If you run out of house in your gaming laptop computer, otherwise you merely need a straightforward technique to make your recreation library transportable, an exterior SSD gives a technique to increase storage with out the hassles concerned with putting in a drive.
But selecting an exterior SSD entails a dizzying headache of choices, and making a poor alternative can depart you wanting. Lucky for you, we’ve finished the testing and might supply some stable suggestions which are positive to assist, and never hinder, your gaming setup.
Why you need to belief us: We are PCWorld. Our reviewers have been placing pc {hardware} via its paces for many years. Our exterior drive evaluations are thorough and rigorous, testing the boundaries of each product — from efficiency benchmarks to the practicalities of standard use. As customers ourselves, we all know what makes a product stand out.
Updated 08/31/2023: We’ve up to date our high decide with the Crucial X10 and appointed the Teamgroup M200 as our new alternative for finest funds exterior SSD. Read under to see what makes these 20Gbps drives stand out among the many competitors.
Crucial X10 Pro – Best exterior SSD for gaming
Pros
- Close to Thunderbolt 3 SSD efficiency in real-world transfers
- Super-svelte type issue
- IP55 rated to withstand mud and spray
Cons
- Pricier than 10Gbps SSDs
- No Type-A adapter included
The WD Black P50 Game Drive has been parked on the high of our listing for a very long time. And not simply because it’s known as “Game Drive.” But now the Crucial X10 has come alongside to knock the P50 off its perch, by providing superior efficiency at a greater value.
The Crucial X10 shined brightest in our 48GB file transfers, besting the 20Gbps aggressive set, and even nearing Thunderbolt 3 ranges. With this sort of real-world efficiency, plus a compact, rugged (IP55), anti-slip exterior, you’ll be able to see why we predict the Crucial X10 is the very best exterior SSD for players.
Read our full
Crucial X10 Pro review
Seagate FireCuda Gaming SSD (1TB) – Best premium exterior SSD for gaming
Pros
- Drop-dead beautiful
- 2GBps transfers by way of SuperPace USB 20Gbps
Cons
- Pricey
- Superspeed USB 20Gbps ports are few and much between
Seagate’s FireCuda Gaming SSD is a worthy various, however it has a a lot steeper price ticket for related efficiency. However, the FireCuda is a completely gorgeous exterior SSD and is worthy of a spot on any desktop. It’s not only a fairly façade although—it’s suitable with a SuperPace USB 20Gbps port, which means it could attain switch charges of as much as 2GBps. It’s actually the coolest-looking exterior SSD on this listing.
Read our full
Seagate FireCuda Gaming SSD (1TB) review
Teamgroup M200 – Best funds exterior SSD for gaming
Pros
- Fast on a regular basis efficiency
- Available in as much as 8TB (ultimately) capability
- Attractively styled
Cons
- No TBW ranking
- Company will change parts if shortages demand
- Writes gradual to 200MBps off cache
The Teamgroup M200 gives wonderful bang in your buck with 20Gbps switch charges and as much as 4TB of storage for a really cheap value. It has nice on a regular basis efficiency, too.
Its slick military-style design relies on the CheyTac M200 sniper rifle—an ideal match for these late night time frag classes. Unfortunately, Teamgroup doesn’t present a TBW ranking or official IP ranking for the M200 so it’s harder to match it as an entire to its opponents. However the M200 is a quick, extraordinarily properly priced exterior SSD with a gamer-friendly design that can look good and carry out properly in virtually any setup.
Read our full
Teamgroup T-Force M200 20Gbps USB SSD review
Adata Elite SE880 SSD – Most transportable exterior SSD for gaming
Pros
- Very quick, over-20Gbps USB connection
- Extremely small type issue
- 5-year guarantee
Cons
- Slows significantly throughout lengthy contiguous writes
- Somewhat low TBW ranking
The Crucial X6 may be small, however it nonetheless can’t match the Adata’s Elite SE880 for portability. Measuring in at solely 2.55 inches lengthy, 1.38 inches large, and 0.48 inches thick, it resembles a USB thumb drive greater than a typical exterior SSD. It additionally weighs a featherlight 1.1 ounces—making it simple to overlook it’s even in your pocket.
In phrases of efficiency, the Elite SE880 is fast to deal with on a regular basis duties however slows down throughout lengthy writes. In a real-world 48GB switch take a look at, the drive got here via with flying colours, however it misplaced loads of floor within the longer contiguous write assessments. This implies that photograph and video professionals with massive information to switch may wish to think about different choices.
