Finest exterior drives 2023: Evaluations and shopping for recommendation

In the event you use a PC, likelihood is you’ve information saved on it that you simply don’t wish to lose. Top-of-the-line methods to ensure your information isn’t misplaced is to save lots of a replica onto an exterior drive. It’s a cheap and useful option to again up your vital recordsdata or retailer any overflow. It will also be a handy option to transport or switch recordsdata between your units.

You’ll nearly at all times have the necessity for extra storage as information recordsdata proceed to get bigger and also you accumulate extra of them. An exterior drive is likely one of the finest methods to cowl your self in case of an emergency. We’ve examined quite a few exterior drives and curated the perfect picks beneath. We’ve included exterior drives with blazing-fast efficiency in addition to a choose for finest funds possibility, finest moveable SSD, and all the things in between. Under our suggestions you’ll discover further useful info on what it’s good to know to decide on the perfect exterior drive to your wants.

Up to date 01/10/2023: Take a look at our newest overview of the Seagate Skywalker 2TB exterior HDD. This old-school Star Wars-themed exterior 2.5-inch, USB exhausting drive has good efficiency and a enjoyable, collector version aesthetic that can enchantment to followers.

Table of Contents

1. Samsung T7 Defend – Finest efficiency USB drive

Professionals

• Quick 10Gbps storage
• Rugged outer pores and skin for IP65 ranking
• As much as 2TB in capability
• Svelte styling

Cons

• No 20Gbps
• Not full immersion rated

MSRP:

$160 for 1TB | $290 for 2TB

We’re followers of Samsung’s (nonetheless glorious) T7 Contact, and now we’re ever larger followers of the follow-up T7 Defend. The USB 10Gbps drive is available in each 1TB and 2TB capacities, for $160 and $290, respectively. Whereas the Contact distinguished itself with a fingerprint reader for information safety, the Defend leans in to bodily safety, with an IP65 ranking in opposition to particulate matter and water spray, making it an excellent efficiency drive for out within the discipline. (Thoughts you, the Defend can nonetheless be secured with password safety.)

We additionally recognize that the Defend bests its predecessor in write speeds, giving it the efficiency enhance it wanted to supplant SanDisk’s Excessive Professional Moveable SSD (beneath) as our high efficiency choose.

Learn our full
Assessment Samsung T7 Defend

2. SanDisk Excessive Professional Moveable SSD – Finest efficiency drive runner-up

Professionals

• Total quickest USB SSD at present accessible
• Comparatively reasonably priced
• IP55 rated in opposition to mud and gentle streams of water

Cons

• Barely slower studying recordsdata than Samsung’s T7

Whereas we’ve moved SanDisk’s Excessive Professional Moveable SSD (1TB) to runner-up standing in mild of the Samsung T7’s improved write speeds, make no mistake, it’s nonetheless one the quickest USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10Gbps) exterior SSD we’ve examined thus far. It’s barely dearer than the T7 Defend, at $190 for 1GB and $300 for 2GB, and it’s rated at IP55 for barely much less safety from the weather. However each are glorious performers.

Observe: There are sooner USB 3.2 2×2 (also called SuperSpeed 20Gbps) SSDs accessible, such because the WD Black P50 and Seagate Barracuda Quick SSD. Nonetheless, SuperSpeed 20Gbps and USB4 ports are nonetheless so uncommon, we’re unsure it issues. These drives are additionally simply not as svelte because the Excessive Professional.

Learn our full
Assessment SanDisk Excessive Professional Moveable SSD

3. WD Black P50 Sport Drive SSD (1TB) – Finest for gaming

Professionals

• As much as 2GBps with SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps
• Distinctively militaristic styling

Cons

• Expensive in comparison with SuperSpeed 10Gbps drives
• Requires the extraordinarily uncommon SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps port for full efficiency

In the present day’s video games can absorb 50GB or 100GB of storage and extra. In the event you’re in search of a drive to rapidly load that recreation from in your gaming laptop computer, we advocate WD’s Black P50 Sport Drive. And no, not simply as a result of it’s actually known as “Sport Drive,” however as a result of we favor recreation’s to be launched from an SSD the place it may actually be a aggressive benefit in some titles. Working an exterior SSD to your video games additionally means far, far sooner stage masses, too, in comparison with a plodding exhausting drive. Whereas many PCs don’t have the USB SuperSpeed 20Gbps ports wanted to make the Black P50 sing, it’s really changing into pretty customary in newer desktops. The excellent news is, even operating a recreation at USB 10Gbps speeds means reads and writes as much as 1,000MBps, which remains to be an enormous enchancment over a tough drive. (Study extra about how we consider the perfect exterior SSD for gaming.)

