Possibly your gaming laptop computer doesn’t have sufficient storage. Otherwise you merely need a simple technique to make your recreation library transportable. An exterior SSD can repair each of those points (and extra) by offering a simple technique to develop storage that you could tackle the go.
However selecting an exterior SSD means sorting by means of a dizzying array of choices, and making a poor alternative can depart you feeling onerous completed by. Fortunate for you, we’ve completed the testing and might provide some sure-fire suggestions which might be assured to assist, and never hinder, your gaming setup.
Why it’s best to belief us: We’re PCWorld. Our reviewers have been placing pc {hardware} by means of its paces for many years. Our exterior drive evaluations are thorough and rigorous, testing the bounds of each product — from efficiency benchmarks to the practicalities of normal use. As customers ourselves, we all know what makes a product distinctive. For extra about our testing course of, scroll to the underside of this text.
Essential X10 Professional – Greatest exterior SSD for gaming
Execs
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Near Thunderbolt 3 SSD efficiency in real-world transfers
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Tremendous-svelte kind issue
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IP55 rated to withstand mud and spray
Cons
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Pricier than 10Gbps SSDs
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No Kind-A adapter included
The WD Black P50 Recreation Drive has been parked on the high of our listing for a very long time. And never simply because it’s known as “Recreation Drive.” However now the Essential X10 has come alongside to knock the P50 off its perch, by providing superior efficiency at a greater worth.
The Essential 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 may see why we expect the Essential X10 is one of the best exterior SSD for avid gamers.
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Essential X10 Professional evaluation
Seagate FireCuda Gaming SSD (1TB) – Greatest premium exterior SSD for gaming
Execs
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Drop-dead attractive
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2GBps transfers through SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps
Cons
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Dear
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Superspeed USB 20Gbps ports are few and much between
Seagate’s FireCuda Gaming SSD is a worthy different, however it has a a lot steeper price ticket for comparable efficiency. Nevertheless, 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 appropriate with a SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps port, that means it might attain switch charges of as much as 2GBps. It’s definitely the coolest-looking exterior SSD on this listing.
Teamgroup M200 – Greatest finances exterior SSD for gaming
Execs
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Quick on a regular basis efficiency
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Out there in as much as 8TB (finally) capability
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Attractively styled
Cons
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No TBW ranking
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Firm will change parts if shortages demand
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Writes sluggish to 200MBps off cache
The Teamgroup M200 gives wonderful bang to your buck with 20Gbps switch charges and as much as 4TB of storage for a really cheap worth. 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. Sadly, Teamgroup doesn’t present a TBW ranking or official IP ranking for the M200 so it’s harder to check it as a complete to its rivals. Nevertheless the M200 is a quick, extraordinarily nicely priced exterior SSD with a gamer-friendly design that can look good and carry out nicely in virtually any setup.
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Teamgroup T-Pressure M200 20Gbps USB SSD evaluation
Adata Elite SE880 SSD – Most transportable exterior SSD for gaming
Execs
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Very quick, over-20Gbps USB connection
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Extraordinarily small kind issue
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5-year guarantee
Cons
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Slows significantly throughout lengthy contiguous writes
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Considerably low TBW ranking
The Essential X6 could 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 huge, 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 straightforward to neglect it’s even in your pocket.
By way 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 by means of with flying colours, however it misplaced quite a lot of floor within the longer contiguous write checks. Which means photograph and video professionals with massive information to switch would possibly need to think about different choices.
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Adata Elite SE880 SSD evaluation
SanDisk Professional-G40 – Greatest USB/Thunderbolt combo
Execs
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Each 10Gbps and Thunderbolt 3/4 connectivity
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Quick, particularly over Thunderbolt
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IP68 climate and mud resistant
The SanDisk Professional-G40 not solely offers you superfast 40Gbps efficiency however it additionally permits you the pliability to change to a slower, much less power-hungry USB connection, as nicely. It’s simply one of the best dual-bus compatibility drive that we’ve ever examined. The G40 gives the liberty of alternative between optimizing pace through Thunderbolt 3/4 at as much as 40Gbps or choosing the power-saving 10Gbps through USB. In our 48GB and 450GB switch checks, the drive completely blew away the competitors when linked with Thunderbolt.
When you resolve to take the Professional-G40 on the street for some harder outings you may 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 Professional-G40 isn’t any exception. But it surely’s completely value it when you worth efficiency above value or simply want the flexibility of a dual-bus SSD.
Learn our full
SanDisk Professional-G40 SSD evaluation
How we take a look at exterior SSD recreation efficiency
The most important query you need to know is, how a lot does utilizing an exterior drive damage recreation efficiency. To present us an concept of how a lot it issues, we used UL’s new 3DMark Storage Benchmark. To create the benchmark, UL primarily data the drive entry patterns throughout a number of widespread gaming duties to make “traces.” These drive-access traces are then run on the examined storage machine a number of instances 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, Name of Obligation: Black Ops 4and Overwatch. 3DMark Storage additionally checks 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 checks copying the Steam folder for Counter-Strike: World Offensive from an exterior SSD to the goal drive.
We used a Twelfth-gen Intel Core i9-12900K working Home 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 SuperSpeed 20Gbps assist. We then used a Vantec M.2 NVMe SSD to USB 3.2 Gen2x2 20G Kind 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 offers you an concept 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 need to know the way sluggish a tough drive could be, we additionally ran the identical take a look at on a Western Digital 14TB EasyStore onerous drive plugged right into a USB 3.2 10Gbps port. The EasyStore is definitely restricted to USB 3.2 SuperSpeed 5Gbps.
IDG
What must you make of the above outcomes? Effectively, clearly when you can set up an SSD inside your PC, you’ll get probably the most efficiency out of it. However it’s best to think about a few of the context. When you’re solely wanting on the large lengthy purple bar on the high of the chart, think about that the actual take a look at is measuring what would occur when you copied a big folder of information to the SSD. For most individuals, that’s solely completed on occasion.
The extra widespread situation is ready for a recreation to launch. Operating an inner NVMe drive will nonetheless be sooner, however the hole closes somewhat. Between the three common 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 would possibly see Battlefield V shave 25 p.c of the load time versus a USB 3.2 10Gbps drive. After all, efficiency can also be recreation dependent. As an illustration, each Name of Obligation and Battlefield see 45 p.c or so better bandwidth on the interior SSD, however with the much less graphically intense Overwatchit’s nearer to 30 p.c.
The opposite 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 confide in large 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. However once more, how typically do you try this?
After all we are able to’t depart this with out declaring simply horrible onerous drives are. Would it not be extra improved with a sooner onerous drive? Unlikely. The very minimal it’s best to use if storing video games on an exterior drive is a SATA SSD, so don’t run a recreation out of your exterior onerous drive until you want to attend for the whole lot.
