Hard Disk or SSD? How to Choose an External or Internal Hard Disk
Updated 29 October 2026. Prices are Quality Computer’s website prices that day. Technical facts are from Samsung, Kingston, Seagate and Western Digital.
Short answer: Choose an external hard disk for backups and moving files, an internal drive to add storage to a desktop, and a surveillance drive for a CCTV recorder. Choose an SSD instead when you want speed more than the most space for the money. Every internal hard disk with today's price is on our hard disk price in Nepal page, and portable drives are on our external hard disk price in Nepal page.
External hard disks
| External hard disk | Capacity | Our price |
|---|---|---|
| WD My Passport | 2TB | Rs 14,800 |
| Transcend StoreJet 25A3K (USB 3.1) | 1TB | Rs 15,500 |
| Transcend StoreJet 25M3S (USB 3.1) | 1TB | Rs 22,500 |
| Adata HD330 | 2TB | Rs 24,900 |
| Transcend StoreJet 25M3S (USB 3.1) | 2TB | Rs 28,500 |
| Carbon CR-201 USB 3.0 drive case | Turns an internal drive into an external one | Rs 950 |
Internal hard disks
| Internal hard disk | Capacity | Use | Our price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seagate (ST2000DM008) | 2TB | Desktop | Rs 18,900 |
| Seagate BarraCuda 7200RPM | 2TB | Desktop | Rs 19,500 |
| Seagate (SATA) | 4TB | Desktop | Rs 20,500 |
| Seagate SkyHawk (ST1000VX005) | 1TB | CCTV surveillance | Rs 6,500 |
| WD Purple (WD10PURZ) | 1TB | CCTV surveillance | Rs 9,900 |
| WD Purple | 2TB | CCTV surveillance | Rs 9,000 |
| WD Purple | 4TB | CCTV surveillance | Rs 17,500 |
| Toshiba surveillance (DT02ABA600VH) | 6TB | CCTV surveillance | Rs 47,000 |
| Seagate surveillance | 8TB | CCTV surveillance | Rs 34,500 |
Website prices on 29 October 2026; call us on 9863609150 to check availability. Setting up CCTV? See our CCTV camera prices.
Video: WD My Passport overview (official WD video)
Western Digital’s 50-second overview of the My Passport portable drive, Rs 14,800 for 2TB at Quality Computer.
Why does my 1TB hard disk show 931GB?
Seagate explains that drive makers count capacity in decimal, where 1GB is 1,000,000,000 bytes, while Windows counts in binary. So a 1TB drive shows as 1TB on a Mac but about 931GB in Windows. Western Digital’s small print says the same: “1TB = one trillion bytes. Actual user capacity may be less.” Nothing is missing.
Hard disk or SSD?
| Hard disk (HDD) | SATA SSD | |
|---|---|---|
| Read / write speed | Up to about 160 / 160 MB/s | Up to about 550 / 520 MB/s |
| Seek time | 8 to 10 ms | Less than 0.1 ms |
| Moving parts | Yes | None |
| Shock tolerance | 350G | 1,500G |
| Power (working / idle) | 1.75W / 0.8W | 0.1W / 0.05W |
Figures from Samsung’s SSD vs HDD comparison. A hard disk still gives the most storage per rupee, which is why it suits backups and CCTV. For your laptop or PC’s main drive, an SSD makes it feel much faster: see our SSD prices and SSD vs HDD explainer.
USB speeds, in plain words
USB 2.0 runs at 480 Mbit/s. USB 3.0, USB 3.1 Gen 1 and USB 3.2 Gen 1 are all the same 5 Gbps standard, and USB 3.2 Gen 2 is 10 Gbps. They’re backward compatible, so a USB 3 drive works in a USB 2 port, just slower.
More storage guides: best external hard drives under Rs 20,000, choosing external storage and what is a NAS.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see today's hard disk prices?
Every internal hard disk we stock is listed with today's price on our hard disk price in Nepal page, and every external drive on our external hard disk price in Nepal page.
Why does my 1TB hard disk show 931GB?
Drive makers count 1GB as 1,000,000,000 bytes, while Windows counts in binary, so 1TB shows as about 931GB. No space is missing.
Which hard disk is best for CCTV?
A surveillance drive such as WD Purple or Seagate SkyHawk, made for DVRs and NVRs. We sell them from 1TB to 8TB.
Is an SSD better than a hard disk?
An SSD is much faster (about 550 MB/s vs 160 MB/s for SATA) and has no moving parts. A hard disk gives more storage for the money.
Sources
- SSD vs HDD brochure, Samsung Semiconductor, July 2018
- USB 3.0, Kingston
- Decoding USB standards, Plugable, 8 January 2026
- Why does my hard drive report less capacity?, Seagate
- Western Digital unveils highest-capacity portable HDDs, Western Digital, 16 May 2024
- Hard disk prices: Quality Computer website, 29 October 2026.