Personally, I’ve found that using the Best External Solid State Drives speeds things up a lot more than using regular hard drives. What’s even better is that they are very light and strong, which makes them perfect for people like me who use laptops while travelling. This is true for most SSDs I’ve used or reviewed: they’re small and light enough to fit easily in my pocket.
In most cases, you can even run games directly on the SSD, but we know that idea is dubious. If you’re looking for a perfect external SDD, USB Type-C drives are top-notch. And overall, the performance of external SSDs has improved a lot in recent years. Some even support 2GB/s bandwidth, so you can transfer large game files in minutes instead of hours. With any portable hard drive, SSD, or even flash drive, you can transport, store, and back up your files.
With variable storage capacities, fast transfer rates and more, our external drives meet the needs of SMBs and enterprises alike. If you need fast local storage for lots of files (such as music or movies you carry around, or all those pictures and videos you collect on your phone or camera), consider a portable solid-state drive (SSD) instead of a portable hard drive. With any portable hard drive, SSD, or even a flash drive, you can transport, store, and back up files. However, it’s important that you choose the best external hard drive or external SSD for your storage needs. Below, we have mentioned the best External SSD.
Best External SSD
WD_BLACK 1TB P50
If there was ever an external SSD that looked like it meant business, it’s the WD Black P50. At 2,000 MB/second, this little drive can transfer files between your SSD and your PS5 fairly quickly, and while it probably won’t beat installing an internal NVMe drive, it’s the best external PS5 SSD you can find. At first glance, the P50 is a bit expensive per GB, but considering how well it works for the PS5, it’s actually a good price.
The price-performance ratio for PC users, on the other hand, is mediocre. The rated speeds of the WD Black are mainly reserved for USB 3.2 gen 2×2, which most laptops or desktops don’t have. So if you mainly plan on using this drive for a PC or Mac, you’re better off looking elsewhere. As for size, you can find the P50 with 500GB to 4TB. If you are good at managing your storage, we would recommend 1TB or 2TB as they have the best price.
SAMSUNG T7 Touch Portable SSD
Of course, the most important of these features are the built-in security options, which use AES 256-bit encryption and give you the option to log in using your fingerprint, which you can set up through your own management software. Reads up to 1,050 Mb/S / Writes up to 1,000 Mb/S. Transfers files nearly 9.5 times faster than hard drives.
The T7 Touch has an LED square that lights up so you can see at a glance what your SSD is doing. Shock resistant and withstands drops from 6 feet. When you combine the speed, price, and size, the T7 punches outside its weight class. But when you consider that it also has 256-bit AES encryption, a military-grade encryption protocol, you know Samsung is going all out with this device.
ADATA SD700 3D NAND
When someone thinks of portable SSDs, they think of something that can withstand the elements relatively well. The Adata SD700 manages that in spades, with its IP68 rating, one of the highest for water and dirt resistance. It’s also certified to MIL-STD-810G 516.6, a standard set by the U.S. military that covers various tests and different products. This even includes MIL-STD phone cases, although the values may vary.
Regardless, all that means to you is that it can withstand a 2-meter drop without damaging the inner workings. Of course, it’s not a perfect external SSD, and one of the bigger drawbacks is that it doesn’t use USB-C ports. Instead, ADATA’s SSD uses a SATA cable. So if you lose the included cable, you’ll have to buy a new SATA-to-USB cable. That’s not something you normally have lying around.
Seagate Fast SSD
The BarraCuda Fast SSD lives up to the second part of its name – it stays within the limits (about 550 Mbps) of its SATA internals. It is fast, although not quite as fast as Samsung’s three-year-old T5. However, the results were so close that performance should not be the deciding factor. Note that the Samsung T7 slows down a bit when its cache is depleted, but for most purposes it is significantly faster.
The SanDisk Extreme Portable Pro SSD is by far the fastest of the three. Connect it seamlessly to a apple laptop, mini PC, or desktop computer with the reversible USB-C cable, and make sure your files are protected and synced with the included mac backup software and Sync Plus software. The perfect solution for external Xbox or PlayStation storage with faster installation and loading.
Lexar SL660 Blaze 512GB
Lexar’s SL660 Blaze portable gaming SSD has more than just a nice detachable stand, a protective case, and fancy RGB lighting that complete an enhanced gaming rig. The USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 interface puts it at the top of the SSD speed ladder, and Lexar offers 256-bit AES hardware encryption and a five-year warranty.
