Best external SSD for gaming 2025: Portable performance drives

Our exterior drive analyses are extensive and rigorous, examining the limitations of every item– from efficiency criteria to the practicalities of regular usage. As consumers ourselves, we understand what makes a product phenomenal.

Lexar SL500: A stablemate of the Lexar SL600– our choice for finest 20Gbps external drive– the SL500 stands apart for its very slim and eye-catching form element. It has virtually similar efficiency to the SL600, with the exemption of doing slower than its brother or sister in our 48GB data creates.

Well, plainly if you can mount an SSD inside of your Computer, you’ll get the most efficiency out of it. If you’re only looking at the big lengthy red bar at the top of the chart, consider that the particular examination is gauging what would take place if you replicated a big folder of data to the SSD.

We after that used a Vantec M. 2 NVMe SSD to USB 3.2 Gen2x2 20G Kind C unit with a Western Digital SN700 NVMe SSD to test USB 3.2 20Gbps and 10Gbps performance. For added contrast, we additionally ran 3DMark Storage on an older Plextor PX-512M7VG SATA SSD inside of a Silverstone MS09 SATA unit that was plugged right into a USB 3.2 10Gbps port. And because you desire to recognize exactly how slow a difficult drive would be, we additionally ran the same examination on a Western Digital 14TB EasyStore tough drive connected right into a USB 3.2 10Gbps port.

Possibly your pc gaming laptop doesn’t have enough storage space. Or you just desire a very easy means to make your video game library portable. An exterior SSD can repair both of these problems (and a lot more) by offering a simple means to expand storage space that you can take on the go.

Running an interior NVMe drive will still be quicker, however the space shuts a little. With a USB 3.2 20Gbps SSD, you might see Battleground V cut 25 percent of the load time versus a USB 3.2 10Gbps drive. Both Phone call of Duty and Field of battle see 45 percent or so greater bandwidth on the internal SSD, but with the less graphically intense Overwatch, it’s closer to 30 percent.

This wee drive additionally comes in as much as 4TB abilities, making it a well-rounded good selection if you’re seeking to obtain a great deal of storage and efficiency in a tiny bundle. We’re additionally keen on its five-year service warranty and the cool metal box it comes in, which can be repurposed for other uses.

The competition is very enclose the leading tier of 20Gbps exterior drives, with the prominent competitors trading wins backwards and forwards the benchmark graphes. A victor is a champion, and in the end, the Lexar overtook our previous champ, Crucial’s X10 Pro, even if only by a hair.

In practically every benchmark, the SE920 ex-spouse defeated the OWC Express 1M2 at 40Gbps efficiency, albeit by small margins. It likewise comes with an awesome built-in follower, which is turned on by gliding open the enclosure. This kept our drive visibly without heat during our benchmark examinations.

The greatest inquiry you wish to know is, just how much does using an external drive hurt game efficiency. To offer us a concept of how much it matters, we made use of UL’s brand-new 3DMark Storage Standard. To develop the standard, UL basically videotapes the drive gain access to patterns during numerous typical gaming tasks to make “traces.” These drive-access traces are then run on the checked storage device several times to replicate the patterns without having to in fact load the video game.

Adata SD810: This is a solid 20Gbps drive, as long as you aren’t in the habit of writing very large quantities of information to it often, due to the fact that in our examinations, the drive slowed down significantly because scenario. That being stated, the 4TB capacity is a particularly good value at just $300.

But selecting an external SSD indicates sorting through a dizzying array of options, and making a poor choice can leave you really feeling difficult done by. Lucky for you, we have actually done the screening and can provide some excellent referrals that are guaranteed to aid, and not impede, your gaming arrangement.

Lexar Shield 700: Like the PNY RP60 over, the Lexar Armor 700 is a 20Gbps drive that can stand up to some misuse– perfect for the player on the move, or the accident-prone. Its IP66 weatherized body is attractive, its efficiency is affordable. It’s additionally a little bit expensive.

The PNY RP60 uses more than just a tough IP65-rated exterior that shields against dust and water beads; and while light-weight and extremely handsome too; the drive is additionally an admirable entertainer, also besting among the fastest 20Gbps drives we have actually checked– the Critical X10 Pro– in a couple of our tests.

