Which external hard drive should I choose for a new iMac with AI?

As you've already been asked how do you plan on using the EHD: as a Time Machine drive or as a data drive? Is speed a requirement as your Mercury Elite Pro is a HDD and would not be fast if speed is a necessity. It would be fine for Time Machine.

If speed is a necessity then the OWC Envoy Pro FX would be a better choice or if budget is a concern an OWC Mercury Elite Pro mini with an SSD. A 1TB SSD model is only $139.

Give us the intended usage and we'll be better able to recommend something.

Any OWC external drive is perfectly fine. With today’s improvements you should only consider SSD drives, not mechanical hard drives. New iMacs support Thunderbolt4 connections, the fastest available these days. Consider an SSD Thunderbolt drive for the best performance and speed.

Then your existing Mercury Elite Pro is excellent. If you need a second External Hard Disk for another task then another Mercury Elite Pro is fine too. You will need a USB to USB C adapter such as USB to USB C adapter, don't worry they are very inexpensive.

If your current Mercury Elite Pro is over 5 years old, then rather than a whole new enclosure use the old one and simply put in a new HD. This is VERY easy to do and only requires a) the new HD and b) a screwdriver to open the enclosure. Once a new HD is installed (you can also buy these from OWC) then you need to format it in Disk Utility.

If your current drive is not too old, less than a 2-3 years you can use it. It won't be as fast but the OWC drives are pretty reliable.

If you want to go SSD and budget is a problem you can try what I use:

The Adaptor is less expensive that an external enclosure and I get very fast backups - less than a minute except for the first one. Instead of the adaptor shown in the graphic get one that is SATA to USB C (Thunderbolt) to match the ports on the new iMacs.

I would add that if and when you do get a new drive, do not use the manufacturer's so-called maintenance app that often comes with drives. These apps almost always cause problems and are best deleted. Only use Disk Utility to reformat the new drive and it should be ok.

HI,

You forgot to tell us how you will be using the new drive. Will it be used as a Time Machine backup External Hard Disk or are you using it just for additional storage?