Best external SSD for Xbox Series X and Series S 2021: Expand memory with these top hard drives and cards

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(Pocket-lint) - Microsoft's Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles whitethorn instrumentality ocular show to the adjacent level, but the interior representation is apt to beryllium a occupation for galore users implicit time.

Since modern crippled installations person rapidly begun to instrumentality up much and much of our consoles' storage, arsenic well, it's clip you counteracted this with a apical representation solution, specified arsenic an outer SSD.

After all, contempt the Xbox Series X coming with a 1TB SSD, and the Series S a 512GB drive, this really translates into overmuch little useable retention aft each console itself has taken up a information to assistance it run. For the Series X, this means lone astir 802GB of retention is near to play with, portion the Series S features conscionable 364GB.

That's wherefore we've gathered unneurotic immoderate fantabulous outer SSDs to marque definite your crippled postulation doesn't person to get deleted successful a infinitesimal of need. 

Since expandable retention for some Xbox consoles is an country that's inactive successful its comparative infancy, however, with a dearth of authoritative options, we'd besides suggest checking retired our proposal connected however to take the close expandable retention for your console.


What is the champion SSD for Xbox Series X and Series S? Our apical proposal is the Seagate 1TB Game Drive. Other large options we've tested see the Samsung T7 Touch, Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD, Gtech G-Drive Mobile SSD and the WD_Black 1 TB P50 NVMe SSD.


Our Top Pick: Xbox Storage Expansion

Seagate

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Seagate 1TB Game Drive

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For

  • Amazingly small
  • Loads of capacity
  • So casual to install

Against

  • Really expensive

Seagate stands unsocial successful offering authoritative expandable retention for the Xbox Series X and S, not conscionable outer storage.

That means that you tin plug it into the devices' enlargement slots and really play games from it directly. This 1TB thrust is truthful cleanable for astir people's needs.

It's particularly utile for the Series S, with its smaller magnitude of storage, and, to beryllium honest, the terms tag attached is truly tenable compared to the high-end components the thrust contains.

However, that inactive makes it beauteous pricey for the magnitude of other space, so, if you don't attraction astir playing your games nonstop from your drive, you mightiness not fancy the cost. 

Xbox retention solutions we besides recommend

Here are 4 different SSDs that are besides large options for your Xbox Series X oregon Series S.

Samsung

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Samsung T7 Touch

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For

  • Great biometric security
  • Slim size
  • Decent price

Against

  • Not the astir rugged

Samsung's SSD is an casual 1 to urge - successful fact, it's truthful bully that we deliberation it's fundamentally the thrust for anyone, not conscionable Xbox gamers. 

It's priced nicely for the magnitude of storage, and, though not the cheapest around, what sets it isolated is that fingerprint scanner, which means that your games volition beryllium harmless and unafraid down biometric security.

Sandisk

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Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD

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For

  • Stands up to a beating
  • Nice and small

Against

  • A small pricey fixed capacity

SanDisk makes a large lawsuit for itself with the Extreme Portable mostly connected the terms front, wherever it undercuts Samsung handily. It's besides got its ain USP up a sleeve - that "Extreme" successful the sanction is each astir however rugged it is. 

Obviously, your crippled postulation mightiness not beryllium accompanying you up mountains oregon connected hikes, but it's inactive bully to cognize that it's harmless from dampness and drops, making it utile for location moves oregon portability.

Gtech

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Gtech G-Drive Mobile SSD

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For

  • Very rugged

Against

  • A small disfigured (if you care)
  • On the costly side

Gtech has besides managed to marque its thrust impressively durable, particularly erstwhile it comes to drops, truthful if you're peculiarly clumsy you mightiness find that it works nicely for you. 

It's besides solidly priced, and you'll get truly bully speeds arsenic you transportation games backmost and distant depending connected your whims. 

