Everything About Increasing Storage Space on Your PC

There’s a lot to be said for the convenience and mobility of a laptop, but PCs still provide many compelling benefits. Chief among these? Easy upgrades. From graphics cards and RAM to CPUs and additional fans, PC component swaps are commonplace these days.

Arguably, the easiest way to improve an older PC is to give it a bump up in physical storage. This is an affordable option, as the cost of storage continues to plummet — especially for old-fashioned hard drives. Meanwhile, solid-state drives are becoming more cost-effective than ever.

Manually adding new drives to a PC isn’t the only way to add more GBs and, in turn, more files or programs. Keep reading to learn about the many options currently available for increasing PC storage space.

There are four commonly used methods for increasing PC storage space. Each approach holds noteworthy benefits and disadvantages, as well as cost differences and specific installation procedures.

Still an extremely popular option for those who desire ultra-cheap storage space, adding an internal hard disc drive should be the most cost-effective method. A standard 2TB internal HDD runs about $50. This price point makes an internal HDD an enticing option.

An important consideration: some users won’t want to crack open their PCs and swap out their drives. Despite the fact that it’s a pretty simple process, this hurdle is too much for users who aren’t particularly tech-savvy.

A simple USB-connected external HDD is the best option for users who don’t want to tinker too much with their PCs. While this option is slightly more expensive than an internal drive, it’s more accessible for novice computer users. Simply plug the device into the computer. From there, drag-and-drop functions can be used to store various files and folders.

Solid-state drives have become increasingly popular over the last decade. These small, quiet drives are blazing fast thanks to the advanced technology used to create them. Load times on an SSD are minimal (in the rare event they exist at all), and this has made them a hit with computer gamers looking for a streamlined solution.

The only downside of investing in an internal SSD? Cost. While SSD prices have fallen in recent years, a standard 2 TB SSD retails for about $185 — more than 3 times the cost of its HDD equivalent.

The cost might make some PC users think twice about internal SSDs, but remember: installing them inside computers can be surprisingly straightforward . Since SSDs have no moving parts, they can be plugged into SATA ports on a motherboard and then placed anywhere in the case — no mounting required.

The most expensive option available on this list, external SSDs are arguably worth every penny. Unlike other solutions, they are an absolute joy to use. They provide all the speed users love with an SSD drive, as well as the portability and flexibility of an external drive. The only negative? The increased price, with 2 TB external SSD drives going for about $300.

When people picture the cloud, they don’t usually imagine it supplementing storage drives for a desktop PC. Most think of it as serving up videos and other files to business laptops or mobile devices. For some PC users, however, cloud storage might be the best option. This approach makes it possible to easily access files both on home machines and any device used on the go.

Of course, it’s much cheaper to buy a dedicated hard drive once and store all files than it is to pay for a monthly service. However, some consumers are more than happy to part with a small chunk of change every month if it gives them the flexibility afforded by the cloud.

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