The outcome is that you can expect excellent performance from the Lexar SL600. It also comes in a distinctively shaped form element, total with an opening to suit a lanyard, for very easy toting. Gamers might value that you can also add some bling by going with the SL660 variation, which includes RGB lights within its miniature handle. The drive features the basic five year guarantee.

Teamgroup PD20M: This little 20Gbps drive features a convenient travel instance and is among the lightest mobile drives we’ve evaluated. The only problem is, its efficiency slows down significantly once its 20GB of cache has been tapped. Best for light-duty chores.

A USB 4 outside SSD isn’t for every person. Not only does your computer demand to sustain the spec in order to take advantage of the 40Gbps transfers, however you’ll also require to be ready to pay a costs for the opportunity.

Teamgroup PD20M: This little 20Gbps drive comes with a helpful traveling situation and is one of the lightest portable drives we have actually checked. For the last examination, 3DMark Storage space checks duplicating the Steam folder for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive from an exterior SSD to the target drive.

When efficiency is this carefully matched amongst items, the determining factor should be rate. And right here, also, the SL600 is neck-and-neck with the Critical X10 Pro, and priced a little to significantly less costly than some of its competitors, at least since this writing– particularly at the 2TB degree.

The other surprise is the efficiency of the SATA SSD versus the NVMe SSD when the NVMe SSD remains in a USB 3.2 10Gbps port. In game lots, conserves, and set up scenarios, they’re rather close. The NVMe exterior SSD does open to substantial lead over the slower SATA once you transfer to a task where you’re copying a significant quantity of files– such as the CS: GO results. But once more, just how usually do you do that?

And since you want to understand exactly how slow-moving a hard drive would be, we also ran the same test on a Western Digital 14TB EasyStore hard drive plugged into a USB 3.2 10Gbps port. With a USB 3.2 20Gbps SSD, you may see Field of battle V shave 25 percent of the lots time versus a USB 3.2 10Gbps drive. The really minimum you ought to use if saving video games on an exterior drive is a SATA SSD, so do not run a game from your external tough drive unless you such as to wait for whatever.

If you want an extremely little SSD that you can conveniently match a pocket, the Sabrent Rocket Nano V2 is that. This USB 3.2 × 2 20Gbps drive procedures a tiny 2.73 inches long, 1.16-inches vast, and 0.44-inches thick. It evaluates a dainty 1.7 ounces.

Its glossy military-style design is based upon the CheyTac M200 sniper rifle– an excellent fit for those late night frag sessions. Regrettably, Teamgroup doesn’t supply a TBW rating or main IP score for the M200 so it’s more difficult to compare it in its entirety to its rivals. Nonetheless the M200 is a fast, incredibly well valued exterior SSD with a gamer-friendly style that will look excellent and execute well in nearly any kind of configuration.

Of training course we can’t leave this without aiming out just terrible difficult drives are. The really minimum you ought to make use of if storing video games on an exterior drive is a SATA SSD, so do not run a video game from your external tough drive unless you like to wait for whatever.

If you’re ready to enter the club, nevertheless, the Adata SE920 ex-spouse will certainly compensate you with the fastest USB 4 performance that we have actually experienced, and at a lot more inexpensive rate than our previous choice for USB 4, the OWC Express 1M2– we’re speaking $140 for a 1TB Adata SE920 versus $250 for the OWC drive. And if you desire a lot of capability, the Adata SE920 EX includes approximately 4TB, for a practical $380.

For its examination, 3DMark duplicates what takes place filling to the start food selections of Combat zone V, Phone Call of Obligation: Black Ops 4, and Overwatch. 3DMark Storage likewise checks making use of OBS, or Open Program System, to record Overwatch being played at 1080p resolution at 60fps, installing The External Worlds from the Impressive launcher, and saving a video game in The Outer Globes. For the last test, 3DMark Storage space evaluates replicating the Steam folder for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive from an external SSD to the target drive.

It was 2nd only to the Essential X10 Pro in our 450GB compose examination. And it took the top area in CrystalDiskMark 8’s arbitrary composes, and was very affordable in arbitrary reads.