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By now we’re well aware that flash-based memory, including RAM and SSDs, have skyrocketed in price due to recent demand. A lesser known fact is that even traditional hard disk drive (HDDs) have also risen in price tremendously for 2026. Although it may be years before we see prices drop back down to previous lows, you can still find the occasional deal.
For example, B&H Photo has discounted the WD EasyStore 16TB External Desktop Hard Drive down to $279.99 with free delivery after a $100 off instant discount. That averages out to $17.50 per terabyte. The next best price I can find for a similar capacity drive is this Seagate 16GB model from Best Buy for $370.
Save $100 Off the WD EasyStore 16TB External Hard Drive
The WD EasyStore houses a single 16TB disk drive so it’s physically no bigger than any other desktop hard drive. It features a Micro USB 3.2 Gen 1 interface, which won’t bottleneck the real world speeds you’d expect from a magnetic spindle-based drive, usually between 100-200MBps. The EasyStore should also be recognized by both Windows and Mac PCs with native drivers. Included in the package are a Micro USB to USB-A cable and backup software.
Hard drives are still the best option for local backups
Compared to SSDs, traditional hard drives are still the superior choice for long term storage. Hard drives cap out at a higher storage capacity and are significantly less expensive. Single-stick 16TB SSDs don’t exist on the consumer market, but a less spacious 8TB external SSD would run you over $700. Although SSDs are comparable to HDDs in longevity, it’s still considerably easier to recover data from a HDD than SSD if either one fails. If you don’t subscribe to cloud-based backup services, then you’ll definitely want at least one of these drives in your house for local backup.
Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn’t hunting for deals for other people at work, he’s hunting for deals for himself during his free time.
