If you're using Torrents, you're a chump. Torrents connect to other people sharing the file you want, and anyone you're connected to can see your IP address. Your IP address is individually identifiable (by contacting your Internet Service Provider). Torrents are the
worst way to download music. (And let's not get into the intricacies of anonymity and Peer Guardian).
Also, an external hard drive would not "ease" your laptop's processor. A processor processes and a hard drive is storage. They perform two completely different tasks.
-Philip