4. SanDisk Skilled G-Drive SSD – Finest for photographers

Professionals

• Quickest USB 10Gbps drive thus far
• IP67 rated in opposition to mud and water
• Trendy
• The identical or lower-priced than the competitors

MSRP:

$139 – 500GB; $189 – 1TB; $349 – 2TB; $679.99 – 4TB

We’re slightly torn between recommending a Thunderbolt-based drive for exterior storage versus a USB exterior drive. Whereas a Thunderbolt 3 exterior SSD sometimes offers larger efficiency, that doesn’t show you how to in case your laptop computer doesn’t have a Thunderbolt port, and plenty of of these drives don’t have any USB help. That makes SanDisk’s G-Drive SSD the popular drive. It doesn’t help the extra superior, and likewise uncommon, USB SuperSpeed 20Gbps speeds, but it surely’s within the high tier with USB 10Gbps speeds, which is what you’ll principally discover. Maybe extra importantly for a photographer shifting recordsdata within the discipline, is its powerful shell. The drive is constructed with IP67 water-resistance and dust-resistance scores and may face up to 2,000 kilos of weight, so that you gained’t lose that treasured picture of a ghost cat within the mountains of Afganistan.

5. Essential X6 Moveable SSD (2TB) – Finest funds possibility

Professionals

• Ergonomic design
• Good on a regular basis efficiency
• Very reasonably priced for an exterior SSD

Cons

• Efficiency tanks when cache runs out

The Essential X6 Moveable SSD is sq. to be hip. Or positioned in your hip pocket, at any fee. In a sea of moveable SSDs whose form makes them a literal ache when pocketed, the skinny, rounded-edge X6 is a sigh of reduction. It’s not state-of-the-art quick, but it surely’s quick sufficient for many customers and intensely reasonably priced.

Learn our full
Assessment Essential X6 Moveable SSD (2TB)

6. Adata Elite SE880 SSD – Most moveable exterior drive

Professionals

• Very quick, over-20Gbps USB connection
• Extraordinarily small kind issue
• 5-year guarantee

Cons

• Slows significantly throughout lengthy contiguous writes
• Considerably low TBW ranking

MSRP:

$79.99 for 500GB I $129.99 for 1TB

No exterior SSD we’ve seen can match Adata’s Elite SE880 for portability. Certainly, measuring in at solely 2.55 inches lengthy, 1.38 inches broad, and 0.48 inches thick, it reminds you extra of a USB thumb drive than a typical exterior SSD. It weighs a mere 1.1 ounces besides, just about disappearing in your pocket.

The Elite SE880 can be very quick at on a regular basis duties however slows down throughout lengthy writes. In real-world 48GB switch checks, the drive displayed excellent marks, even beating out another opponents on this listing. Nevertheless it misplaced important floor within the longer contiguous write checks, exhibiting that picture and video professionals with giant recordsdata to switch would possibly wish to contemplate different choices.

Learn our full
Assessment Adata Elite SE880 SSD

7. Kingston XS200 USB SSD – Most moveable high-capacity drive

Professionals

• Tremendous svelte
• Good 20Gbps efficiency
• Accessible in as much as 4TB in capability

Cons

• Slower than a lot of the competitors
• Not a lot of a looker

MSRP:

$75 for 500GB I $160 for 1TB I $285 for 2TB I $500 for 4TB

The Kingston XS2000 is an admirable mix of measurement, capability, and pace—all for an inexpensive worth. With as much as 4TB in capability, it’s akin to among the largest drives on this listing but it surely matches in your pocket.

The Kingston XS2000 additionally has information switch charges of as much as 20Gbps, which isn’t lightning quick, but it surely beats the 10Gbps of some opponents. Total, this small, surprisingly reasonably priced, and decently quick SSD is a strong product, particularly when you plan to hold lots of information round with you.

Learn our full
Assessment Kingston XS200 USB SSD

8. Moveable SSD X5 – Finest Thunderbolt 3 drive

Cons

• Lack of AC jack makes it Thunderbolt 3 solely
• Costly, although not out of whack for NVMe SSDs

If in case you have Thunderbolt 3 or 4 in your system, you owe it to your self to take a look at a conveyable Thunderbolt 3 drive akin to Samsung’s SSD X5. As an NVMe SSD utilizing PCIe over a cable (that’s mainly what Thunderbolt 3 is), it’s stupidly quick—over 2.5GBps studying and writing. 

