Best external SSDs for gaming 2025: 5 great portable performance drives
Maybe your game laptop does not have enough storage. Or you just want an easy way to make your portable game library. An external SSD can solve these two problems (and more) by providing an easy way to extend the storage you can take on the go.
But choosing an external SSD means sorting a dizzying range of options, and making a bad choice can let you harm. Fortunately for you, we have made the tests and can offer safe recommendations that are guaranteed to help and not to hinder your game configuration.
Scroll under our recommendations to find out more about our evaluation process and what to look for when buying an external SSD for games.
Lexar SL600 Blaze – Best 20 Gbit / s external SSD for game
Pros
- Good interpreter of 20 Gbit / s
- Top Bang for the male
- Five -year warranty
Disadvantages
- 4 TB model not yet available
Best prices today:
Competition is very close in the upper level of the external discs of 20 Gbit / s, the big contenders for the exchange of victories from top to bottom of the reference graphics. But a winner is a winner, and in the end, the Lexar exceeded our previous champion, the X10 Pro Crucial, if only by a hair.
The result is that you can expect excellent Lexar SL600 performance. It is also available in a unique shape factor, with an opening to accommodate a lanyard, for an easy total. Players could appreciate that you can even add a little bling by opting for the SL660 variant, which has RGB lighting in its miniature handle. The reader is delivered with the standard five -year warranty.
When performance is also closely suited to products, the determining factor should be the price. And here too, the SL600 is at the elbow with the X10 Pro Crucial, and a price slightly to be cheaper than some of its competitors, at least to date – in particular at the level of 2 TB.
Read our USD USB Lexar SL600 USD review.
Teamgroup M200 – Best budget of 20 Gbit / s External SSD for the game
Pros
- Quick daily performance
- Available in capacity up to 8 TB (possibly)
- Attractive style
Disadvantages
- No TBW rating
- The company will modify the components if the request for shortages
- Writing slow at 200 mbps of cache
Best prices today:
$ 79.99
The M200 teamgroup offers excellent value for money with your 20 Gbit / s transfer rates and up to 4 to storage at a very reasonable price. He also has great daily performances.
Its smooth military -style design is based on the chicker rifle Cheytac M200 – a perfect fit for these night fragers sessions. Unfortunately, Teamgroup does not provide a TBW or official IP coast for the M200, so it is more difficult to compare it as a whole to its competitors. However, the M200 is a quick external SSD at an extremely price with a design suitable for players who will look good and well efficient in almost all configurations.
Read our team group Table Table T-FORCE M200 20 GBPS USB SSD Review
PNY RP60 20 GBPS USB SSD – Best External SSD 20 Gbit / s for Game
Pros
- Beautiful design classified IP65 (dust resistant, water resistant)
- Good 20 Gbit / s performance
- Beautiful CLAT-C USB Ribbon cable
Disadvantages
- The USB port sheet is difficult to reintegrate.
Best prices today:
$ 84.99
If you tend to take your play reader everywhere and / or you are not the most cautious person with equipment, a robust external SSD is a practical response.
The PNY RP60 offers more than a simple robust IP65 exterior which protects against the droplets of dust and water; And although very beautiful and light to start, the reader is also an admirable interpreter, with even one of the fastest discs of 20 Gbit / s.
The RP60 is also at a competitive price at $ 100 and $ 160 for 1 TB and 2 TB, respectively.
Read our full USB PNY RP60 SSD review.
Sabrent Rocket Nano V2 – The most portable external SSD of 20 Gbit / s for game
Pros
- Extremely small profile
- Silicone jacket absorbing shocks
- High -flying packaging
- Good overall performance
Disadvantages
- A bit behind the 20 Gbit / Sage curve in terms of performance
Best prices today:
$ 119.99
If you are looking for a very small SSD that you can easily integrate into a pocket, the Sabrent Rocket Nano V2 is that. This 3.2 × 2 20 Gbit / s USB reader measures a small 2.73 inches long, 1.16 inch wide and 0.44 inch thick. It weighs 1.7 delicate ounces.
Of course, you will probably want to slide on its silicone jacket absorbing shocks (illustrated in image), which will add 0.06 inches to all its dimensions, while giving it a badass look.
But look aside, the Nano V2 is a solid artist. It was not quite at the same level as our best choices in everything, but he exchanged victories and losses in the pack. For example, he was only the second after the X10 Pro Crucial in our 450 GB writing test. And he took first place in the random entries of Crystalsiskmark 8, and was very competitive in random readings.
