Possibly your gaming laptop computer doesn’t have sufficient storage. Otherwise you merely need a simple option to make your sport library moveable. An exterior SSD can repair each of those points (and extra) by offering a simple option to increase storage you can tackle the go.
However selecting an exterior SSD means sorting via a dizzying array of choices, and making a poor alternative can depart you feeling laborious carried out by. Fortunate for you, we’ve carried out the testing and might supply some sure-fire suggestions which can 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 laptop {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 shoppers ourselves, we all know what makes a product distinctive. For extra about our testing course of, scroll to the underside of this text.
Scroll beneath our suggestions to find out about different exterior SSDs for gaming that didn’t make our checklist.
Lexar SL600 Blaze – Finest 20Gbps exterior SSD for gaming
Execs
- Good 20Gbps performer
- Prime bang for the buck
- 5-year guarantee
Cons
- 4TB mannequin not but out there
The competitors may be very shut within the high tier of 20Gbps exterior drives, with the big-name contenders buying and selling wins up and down the benchmark charts. However a winner is a winner, and in the long run, the Lexar overtook our earlier champ, Essential’s X10 Professional, even when solely by a hair.
The upshot is you can count on wonderful efficiency from the Lexar SL600. It additionally is available in a uniquely formed type issue, full with a gap to accommodate a lanyard, for simple toting. Avid gamers may admire you can even add some bling by choosing the SL660 variant, which options RGB lighting inside its miniature deal with. The drive comes with the usual 5 yr guarantee.
When efficiency is that this carefully matched amongst merchandise, the figuring out issue must be value. And right here, too, the SL600 is neck-and-neck with the Essential X10 Professional, and priced barely to considerably cheaper than a few of its opponents, at the least as of this writing — significantly on the 2TB stage.
Learn our full
Lexar SL600 20Gbps USB SSD assessment
Teamgroup M200 – Finest price range 20Gbps exterior SSD for gaming
Execs
- Quick on a regular basis efficiency
- Out there in as much as 8TB (finally) capability
- Attractively styled
Cons
- No TBW ranking
- Firm will change elements if shortages demand
- Writes sluggish to 200MBps off cache
The Teamgroup M200 supplies 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 is predicated on the CheyTac M200 sniper rifle—an ideal match for these late evening frag classes. Sadly, Teamgroup doesn’t present a TBW ranking or official IP ranking for the M200 so it’s harder to match it as a complete to its opponents. Nonetheless 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.
Learn our full
Teamgroup T-Power M200 20Gbps USB SSD assessment
PNY RP60 20Gbps USB SSD – Finest rugged 20Gbps exterior SSD for gaming
Execs
- Good-looking, IP65-rated design (dust-proof, waterproof)
- Good 20Gbps efficiency
- Good flat Sort-C USB ribbon cable
Cons
- USB port plug tether is troublesome to reinsert.
In case you are likely to take your gaming drive in every single place, and/otherwise you’re not probably the most cautious individual with {hardware}, a ruggedized exterior SSD is a sensible reply.
The PNY RP60 presents greater than only a rugged IP65-rated exterior that protects towards mud and water droplets; and whereas very good-looking and light-weight in addition; the drive can also be an admirable performer, even besting one of many quickest 20Gbps drives we’ve examined — the Essential X10 Professional — in a few our exams.
The RP60 can also be competitively priced at $100 and $180 for 1TB and 2TB, respectively.
Learn our full
PNY RP60 20Gbps USB SSD assessment
Sabrent Rocket Nano V2 – Most moveable 20Gbps exterior SSD for gaming
Execs
- Extraordinarily small profile
- Shock-absorbing silicone jacket
- Prime-flight packaging
- Good general efficiency
Cons
- A tad behind the 20Gbps curve performance-wise
In case you’re after a really small SSD you can simply match right into a pocket, the Sabrent Rocket Nano V2 is that. This USB 3.2×2 20Gbps drive measures a petite 2.73 inches lengthy, 1.16-inches vast, and 0.44-inches thick. It weighs a dainty 1.7 ounces.
In fact, you’ll most likely wish to slide on its included shock-absorbing silicone jacket (proven in image), which is able to add .06 inches to all its dimensions, whereas giving it a badass look.
However appears apart, the Nano V2 is a stable performer. It wasn’t fairly on the identical stage as our high picks in the whole lot, but it surely traded wins and losses inside the pack. For example it was second solely to the Essential X10 Professional in our 450GB write take a look at. And it took the highest spot in CrystalDiskMark 8’s random writes, and was very aggressive in random reads.
This wee drive additionally is available in as much as 4TB capacities, making it an all-around sensible choice if you happen to’re trying to get lots of storage and efficiency in a tiny bundle. We’re additionally keen on its five-year guarantee and the nifty metallic field it is available in, which could be repurposed for different makes use of.
Learn our full
Sabrent Rocket Nano V2 assessment
Adata SE920 EX – Finest USB 4 exterior SSD for gaming
Execs
- Quickest exterior storage we’ve examined (at 40Gbps)
- Reasonably priced for the ilk
- Trendy enclosure
- Out there as much as 4TB
- Additionally quick on the Mac
Cons
- Pricier than USB 3.2×2 (20Gbps)
A USB 4 exterior SSD isn’t for everybody. Not solely does your PC must help the spec with the intention to reap the benefits of the 40Gbps transfers, however you’ll additionally must be prepared to pay a premium for the privilege.