The one purpose we don’t universally advocate the Moveable SSD X5 is the relative rarity of Thunderbolt 3/4 ports on PCs. The arrival of USB4 ought to alleviate this, however provided that distributors resolve to mix it with the superset expertise that’s Thunderbolt 4. Or it’s possible you’ll merely quickly see USB4 drives with the identical 40Gbps switch charges. It will get difficult. 

9. WD My Passport 5TB – Finest for backups

Professionals

• Glorious price per gigabyte
• Good styling
• Complete software program suite

Cons

• Slower than common with giant recordsdata

You wish to know why we selected WD’s My Passport 5TB for backups? It’s proper there within the identify—that additional 1TB will be invaluable within the age of 4K.

Learn our full
Assessment WD My Passport 5TB

10. Seagate Backup Plus Moveable – Finest for backups runner-up

Professionals

• As much as 5TB in a 2.5-inch bundle
• Reasonably priced

Cons

• Sluggish writing small recordsdata and folders

Just like the WD above, Seagate’s Backup Plus Moveable is a USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5Gbps) drive—lots sufficient bandwidth for the exhausting drive inside. Capability tops out at 5TB, however the drive can be accessible in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB sizes. 

In our checks of the 4TB model, we discovered the Seagate to be barely sooner than the WD with giant file transfers (assume motion pictures), however slower with small file transfers (assume Workplace paperwork). All in all, a worthy runner-up.

Learn our full
Assessment Seagate Backup Plus Moveable

What it’s good to know before you purchase

Capability and worth

For many customers, the principle purchasing issues for exterior storage are capability and worth. Nonetheless, when you would possibly assume that the lowest-cost drive offers essentially the most worth, it typically doesn’t. Actually, greenback for greenback, cheaper low-capacity drives are most frequently the worst deal traditionally. We’ve been doing this comparability for years and it’s at all times been the worst worth.

You may see that beneath the place we evaluate the favored WD Parts desktop exhausting drive’s accessible capacities and costs. You’re paying greater than twice as a lot for the lowest-capacity drive versus the following step up. It’s nearly equally as unhealthy on the WD Parts Moveable drive.

How a lot capability do you want?

The perfect “worth” are sometimes for the biggest exhausting drives as you possibly can see, but it surely brings significantly larger costs and never everybody wants that a lot capability. So how a lot do you want? We advocate a backup drive a minimum of twice as giant as the whole capability of your PC. If in case you have 1TB of storage in your PC, 2TB will let you make a full backup whereas preserving historic backups on the identical drive. Having extra storage lets you hold extra historic recordsdata must you want them or use the identical drive to backup further PCs.

Whereas the desktop drive offers a far larger capability, in addition they require extra cables, weigh extra, and usually is probably not fairly as shock resistant as a conveyable exhausting drive that’s designed to take just a few extra bumps, even when on.

IDG

Interface

The overwhelming majority of exterior drives in the present day are USB drives. Past that straightforward assertion, the story will get complicated—largely due to the plethora of variations: USB 3.0, USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5Gbps, which is mainly USB 3.0), USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps), and USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20Gbps), and now the up-and-coming USB4. In an try to simplify issues, the USB Discussion board has not too long ago modified the nomenclature to point throughput pace—SuperSpeed USB 5Gbps, SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps, and SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps—as a result of efficiency is a precedence for many makes use of. For the sake of brevity (and sanity), we usually shorten these names to USB 10Gbps, or 10Gbps USB, as an example.

No exhausting drive, except mixed in RAID with others, can outstrip the 5Gbps (roughly 500MBps real-world after overhead) throughput of USB 3.1 Gen 1. Don’t fear about Gen 2, 10Gbps, or Thunderbolt with single exhausting drive enclosures as a result of it doesn’t actually matter.

The place SuperSpeed 10Gbps/20Gbps, USB4, or Thunderbolt will certainly assistance is with the aforementioned RAID exhausting drive setups, or extra doubtless—an SSD. The excellent news is that whereas USB 3.1 Gen 2, which is greater than quick sufficient for many customers at 10Gbps, was once costly, it’s mainly the usual in the present day. A SanDisk Excessive Moveable SSD, our runner-up for moveable storage, will be had for $90 in a 500GB capability.

The sooner USB 3.2 SuperSpeed 20Gbps (Gen 2×2) strikes you right into a higher-price bracket, with the Seagate Firecuda Gaming SSD costing $200 for a similar 500GB of storage. Though sooner than the everyday USB 3.2 SuperSpeed 10Gbps, there aren’t lots of USB 20Gbps gen 2×2 ports on the market, however these drives ought to work with the upcoming USB4 on the identical 20Gbps tempo.

