Whenyouaregoingtoformatastoragedevice,youwillcomeacrosstwofilesystems-ExFATandFAT32.Thesetwofilesystemsarethemostcommonlyusedonesandarecompatiblewithvariousdevices,includingWindows,Mac,andotherportabledevices.Inthisarticle,wearegoingtocompareandcontrastExFATandFAT32.Let'sdelvein!
ExFAT:Overview
ExFATisanacronymforExtendedFileAllocationTable.Itisafilesystemthatwasfirstintroducedin2006byMicrosoft.Asthenameimplies,ExFATisanextendedversionoftheoriginalFAT32filesystem.TheprimarypurposeofExFATistoenabletheuseoflargerfilesandlargervolumescomparedtotheolderfilesystems.ThismakesExFATperfectforexternalharddrivesandflashdrives.
FAT32:Overview
FAT32isthepredecessorofExFAT.Ithasbeenaroundsincethe1980sandisthereforeanolderfilesystem.Thisfilesystemsupportssmallerfilesizesofupto4GBandhasavolumesizelimitof2TB.ThismakesFAT32perfectforuseonWindowsandotheroperatingsystemsthatarenotdevelopedbyMicrosoft.
ExFATvsFAT32:WhichOneisBetter?
NowthatwehavelookedatthedifferencesbetweenExFATandFAT32,let'slookatwhichofthetwofilesystemsisbetter.Whenyouarechoosingbetweenthesetwofilesystems,youneedtoconsiderseveralfactors,includingthestoragedeviceyouareusing,compatibility,andfilesizes.
Compatibility
OneofthemostsignificantdifferencesbetweenExFATandFAT32iscompatibility.ExFATiscompatiblewithWindows,Mac,andotherportabledevices.Thismakesiteasyforuserstosharefilesbetweendifferentdeviceswithoutworryingaboutcompatibilityissues.Ontheotherhand,FAT32hasamorelimitedrangeofcompatibility,makingitunsuitableforuseonMaccomputers.
StorageDeviceSizeLimits
ThesizeofthestoragedeviceyouareusingisanothercriticalfactortoconsiderwhenchoosingbetweenExFATandFAT32.Ifyouareusingasmallstoragedevice,suchasamemorycard,thenFAT32isthebetteroption.Thisfilesystemsupportslowercapacitydevices,makingitsuitableforuseonmemorycards.ExFAT,ontheotherhand,isbettersuitedforuseonlargercapacitydevices,suchasexternalharddrives.
FileSizes
Finally,thesizeofthefilesyouwillbestoringisanotheressentialfactortoconsider.ExFATsupportslargerfilesizesofupto16exabytescomparedtoFAT32's4GB.Ifyouaregoingtobestoringlargefiles,suchasvideosorhigh-resolutionimages,thenExFATisthebetteroptionduetoitssupportforlargerfilesizes.
Conclusion
Inconclusion,whenchoosingbetweenExFATandFAT32,itiscriticaltoconsiderthestoragedeviceyouareusing,filesizes,andcompatibility.Ifyouareusingasmallerstoragedevice,thenFAT32isthebetteroption.Ifyouwillbestoringlargefiles,thenExFATisthebetteroption.Bothfilesystemsarepopularandhavetheirbenefits,soitisuptotheusertodecidewhichonetousebasedontheirindividualneeds.