In case you’re able to enter the membership, nonetheless, the Adata SE920 EX will reward you with the quickest USB 4 efficiency that we’ve skilled, and at a way more inexpensive value than our earlier decide for USB 4, the OWC Categorical 1M2 — we’re speaking $140 for a 1TB Adata SE920 versus $250 for the OWC drive. And if you need lots of capability, the Adata SE920 EX comes with as much as 4TB, for an inexpensive $380.
In virtually each benchmark, the SE920 EX beat the OWC Categorical 1M2 at 40Gbps efficiency, albeit by small margins. It additionally comes with a nifty built-in fan, which is activated by sliding open the enclosure. This stored our drive noticeably free of warmth throughout our benchmark exams.
The SE920 EX can also be fairly moveable at 4.13 inches lengthy by 2.52-inches vast by 0.62-inches thick, and weighing 7 ounces — one other benefit it has over the bulkier OWC Categorical 1M2.
Ultimately, the selection for a USB 4 exterior SSD is evident.
Different choice: You may get record-breaking efficiency by rolling your personal USB 4 exterior SSD, utilizing Ugreen’s CM642 enclosure. In our exams, the $110 enclosure mixed with an NVMe SSD bested the efficiency of the 2 exterior USB 4 SSDs above.
Learn our full
Adata SE920 USB 4 SSD assessment
Different exterior drive critiques:
- Ugreen CM642 USB4: Quick, good-looking, rugged, and straightforward to make use of, Ugreen’s CM642 USB4 SSD enclosure is an effective way to roll your personal high-performance exterior storage.
- Corsair Flash Survivor: In case you’re after an eminently moveable USB follow 10Gbps/NVMe velocity that’s additionally weatherproofed, ruggedized, and appears burly as hell, that is the drive for you.
- Seagate Recreation Drive SSD: Focused at PS4/PS5 homeowners, the 10Gbps SSD may be very quick for its class, and attractively styled, full with a Ps brand, but it surely’s comparatively expensive.
- Lexar Armor 700: Just like the PNY RP60 above, the Lexar Armor 700 is a 20Gbps drive that may stand up to some abuse — good for the gamer on the go, or the accident-prone. Its IP66 weatherized physique is engaging, its efficiency is aggressive. It’s additionally a bit expensive.
- Teamgroup PD20M: This little 20Gbps drive comes with a useful journey case and is without doubt one of the lightest moveable drives we’ve examined. The one drawback is, its efficiency slows significantly as soon as its 20GB of cache has been tapped. Finest for light-duty chores.
- Adata SD810: This can be a stable 20Gbps drive, so long as you aren’t within the behavior of writing very giant quantities of information to it frequently, as a result of in our exams, the drive slowed down significantly in that state of affairs. That being mentioned, the 4TB capability is a very good worth at simply $300.
- Lexar SL500: A stablemate of the Lexar SL600 — our decide for finest 20Gbps exterior drive — the SL500 stands out for its very slim and engaging type issue. It has virtually an identical efficiency to the SL600, except for performing slower than its sibling in our 48GB file writes.
How we take a look at exterior SSD sport efficiency
The most important query you wish to know is, how a lot does utilizing an exterior drive harm sport efficiency. To offer 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 system a number of instances to duplicate the patterns with out having to truly load the sport.
For its take a look at, 3DMark reproduces what occurs loading to the beginning menus of Battlefield V, Name of Responsibility: Black Ops 4, and Overwatch. 3DMark Storage additionally exams utilizing OBS, or Open Broadcast System, to report Overwatch being performed at 1080p decision at 60fps, putting in The Outer Worlds from the Epic launcher, and saving a sport in The Outer Worlds. For the ultimate take a look at, 3DMark Storage exams 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 operating 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 help. We then used a Vantec M.2 NVMe SSD to USB 3.2 Gen2x2 20G Sort 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 understand how sluggish a tough drive could be, we additionally ran the identical take a look at on a Western Digital 14TB EasyStore laborious drive plugged right into a USB 3.2 10Gbps port. The EasyStore is definitely restricted to USB 3.2 SuperSpeed 5Gbps.
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What do you have to make of the above outcomes? Properly, clearly if you happen to can set up an SSD within your PC, you’ll get probably the most efficiency out of it. However it’s best to contemplate a few of the context. In case you’re solely wanting on the huge lengthy crimson bar on the high of the chart, contemplate that the actual take a look at is measuring what would occur if you happen to copied a big folder of information to the SSD. For most individuals, that’s solely carried out from time to time.
The extra widespread state of affairs is ready for a sport to launch. Working an inner NVMe drive will nonetheless be quicker, however the hole closes a little bit. Between the three standard 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. In fact, efficiency can also be sport dependent. For example, each Name of Responsibility and Battlefield see 45 % or so better bandwidth on the interior SSD, however with the much less graphically intense Overwatch, it’s nearer to 30 %.
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 sport hundreds, saves, and set up situations, they’re pretty shut. The NVMe exterior SSD does confide in big 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 usually do you try this?
In fact we are able to’t depart this with out mentioning simply horrible laborious drives are. Would it not be extra improved with a quicker laborious 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 sport out of your exterior laborious drive until you want to attend for the whole lot.