Best External SSD for Gaming

SSDs are a fairly affordable way to increase storage capacity and improve the loading time of your games; however, you may dislike the thought of searching through the internals of your gaming computer to install one. This is the point where external SSDs are available, providing the same speeds for writing and reading similar to their internal counterparts; however, they can easily transfer from one device to another.

It doesn't need to be boring boxes with Adata that is tying itself to a distinctive honeycomb effect with RGB lighting and Sandisk developing an impervious to water and dust NVMe drive that can fit in one's palm. You can even make one yourself if your own NVMe is not being used due to an enclosure made by Asus, which transforms your existing drive into an external storage device that can be carried around.

ADATA SE800 1TB

It begins with an M.2 NVMe drive and is connected to the USB interface. In this instance, it's a 10-Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 connection instead of the 20Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 connection. However, the drive can 1GB/s data transfer speeds across both directions. If you've been ignoring it that it's double the speed of SATA-based drives, including internal SSDs that are natively connected via SATA.

This makes it different from the SSDs; you'll get the IP rating at no cost with the price. In terms of performance, when tested, the ADATA offers in the headline 1GB/s specifications for sequential transfer speeds while racking 4K random throughput, which is comparable to its competitors' 21MB/s for reads, and 40MB/s for writing.

Crucial X8 2TB

If you're after everything, then you'll have to be able to. Therefore, it can make sense to make compromises. This is the case with the Crucial X8 2TB USB Type-C SSD. It's not the most powerful external SSD available on Earth. However, it's fast. It's extremely large. It's housed in a solid and comfortable metal case. It's also priced well. At the moment, it's on sale from Best Buy for $239.

This is what was found during tests the Crucial X8 is capable of just 1GB/s in sequential transfers with both directions. The random performance of 4K is good, especially for this type of drive, with reading speeds of 27MB/s, and writes of about 40MB/s when QD1 is used. Because QLC NAND is used, there is a big concern about performance durability. Although the Crucial X8 can drop down to 380MB/s in sustained usage, during tests, it maintained this level for several tens of gigabytes and put it in line with the much more costly drives from WD.

ADATA SE900G

The most suitable external SSD for games is Adata's SE900G. Adata's NVMe-based model is among the most powerful external drives we've come across, with both the speed of sequential writing and reading reaching 2,200MB/s. It is connected via a USB Type-C connection; however, Adata comes with a Type-A adapter to accommodate more devices. We recommend the capacity of 1TB; however, it is also available in a 2TB or 512GB model. The RGB illumination that covers at the very top has an eye-catching design, making it appear like a home-based gaming keyboard and the best gaming mouse.

SanDisk Extreme Portable 1TB SSD

The lower-cost "older" version offers speeds that reach 550MBps, while the newer version almost doubles this speed by up to 1,050MBps (just more than 1GB per second) and is priced slightly higher for the larger 1TB model. The 2TB version that comes with this drive rises to $280 with the more recent version. It will be different when you're moving multiple copies of files onto or off your USB drives, but if you're copying a single document, you'll be able to come near those fast transfer speeds.

WD 500GB

This WD 500GB My Passport Go External SSD comes in various sizes and capacities, including a 2TB SSD external model. It is the most compact product we have reviewed, thanks to the built-in USB cord and a lightweight design since it weighs only 1.6 pounds. We also liked the sturdy frame and bumper made of rubber and the seamless connectivity with Sony PlayStation 4 consoles. The three-year warranty is also great and is in line with top choices.

While this is a premium quality drive, its writing and reading speed is somewhat lower than the top choices, with a maximum speed of around 400 MB/s. However, it is still able to load games swiftly. Also, there's no password protection in the box, although it is possible to download third-party software. For console gaming, make sure to check out the top external hard drive for the PS4.