. Customer ratings are very important to all of us because they contain accurate and reliable information about the customer service we received from several hundred customers.
Seller Rank: This is very intriguing! Not only do you need a good 3 tb external hard drives, you also need a product with rising sales that is trendy. It accomplishes two goals. First, the expanding user base proves the quality of the product. Second, given that number, producers must be able to offer greater quality and after-sales support.
Value: You get what you pay for, they say, so consider the value. Cheap isn’t always good and expensive isn’t always bad. However, that does not imply that spending a lot of money on a product that is flashy but underwhelming is a good idea. Before adding them to the list, we make an effort to evaluate how much value you can get for your money from your 3 tb external hard drives.
Durability: Durability and reliability are closely related concepts. You will benefit from a strong and long-lasting 3 tb external hard drives for months and years to come.
Product availability: Products come and go, and new ones replace the old ones. Most likely, a few new features and required changes were made. What use is it to use a supposedly good product if the maker no longer supports it? We make an effort to highlight products that are current and offered by one or more trustworthy sellers, if not more.
Negative Reviews: Yes, we do take that into account as well! The goods with the majority of bad reviews are filtered out and disregarded when we choose the best-rated one on the market.
These are the standards by which we selected our 3 tb external hard drives. Do we end our process there? Hell no. The most crucial fact about us that you should be aware of is that we regularly update our website with current and pertinent information. We have one more layer of filtration since we place the greatest importance on reader satisfaction. Please let us know if any product included here is incorrect, irrelevant, subpar, or simply out of date. We always value your opinions, and we’ll work hard to make any necessary corrections to our list in response to them.
Why should you believe us?
There are now thousands of possibilities for these products on Amazon, but choosing the best one can be difficult and time-consuming. And what 3 tb external hard drives should you purchase in 2022?
This guide is the result of more than 10 years of experience in researching, testing and writing about many topics. Each member of our team is an authority in their area. We read every article we could find online and every consumer review on every retail website for seven hours. Additionally, we discovered a ton of websites that offered helpful resources, including buying tips and thorough information on 3 tb external hard drives.
