If you run out of house in your gaming laptop computer, otherwise you merely need a straightforward solution to make your recreation library transportable, an exterior SSD supplies a solution to develop storage with out the hassles concerned with putting in a drive.

But selecting an exterior SSD includes a dizzying headache of choices, and making a poor alternative can go away you wanting. Lucky for you, we’ve executed the testing and may provide some stable suggestions which can be certain to assist, and never hinder, your gaming setup.

Updated 11/08/2022: To embody the Crucial X6 Portable SSD as our decide for greatest funds exterior SSD for gaming and the Adata Elite SE880 SSD as our decide for many transportable exterior SSD for gaming. Check out our new suggestions beneath for more information.

1. WD Black P50 Game Drive SSD (1TB) – Best general exterior SSD for gaming

Pros

• Up to 2GBps with SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps
• Distinctively militaristic styling

Cons

• Pricey in comparison with SuperSpeed 10Gbps drives
• Requires the extraordinarily uncommon SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps port for full efficiency

No, we didn’t make this alternative just because the drive is called “Game Drive SSD.” This WD drive hits the efficiency standards you need and it options lust-worthy USB 3.2 SuperSpeed 20Gbps help. Although USB 3.2 SuperSpeed 20Gbps has been uncommon, many more recent motherboards help it immediately. If your PC doesn’t help it, the excellent news is that it’ll help the much more widespread USB 3.2 SuperSpeed 10Gbps, the next-best factor. That nonetheless provides you good efficiency now, and future-proofs you on your subsequent mobo improve. Unlike a typical transportable SSD which will have a plastic or rubber shell to soak up hits, the WD Black P50 is metallic, which ought to assist wick and radiate the warmth from the smokin’ SSD inside. If final efficiency is what you’re after, WD’s P50 Game Drive is price each penny of its premium value.

Read our full
WD Black P50 Game Drive SSD (1TB) review

2. Seagate FireCuda Gaming SSD (1TB) – Best premium exterior SSD for gaming

Pros

• Drop-dead beautiful
• 2GBps transfers through SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps

Cons

• Pricey
• Superspeed USB 20Gbps ports are few and much between

Seagate’s FireCuda Gaming SSD is a worthy different, nevertheless it has a a lot steeper price ticket for comparable efficiency to the WD Black P50. However, the FireCuda has a fully beautiful 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 may possibly attain switch charges of as much as 2GBps. It is actually the coolest-looking exterior SSD on this record, and if it weren’t for the premium value, it could most likely be our high decide.

Read our full
Seagate FireCuda Gaming SSD (1TB) review

3. Crucial X6 Portable SSD (2TB) – Best funds exterior SSD for gaming

Pros

• Ergonomic design
• Good on a regular basis efficiency
• Very inexpensive for an exterior SSD

Cons

• Performance tanks when cache runs out

The Crucial X6 Portable SSD is a uniquely square-shaped SSD that may simply be positioned in your hip pocket. In a sea of transportable SSDs whose form makes them a literal ache when pocketed, the skinny, rounded-edge X6 is a sigh of aid. It’s not solely small and straightforward to hold round, nevertheless it additionally packs some respectable efficiency, and also you received’t discover many cheaper. While it’s not state-of-the-art quick, it’s quick sufficient for many customers and the inexpensive value makes it an important worth SSD.

Read our full
Crucial X6 Portable SSD (2TB) review

4. 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 score

MSRP:

$79.99 for 500GB I $129.99 for 1TB

The Crucial X6 is perhaps small, nevertheless 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 regular exterior SSD. It additionally weighs a featherlight 1.1 ounces—making it straightforward to neglect 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 check, the drive got here via with flying colours, nevertheless it misplaced a whole lot of floor within the longer contiguous write exams. This signifies that photograph and video execs with giant recordsdata to switch may wish to take into account different choices.

Read our full
Adata Elite SE880 SSD review

How we check exterior SSD recreation efficiency

The greatest query you wish to know is, how a lot does utilizing an exterior drive damage recreation efficiency. To give us an concept of how a lot it issues, we used UL’s new 3DMark Storage Benchmark. To create the benchmark, UL basically information 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 occasions to duplicate the patterns with out having to really load the sport.

For its check, 3DMark reproduces what occurs loading to the beginning menus of Battlefield V, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and Overwatch. 3DMark Storage additionally exams 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 check, 3DMark Storage exams copying the Steam folder for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive from an exterior SSD to the goal drive.

We used a Twelfth-gen Intel Core i9-12900K working 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 help. 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 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 within a Silverstone MS09 SATA enclosure that was plugged right into a USB 3.2 10Gbps port. And since you wish to know the way gradual a tough drive could be, we additionally ran the identical check on a Western Digital 14TB EasyStore exhausting drive plugged right into a USB 3.2 10Gbps port. The EasyStore is definitely restricted to USB 3.2 SuperSpeed 5Gbps.

IDG

What do you have to make of the above outcomes? Well, clearly in case you can set up an SSD within your PC, you’ll get essentially the most efficiency out of it. But it is best to take into account a few of the context. If you’re solely wanting on the huge lengthy purple bar on the high of the chart, take into account that the actual check is measuring what would occur in case you copied a big folder of recordsdata to the SSD. For most individuals, that’s solely executed every so often.

The extra widespread state of affairs is ready for a recreation to launch. Running an inner NVMe drive will nonetheless be quicker, however the hole closes somewhat. Between the three widespread 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 p.c 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 p.c or so higher bandwidth on the inner SSD, however with the much less graphically intense Overwatch, it’s nearer to 30 p.c.

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 confide in big lead over the slower SATA as soon as you progress to a process the place you’re copying an enormous quantity of recordsdata—such because the CS:GO outcomes. But once more, how typically do you try this?

Of course we will’t go away this with out mentioning simply horrible exhausting drives are. Would or not it’s extra improved with a quicker exhausting drive? Unlikely. The very minimal it is 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 exhausting drive except you want to attend for the whole lot.