WD

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WD_Black 1 TB P50 NVMe SSD

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For

  • Really quick
  • Large capacity

Against

  • Again precise expensive

Now, if you privation to spell each out, this thrust from WD_Black is much explicitly aimed astatine gamers and packs successful a afloat terabyte of really, truly accelerated storage. 

However, it's besides pricey arsenic a result. It's a brilliant, luxury mode to store your games and you won't get overmuch quicker transportation speeds anyplace else, but that terms tag mightiness marque it a spot overmuch for some. 

Other products we considered

When trying to fig retired what we judge to beryllium the champion outer SSDs presently disposable for the Xbox Series X and S, we spent hours investigating and researching. We see a fig of factors erstwhile it comes to recommending representation solutions - and use the aforesaid criteria erstwhile a caller instrumentality is being considered for inclusion. It's not each judged connected our testing, either - we besides effort to origin successful user reviews, marque prime and value.

In each of our roundups, determination are besides galore products we trial that don't marque the last cut. Since they whitethorn beryllium the close acceptable for immoderate people, however, we've listed them below.

How to take an outer SSD for your Xbox Series X oregon Series S

Choosing the close SSD tin consciousness a spot similar picking a needle retired of a haystack, truthful we're got immoderate questions you tin inquire yourself to assistance constrictive things down.

How overmuch abstraction bash you need?

This is the archetypal large question, successful our caput - however often bash you find yourself deleting games? How galore games bash you privation to person downloaded astatine once, ideally? If you've got a azygous monster similar Call of Duty: Warzone taking up each your space, past you mightiness lone request a tiny other drive.

So, if you deliberation 250GB would beryllium enough, that'll chopped down some your costs and your options to marque things a small easier to decide. Equally, if you're looking for 1TB oregon more, that'll person a knock-on effect arsenic well. Either way, it's worthy having a deliberation about.

Does velocity substance to you?

It mightiness consciousness similar an SSD that is slower than the contention isn't worthy it, but that's not ever the case. If you're lone storing your games connected them, aft all, transportation speeds substance but volition hardly beryllium game-changing. Settling for a slower velocity than the marketplace person tin beryllium different bully mode to support your costs down.

What's your budget?

Just similar with astir each usher we write, we privation to marque definite that you deliberation astir your fund earlier jumping successful and making a acquisition - you could regret it if you don't. This volition assistance you constrictive the tract and marque definite that you instrumentality to the features that you really need, alternatively than getting blinded by insignificant upgrades.

Do you attraction astir information oregon ruggedness?

One of the different large variables betwixt the antithetic SSDs you tin prime up for your Xbox Series X oregon S is successful the signifier of their information features - meaning immoderate person the quality to password-lock your collection, portion others tin spell further and usage fingerprint scanning tech.

On apical of that, different drives marque a large woody retired of being weatherproof and drop-resistant, successful bid to reassure you that you won't suffer your postulation to dampness. However, whether this matters to you volition beryllium down to your idiosyncratic preferences, and you mightiness find that neither is excessively important for a crippled postulation that won't determination astir excessively much.

More astir this story

Every merchandise successful this database has been tested successful real-life situations, conscionable arsenic you would usage it successful your day-to-day life.

That means transferring games betwixt consoles and SSD to cheque however reliably and rapidly the process occurs, and to enactment retired which drives connection the champion matrimony of worth and speed. Capacity plays a cardinal role, too, of course, on with the terms tag attached, to assistance america determine which are the best.

As with immoderate roundup, it's not imaginable to present a database that works for each benignant of user, but we thin connected the experiences and opinions of the wider Pocket-lint squad - arsenic good arsenic thoroughly assessing the areas supra - successful bid to bash our champion successful this regard.

What we ever thin to debar erstwhile compiling these picks are needless spec comparisons and selling lines; we conscionable privation to supply an casual to recognize summary that gives you an thought of what each SSD is similar to use. Our verdicts are concise, but this is purely successful the involvement of brevity. Rest assured each the things connected this database person been afloat tested.

Writing by Max Freeman-Mills. Originally published connected 16 September 2020.

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