Like the WD Black P50, the SL660 can only reach its peak performance if your PC is one of the few with a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port, and its peak capacity of 1 TB is actually a bit small considering today’s bulky games.
But if you are a style- and speed-conscious gamer, this SSD is for you. If you have the means to do so, the WD Black D50 Game Dock NVMe SSD gives you a rugged and fast drive/docking station with up to 2 TB of storage and a range of ports. But if your PC doesn’t have Thunderbolt 3, that’s no problem either.
Samsung T5 Portable SSD 1TB
SSD with V-NAND offers ultra-fast data transfer speeds of up to 540 MB/s (up to 4.9 times faster than external hard drives); ideal for transferring large amounts of data such as 4K videos, high-resolution photos, games, and more. Includes USB Type-C to C and USB Type-C to A cables for connecting to PCs, Macs, smartphones and other devices. Top-to-bottom shock-resistant metal design fits in the palm of your hand and easily slips into your pocket or purse for work and entertainment. Optional password protection and AES 256-bit hardware encryption keep your personal and private data more secure.
iStorage diskAshur M2
Are you worried about your data getting into the wrong hands, down a rocky path, in a puddle or pond? You’re safe with the iStorage DiskAshur M2: Not only can this 0.48 x 4.2 x 1.8-inch device survive a half-hour swim in 1.5 meters of water or being run over by a 2.7-ton truck, but it also has a built-in keypad that prevents access to files without the correct user or administrator PIN.
It is possible to configure the M2 as a read-only drive and create a self-destruct code that erases data, the encryption key and all PINs forever, although the latter is not strictly necessary-any attempt to physically open the device and reach the memory chips would turn it into useless shrapnel. With so much security, you might expect the iStorage drive to cost quite a bit of money, but it is actually quite inexpensive, although it is certainly not the fastest portable SSD on the market. If you are paranoid about your personal or business documents, put the DiskAshur under your pillow and sleep soundly.
Crucial X8 1TB Portable SSD
Incredible performance with read speeds up to 1050 MB/s Works with Windows, Mac, iPad Pro, Chromebook, Android, Linux, PS4 and Xbox One with USB-C 3.1 Gen2 and USB-A ports. Sleek and durable design with an anodized aluminum unibody. Drop resistant up to 7.5 feet. Extremely temperature, shock and vibration resistant. Backed by Micron, one of the world’s largest flash memory manufacturers.
Kingston XS2000
It’s not that most external SSDs have to be carried in both hands or in a briefcase, but Kingston’s XS2000 is really tiny: 0.5 x 1.3 x 2.7 inches and about an ounce, barely larger than most USB flash drives, but offering up to 2 TB of storage. It is also rugged enough to get an IP55 rating against sand, dirt or rain, although it should not be submerged in water, and its USB-C 3.2 Gen 2×2 interface makes it faster than an average SSD.
However, your PC is unlikely to have a port that supports Kingston’s maximum speed. The XS2000 is an excellent choice as a universal, ultraportable drive, as long as you don’t need features such as hardware-based data encryption. Our only caveat? Take for granted what we always say about how easy it is to accidentally lose a portable SSD drive.
HIKVISION E7 500GB Portable External SSD
HIKVISION Elite7 comes with self-developed encryption software Hi Backup, and only you are the owner of the data. Elite 7 series uses USB3. 2 Gen2 with the high performance of NVME solution, the transfer speed is as high as 1060MB/s, which is faster than the traditional external mechanical hard drive Increase several times. Support IPX 7 waterproof function, full aluminum alloy light alloy housing, light weight (<0.17lb) and sturdy, specially built for outdoor sportsmen, no longer worry about accidents causing data loss.
Final Words
Solid-state technology has advanced so much in recent years that you only need to consider two things when buying an external SSD storage space and use case. As far as storage space goes, it’s relatively simple. Most people tend to go for larger capacities, but that’s not always necessary, especially if you’re willing to do some storage management in the form of deleting old files. The truth is that SSD storage gets exponentially more expensive as you move up the tiers, so it’s best to aim for a 1TB or 2TB external SSD. If you need more storage, it might be better to buy an external hard disk drive (HDD) and put up with the slower speeds instead.