Thunderbolt 3 and the newer Thunderbolt 4 sometimes are the highest-performing interfaces for exterior storage, with the important thing limitation being a premium worth and a basic lack of compatibility with the much more common USB 3.2 ports on the earth. Nonetheless, if you need essentially the most efficiency, you may get it in drives akin to our really helpful moveable, the Samsung Moveable SSD X5, which is $200 for 500GB of capability. For comparability, a slower 1TB Samsung T5 on USB is barely $125.

Ports

Exterior drives include quite a lot of ports, although they’re regularly consolidating on the Kind-C connector. Right here’s what it’s good to care about:

USB 3 Micro-B Superspeed. That is nonetheless a quite common port on many lower-cost moveable and desktop exterior exhausting drives in the present day. It’s really the identical Micro USB port used in your telephone, however beefed up with extra information traces to hit USB 3.0 speeds. It’ll do 5Gbps and is ok for exhausting drives and SATA (internally) SSDs. 

USB 3 Kind-B is the bigger, blocky model of USB 3.0 Micro B. Kind B ports have gotten uncommon, although you would possibly discover one on enclosures supporting 5.25-inch exhausting drives or optical drives. It helps speeds as much as 5Gbps. 

USB-C is the most recent of the USB connectors the world is coalescing round. You see it in all the things from telephones to laptops. Consider, USB-C refers solely to the connector itself. What’s carried over the wires varies enormously. For instance, for information transfers from an exterior drive, a USB-C port may imply all the things from USB 2.0 Excessive Velocity (480Mbps) to USB 3.2 SuperSpeed 20Gbps in addition to USB4 and Thunderbolt 3. Any larger efficiency port in the present day ought to be USB-C—simply keep in mind that simply because it’s USB-C doesn’t imply the precise electronics contained in the PC or drive can hit the best speeds of what a USB-C port can do.

USB Kind-A You gained’t discover this port on any drive, however you will see that this acquainted rectangular port on PCs and laptops. The rationale we point out it’s that any drive with a Kind-C port ought to include a Kind-C to Kind-A cable or adapter, hopefully, since most PCs have these.

Thunderbolt 2 is at this level, a lifeless port. Utilizing the mini-DisplayPort connector, it solely actually gained reputation on Macs, and even Apple put it out to pasture in 2017. There’s no must spend money on a Thunderbolt 2 drive except it’s for legacy help points.

Observe that Apple makes a bi-directional Thunderbolt 1/2 to three adapter if it’s good to join the one to the opposite. It doesn’t switch energy, nonetheless, so you possibly can’t apply it to its personal with bus-powered exterior drives. You’ll want a powered dock for that.

eSATA is one other legacy port that’s mainly disappeared. Created for attaching exterior storage to your laptop’s SATA bus, eSATA was an inexpensive method in its day to get past the 60MBps efficiency of USB 2.0. USB 3.0 put the final nail in its coffin. As with Thunderbolt 2, the one purpose to spend money on an eSATA drive is to be used with older computer systems.

A second drive as backup?

In backup, there’s a elementary maxim appropriately named the Rule of Three. It states that it’s best to at all times keep three copies of your irreplaceable information: the unique information, a backup, and a backup of the backup. Ideally, the 2 backups are stored in separate areas, one being offsite. Holding a replica on-line is nice for smaller quantities of information and definitely meets the offsite standards. Nonetheless, for huge picture, audio, and/or video collections, exterior drives in pairs (or extra), are a sooner, extra sensible resolution.  

Create full backups alternately to the 2 drives each few months. True patrons of knowledge would possibly even take the second drive to work, so there’s no probability of dropping each drives to the identical native catastrophe.

For extra steerage on constructing out the perfect backup plan attainable, see our roundups of the perfect cloud backup companies and finest Home windows backup software program.

How we examined

We use our customary storage check mattress to judge the efficiency of each exterior drive we overview. It’s a six-core (twelve-thread) Intel Core i7-5820K on an Asus X99 Deluxe motherboard with 64GB of Kingston DDR4 reminiscence operating Home windows 10. 

A discrete Gigabyte Alpine Ridge Thunderbolt 3 card and Ableconn USB 3.2 2×2 20Gbps card (Asmedia 2142 controller) are used for connecting the exterior drives. An Asus USB 3.1/10Gbps (Asmedia 1142 controller) card was employed for among the older drives on the chart. 

We run varied artificial benchmarks together with Crystal Disk Mark 6/7/8, AS SSD 2, and Iometer. We additionally carry out real-world switch checks utilizing a 48GB batch of small recordsdata and folders, in addition to a single 48GB and 450GB recordsdata. The testbed boots from a NVMe drive, however the real-world (Home windows) file transfers are carried out to and from a 58GB RAM disk.