Finest exterior SSD for gaming 2025: Moveable efficiency drives

Possibly your gaming laptop computer doesn’t have sufficient storage. Otherwise you merely need a simple method to make your sport library moveable. An exterior SSD can repair each of those points (and extra) by offering a simple method to broaden storage that you would be able to tackle the go.

However selecting an exterior SSD means sorting by means of a dizzying array of choices, and making a poor selection can go away you feeling laborious completed by. Fortunate for you, we’ve completed the testing and might supply some sure-fire suggestions which might be assured to assist, and never hinder, your gaming setup.

Why it is best to belief us: We’re PCWorld. Our reviewers have been placing laptop {hardware} by means of 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 under 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

Professionals

• Good 20Gbps performer
• High bang for the buck
• 5-year guarantee

Cons

• 4TB mannequin not but obtainable

Finest Costs At present:

₹37,948

The competitors could 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 that you would be able to 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. Players would possibly admire that you would be able to 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 intently matched amongst merchandise, the figuring out issue needs to be worth. 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 rivals, at the least as of this writing — significantly on the 2TB stage.

Learn our full

Lexar SL600 20Gbps USB SSD assessment

Teamgroup M200 – Finest funds 20Gbps exterior SSD for gaming

Professionals

• Quick on a regular basis efficiency
• Obtainable in as much as 8TB (ultimately) capability
• Attractively styled

Cons

• No TBW score
• 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 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 evening frag periods. Sadly, Teamgroup doesn’t present a TBW score or official IP score for the M200 so it’s harder to match it as an entire to its rivals. 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-Pressure M200 20Gbps USB SSD assessment

PNY RP60 20Gbps USB SSD – Finest rugged 20Gbps exterior SSD for gaming

Professionals

• Good-looking, IP65-rated design (dust-proof, water resistant)
• Good 20Gbps efficiency
• Good flat Sort-C USB ribbon cable

Cons

• USB port plug tether is tough to reinsert.

Should you are inclined to take your gaming drive all over the place, and/otherwise you’re not essentially the most cautious particular person with {hardware}, a ruggedized exterior SSD is a sensible reply.

The PNY RP60 presents greater than only a rugged IP65-rated exterior that protects in opposition to 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 assessments.

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

Professionals

• Extraordinarily small profile
• Shock-absorbing silicone jacket
• High-flight packaging
• Good general efficiency

Cons

• A tad behind the 20Gbps curve performance-wise

Finest Costs At present:

₹22,565.07

Should you’re after a really small SSD that you would be able to 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 broad, 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 to be like apart, the Nano V2 is a strong performer. It wasn’t fairly on the identical stage as our high picks in the whole lot, but it surely traded wins and losses throughout the pack. As an illustration 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 good selection should you’re trying to get loads of storage and efficiency in a tiny package deal. We’re additionally keen on its five-year guarantee and the nifty steel field it is available in, which may 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

Professionals

• Quickest exterior storage we’ve examined (at 40Gbps)
• Inexpensive for the ilk
• Fashionable enclosure
• Obtainable 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 a purpose to benefit from the 40Gbps transfers, however you’ll additionally have to be keen to pay a premium for the privilege.

Should 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 reasonably priced worth than our earlier decide for USB 4, the OWC Specific 1M2 — we’re speaking $180 for a 1TB Adata SE920 versus $250 for the OWC drive. And if you need loads of capability, the Adata SE920 EX comes with as much as 4TB, for an affordable $500 (in comparison with OWC’s $598.99).

In virtually each benchmark, the SE920 EX beat the OWC Specific 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 assessments.

The SE920 EX can also be fairly moveable at 4.13 inches lengthy by 2.52-inches broad by 0.62-inches thick, and weighing 7 ounces — one other benefit it has over the bulkier OWC Specific 1M2.

Ultimately, the selection for a USB 4 exterior SSD is obvious.

Different possibility: You may get record-breaking efficiency by rolling your personal USB 4 exterior SSD, utilizing Ugreen’s CM642 enclosure. In our assessments, the $110 enclosure mixed with an NVMe SSD bested the efficiency of the 2 exterior USB 4 SSDs above.

Learn our full

Adata SE920 USB4 SSD assessment

Different exterior drive evaluations:

• PNY Professional Elite V3: This 10Gbps, Sort-C USB stick is quick, however what actually gained me over is its intelligent, retracting bodily design and svelte form-factor.
• Addlink P21: Good 20Gbps efficiency and a placing design are a profitable method for this exterior SSD.
• Seagate Extremely Compact SSD: This 10Gbps USB thumb drive delivers much better efficiency than generic 5Gbps or 400Mbps varieties, in addition to free information restoration and different software program perks.
• Corsair EX400U: Whereas Corsair’s EX400U is on the sluggish facet for a USB4 exterior SSD, it’s additionally inexpensive than the competitors.
• Ugreen CM642 USB4: Quick, good-looking, rugged, and simple 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: Should 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 could 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 face up to some abuse — good for the gamer on the go, or the accident-prone. Its IP66 weatherized physique is enticing, its efficiency is aggressive. It’s additionally a bit expensive.
• Teamgroup PD20M: This little 20Gbps drive comes with a useful journey case and is among 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: It is a strong 20Gbps drive, so long as you aren’t within the behavior of writing very giant quantities of information to it regularly, as a result of in our assessments, the drive slowed down significantly in that situation. 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 greatest 20Gbps exterior drive — the SL500 stands out for its very slim and enticing 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

Drive assessments presently make the most of Home windows 11, 64-bit operating on an X790 (PCIe 4.0/5.0) motherboard/i5-12400 CPU combo with two Kingston Fury 32GB DDR5 4800MHz modules (64GB of reminiscence whole). Each 20Gbps USB and Thunderbolt 4 are built-in to the again panel and Intel CPU/GPU graphics are used. The 48GB switch assessments make the most of an ImDisk RAM disk taking on 58GB of the 64GB of whole reminiscence. The 450GB file is transferred from a 2TB Samsung 990 Professional which additionally runs the OS.

Every take a look at is carried out on a newly formatted and TRIM’d drive so the outcomes are optimum. Notice that in regular use, as a drive fills up, efficiency could lower as a consequence of much less NAND for secondary caching, in addition to different components. This may be much less of an element with the present crop of SSDs with far quicker late-generation NAND.

Caveat: The efficiency numbers proven apply solely to the drive we had been shipped and to the capability examined. SSD efficiency can and can differ by capability as a consequence of extra or fewer chips to shotgun reads/writes throughout and the quantity of NAND obtainable for secondary caching. Distributors additionally sometimes swap elements. Should you ever discover a big discrepancy between the efficiency you expertise and that which we report, by all means, tell us.

To study extra about our testing methodology see PCWorld’s article on how we take a look at exterior SSDs.

Additional studying: How one can make your personal exterior SSD and avoid wasting money