Read our full
Adata Elite SE880 SSD review
SanDisk Pro-G40 – Best USB/Thunderbolt combo
Pros
- Both 10Gbps and Thunderbolt 3/4 connectivity
- Fast, particularly over Thunderbolt
- IP68 climate and mud resistant
The SanDisk Pro-G40 not solely provides you superfast 40Gbps efficiency however it additionally permits you the pliability to modify to a slower, much less power-hungry USB connection, as properly. It’s simply the very best dual-bus compatibility drive that we’ve ever examined. The G40 gives the liberty of alternative between optimizing velocity by way of Thunderbolt 3/4 at as much as 40Gbps or choosing the power-saving 10Gbps by way of USB. In our 48GB and 450GB switch assessments, the drive completely blew away the competitors when linked with Thunderbolt.
If you resolve to take the Pro-G40 on the street for some harder outings you’ll be able to relaxation assured it’ll be simply advantageous given its IP68 ranking for climate and mud resistance. Thunderbolt drives are by no means actually low cost and SanDisk’s Pro-G40 is not any exception. But it’s completely price it for those who worth efficiency above value or simply want the flexibility of a dual-bus SSD.
Read our full
SanDisk Pro-G40 SSD review
How we take a look at exterior SSD recreation efficiency
The greatest query you wish to know is, how a lot does utilizing an exterior drive harm recreation efficiency. To give us an thought of how a lot it issues, we used UL’s new 3DMark Storage Benchmark. To create the benchmark, UL primarily information the drive entry patterns throughout a number of frequent gaming duties to make “traces.” These drive-access traces are then run on the examined storage machine a number of occasions to duplicate the patterns with out having to really load the sport.
For its take a look at, 3DMark reproduces what occurs loading to the beginning menus of Battlefield V, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and Overwatch. 3DMark Storage additionally assessments utilizing OBS, or Open Broadcast System, to document Overwatch being performed at 1080p decision at 60fps, putting in The Outer Worlds from the Epic launcher, and saving a recreation in The Outer Worlds. For the ultimate take a look at, 3DMark Storage assessments copying the Steam folder for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive from an exterior SSD to the goal drive.
We used a 12th-gen Intel Core i9-12900Okay operating Windows 11 on an Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero motherboard. The board options native Thunderbolt 4 and USB 3.2 10Gbps ports. We added a Silverstone ECU06 for USB 3.2 SuperPace 20Gbps assist. We then used a Vantec M.2 NVMe SSD to USB 3.2 Gen2x2 20G Type C enclosure with a Western Digital SN700 NVMe SSD to check USB 3.2 20Gbps and 10Gbps efficiency. We additionally put in the identical SN700 right into a PCIe 3.0 riser card to check its native efficiency. This provides you an thought of how a lot you lose going from being put in contained in the laptop computer or PC in comparison with utilizing a USB port. For added distinction, we additionally ran 3DMark Storage on an older Plextor PX-512M7VG SATA SSD inside a Silverstone MS09 SATA enclosure that was plugged right into a USB 3.2 10Gbps port. And since you wish to understand how gradual a tough drive can be, we additionally ran the identical take a look at on a Western Digital 14TB EasyStore arduous drive plugged right into a USB 3.2 10Gbps port. The EasyStore is definitely restricted to USB 3.2 SuperPace 5Gbps.
IDG
What must you make of the above outcomes? Well, clearly for those who can set up an SSD inside your PC, you’ll get probably the most efficiency out of it. But you need to think about a few of the context. If you’re solely wanting on the massive lengthy pink bar on the high of the chart, think about that the actual take a look at is measuring what would occur for those who copied a big folder of information to the SSD. For most individuals, that’s solely finished from time to time.
The extra frequent situation is ready for a recreation to launch. Running an inner NVMe drive will nonetheless be quicker, however the hole closes somewhat. Between the three in style USB interfaces: USB 20Gbps, USB 10Gbps, and SATA on USB 10Gbps, the quickest is USB 3.2 20Gbps. With a USB 3.2 20Gbps SSD, you may see Battlefield V shave 25 % of the load time versus a USB 3.2 10Gbps drive. Of course, efficiency can also be recreation dependent. For occasion, each Call of Duty and Battlefield see 45 % or so larger bandwidth on the interior SSD, however with the much less graphically intense Overwatch, it’s nearer to 30 %.
The different shock is the efficiency of the SATA SSD versus the NVMe SSD when the NVMe SSD is in a USB 3.2 10Gbps port. In recreation masses, saves, and set up eventualities, they’re pretty shut. The NVMe exterior SSD does divulge heart’s contents to enormous lead over the slower SATA as soon as you progress to a activity the place you’re copying an enormous quantity of information—such because the CS:GO outcomes. But once more, how usually do you do this?
Of course we are able to’t depart this with out stating simply horrible arduous drives are. Would it’s extra improved with a quicker arduous drive? Unlikely. The very minimal you need to use if storing video games on an exterior drive is a SATA SSD, so don’t run a recreation out of your exterior arduous drive except you want to attend for every thing.