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Here are our recommendations on some of the best external SSDs that cater to your every gaming and back up needs.
Solid State Drive (SSD) technology has come very far, and today there are so many options available to choose from. This can cause confusion amongst buyers, especially those looking for an external SSD solution. Solid State Drive technology has evolved heavily every few years, especially since the introduction of NVMe, which drastically increased the speeds.
A wide variety of external SSDs are available, and before you purchase one, there are a few considerations to make.
If you are going to use it for gaming, then you need good performance as well as durability. Game load times will heavily depend on whether you have a fast enough SSD. Although for a backup-only drive, performance is not a major concern. With that said, let’s check out various external solutions that are available. We have listed options based on various reliable brands, and different technologies, including budget-oriented SATA SSDs, extremely fast & premium USB 4 drives, as well as USB 3.2 drives, which are also quite fast.
1. Corsair EX400U USB4 Portable External Type-C SSD
Corsair EX400U is an excellent portable SSD to consider for those who want the absolute fastest external SSD solution. This SSD has support for USB4, and with that incredible bandwidth, it brings super-fast transfer speeds. The drive connects with USB-C and can be used with Thunderbolt 4, Thunderbolt 3, as well as USB 4 devices.
Corsair’s EX400U USB4 Portable SSD sports up to 4,000 MB/s read and 3,600 MB/s write speeds. Whether you want to use it on your Mac or your PC, it is a superb option for your data storage needs. For PC gamers, such SSDs are very useful even for storing new, demanding games. The speed is ample for ensuring that games will load fast. This SSD is available in various capacities, from 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB as well. It doesn’t matter how big your backup and gaming needs are; this premium external SSD option has you covered.
2. Samsung T9 Portable SSD USB 3.2 Gen 2×2
Samsung T9 Portable SSD is a reliable solution for your gaming and backup needs. This is a fast SSD aimed at facilitating quick transfer speeds and is also fit for content creation. The Samsung T9 SSD features Dynamic Thermal Guard, which can control the heat and ensure the SSD can remain at steady temperatures during extended usage.
On this drive, you also get support for Samsung Magician software. It can help you keep the firmware up to date, and allow you access to the encryption features. The app is a great way to monitor your drive’s health as well. Talking about the speed, Samsung’s T9 Portable SSD can reach up to 2000 MB/s read and write speed. The storage drive is available in many different capacities: 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB.
3. SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD with USB4
SanDisk is one of the most renowned brands for storage solutions. The SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD with USB4 is another top-of-the-line storage solution, with support for the latest USB 4 technology. With that, you get quick transfer speeds again, reaching up to 3,800 MB/s read and 3,700 MB/s write speeds.
This is way faster than conventional drives, making it an excellent option to pair with a high-end gaming PC. For backup, too, the SanDisk Extreme Pro with USB4 is a reliable pick. A great feature about this drive is its durability. It features a robust silicone body with aluminum materials, making it great to travel with. The SSD is available in 2TB and 4TB capacities.
4. Crucial X10 Pro Portable SSD USB 3.2
Crucial X10 Pro Portable SSD with USB 3.2 support is another great pick for your gaming and backup requirements. The brand is well known for being a major manufacturer of DRAM and storage solutions. This drive supports up to 2100 MB/s read and 2,000 MB/s write speeds. It can be used for many different devices, and its speed is still fast enough for modern gaming requirements on a PC.
Speaking of build quality, the Crucial X10 Pro is built to last with IP55 water and dust resistance. Crucial also claims that it has up to two meters of drop resistance. It connects with USB-C and USB-A. In addition to the drive itself, users get Acronis True Image upon registration, which is a useful software for disk management. Acronis True Image can be used for backup, cloning, and imaging processes. The drive is available in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities.
5. Kingston XS2000 4TB High Performance Portable SSD with USB-C
Kingston XS2000 is an excellent portable drive to pick for your backup needs as well as gaming requirements. While many SSDs have sizable dimensions, this XS2000 drive from Kingston stands out to be a very portable option. It is a pocket-sized SSD with support for up to USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 bandwidth. While it is available in other capacities too, the variant we have featured has a 4TB capacity.
Despite its small size, it has support for up to 2,000 MB/s read and write speeds. This is more than adequate for modern gaming, although not as fast as USB 4 drives. You can reliably pick it as a portable, on-the-go backup solution as well. Kingston XS2000 has water and dust resistance properties, and the SSD is also shockproof.
6. Seagate Game Drive for PS5 External SSD USB 3.2
If you are looking for the perfect external SSD for your PlayStation 5 gaming console, look no further than the Seagate Game Drive for PS5 External SSD. This has USB 3.2 support, although its capabilities are different from the USB4 storage solutions we talked about before. The speed of Seagate’s Game Drive External SSD is only fast enough to store PS5 games. However, it is quite convenient to have this as an option to put away less-used games. Then, you can quickly transfer them from this SSD to your main storage device when needed.
For PS4 games, the Seagate Game Drive supports native gameplay. You can easily store a ton of PS4 games and have them available to play always. Seagate Game Drive for PS5 External SSD is available in 1TB and 2TB variants. While you can technically use this SSD on a PC as well, it is primarily designed to be an external SSD for gaming. The design of this SSD also features a white color, with the PlayStation logo as well.
7. WD Black D30 Game SSD Portable External Solid State Drive
The WD Black D30 Game SSD is a premium storage solution for various platforms, including PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. You can expect great reliability from this, so it can also work well as a backup solution. The speed of WD Black D30 only reaches up to 900MB/s, so it is not as fast as USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 options. Still, it is fast enough to store and run many games directly on a PC.
For consoles, it can also support native playback depending on the platform. Western Digital says you can store up to 50 games with the 2TB storage variant. It is also available in 1TB and 500GB capacities. The design is very robust, featuring an all-black look that will perfectly go along with any gaming setup.
How To Select the Right External SSD for Your Usage
Your PC has internal SSD ports, which are quite fast. However, for reliable performance with external SSDs, you also need to ensure you have high-bandwidth USB ports. USB 4 is the fastest, and the latest generation of PCs has support for such USB 4 SSDs that can reach up to approximately 4,000 MB/s transfer speeds.
However, most other PCs only support USB 3.2 Gen 2 or lower. Accordingly, you should consider what the maximum USB bandwidth supported by your system is before finalizing your purchase of a new external SSD. Do note that for backup purposes, all you need is high durability and reliability to ensure your data remains safe.
Usually, backup drives are not used often. Hence, speed is not a major consideration here, like it is for gaming needs. If you do have a fast external SSD plugged into your PC, you can store games on it, and they won’t have any issues running off the portable drive. For dedicated gamers who want to store the latest AAA games on their external SSD, opting for a USB 4 or USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 SSD is most preferable.
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