This small disc is also in the capabilities of 4 TB, which makes it a good versatile choice if you are looking to get a lot of storage and performance in a small package. We also love its five -year warranty and the clever metal box in which it enters, which can be reused for other uses.
Read our complete review of Sabrent Rocket Nano V2
Adata SE920 Ex – Best USB4 external SSD for the game
Pros
- The fastest external storage we have tested (40 gbit / s)
- Affordable
- Elegant enclosure
- Available up to 4 to
- As fast on the Mac
Disadvantages
- More expensive than USB 3.2 × 2 (20 GOPS)
Best prices today:
An external USB4 SSD is not for everyone. Not only should your PC be responsible for the specification in order to take advantage of the transfer of 40 Gbit / s, but you will also need to be willing to pay a premium for privilege.
If you are ready to enter the club, however, the Adata SE920 ex will reward you with the fastest USB4 performance that we have known, and at a much more affordable price than our previous choice for USB4, the OWC Express 1M2 – We are talking about $ 160 for an Adata SE920 of 1 TB against $ 230 for the OWC player. And if you want a lot of capacity, the ADATA SE920 EX is delivered with 4 TB, for reasonable $ 450 (compared to OWC $ 550).
In almost all the references, the SE920 ex beat the OWC Express 1m2 at 40 Gbit / s, but in small margins. It also comes with an integrated NIFTY fan, which is activated by opening the opening of the speaker. This maintained our driving significantly exempt from heat during our reference tests.
The SE920 ex is also quite portable at 4.13 inches long by 2.52 inches wide by 0.62 inch thick and weighing 7 ounces – another advantage that it has on the larger OWC express 1m2.
In the end, the choice of an external USB 4 SSD is clear.
Read our SSD advice Adata SE920 Adata SE920
Other notable external SSDs for the game:
There is a lot to love in the Sandisk Extreme Pro SSD with USB4 such as its beautiful design and its relative affordability, but the connection problems and the comparable performance of 40 Gbit / s have left us without realization; The Addlink P21 has a convincing combination of good performance and a striking design; Although the Corsair Ex400U is slow for an external USB4 SSD, it is also cheaper than competition; The SSD Drive Seagate Game is intended for owners of PS4 / PS5, and the SSD of 10 Gbit / s is very fast for its class and attractive style, with a PlayStation logo, but it is relatively expensive; The Lexar Armor 700 is a reader of 20 Gbit / s which can withstand abuse – perfect for the player on the move, or the subject of accidents; Adata SD810 is a solid reader of 20 Gbit / s, except to write large amounts of data, where it slows down. That said, the capacity of 4 TB is a particularly good value at only $ 300.
How to test the external discs
The reader tests are currently using Windows 11, 64 bit running on a CPU X790 combo (PCIE 4.0 / 5.0) / i5-12400 with two Kingston Fury 32 GB DDR5 4800MHz modules (64 GB of total memory). The 20 Gbit / s USB and Thunderbolt 4 are integrated into the rear panel and the Intel CPU / GPU graphics are used. The 48 GB transfer tests use a RAM IMDISK disc, taking 58 GB of the 64 GB of total memory. The 450 GB file is transferred from a Samsung 990 Pro 2TO which also runs the operating system.
Each test is carried out on a newly formatted and garnished player so that the results are optimal. Note that in normal use, as training fills up, performance can decrease due to less Nand for secondary cache, as well as other factors. This can be less a factor with the current SSD harvest with a much faster finish.
Warnings: The performance numbers indicated only apply to the reader that we have been shipped and to the capacity tested. SSD performance may vary depending on the capacity due to more or less chips with shotgun readings / scriptures through and the quantity of nand available for secondary cache. The sellers also occasionally exchange components. If you notice a big gap between the performance you feel and what we report, by all means, let us know.
To find out more about our test methodology, see the PCWORLD article on how we test the external SSDs.
Why you should pcworld for the external reviews of the reader and the purchasing advice
We are PCworld. Our criticism has been testing for decades. Our reader’s external assessments are deepened and rigorous, testing the limits of each product – from performance references to practical aspects of regular use. As consumers ourselves, we know what makes an exceptional product. To find out more about our test process, scroll down this article.
Who organized this article?
Having started to calculate by returning the switches, Jon Jacobi witnessed the storage of punch cards and the strip in solid condition. He uses and tests hard drives, SATA SSDs and SSD NVME for PCWORLD for more than two decades. To paraphrase a well -known advertisement, you could say that he saw something or two.
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