[Top 6] External Hard Drive For Gaming Review – [Our Top Picks]

However, choosing an external drive isn’t as easy as buying the most expensive one you can afford. The capacity of the device is the most important factor to consider and it can dramatically increase or decrease the cost depending on your needs. Some other factors are the physical size of the drive, how rugged it is, what interface it uses to connect to your PC, and even what colors it is available in.

Gamers can particularly benefit from external drives, as consoles like Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 have a particularly small storage base considering the size of modern games. An external drive may allow you to have a larger library of games available. In fact, the latest update from Sony allows you to move PS5 games to external storage so you can easily transfer them to the fast internal storage when you want to play without downloading them again. If you’re looking to add an external hard drive to your setup, I have selected some great options.

Here you will find particularly durable models, large storage capacity, network options, and some particularly secure drives. This article will walk you through the best external gaming hard drives out there and give you an overview of the best HDD options available.

Our Top Picks For Best External Hard Drive For Gaming

Having one of the best external hard drives or SSDs is really important for creatives.

Following are the best external hard drives that simply plug directly into your device via USB, giving you instant storage without having to open up your device and install a new hard drive internally.

Image	Product	Features	Price
	WD 5TB My Passport Portable External Hard Drive HDD	Slim and decent density Power indicator light	Buy On Amazon
	Toshiba Canvio Gaming 2TB Portable External Hard Drive	Variety of colors and sizes 10gb free storage	Buy On Amazon
	Seagate BarraCuda 4TB Internal Hard Drive HDD	Spins At 5900 RPM Best Performance	Buy On Amazon
	Seagate Portable 2TB External Hard Drive Portable HDD	Features a new woven fabric pattern design. 2 Year Warranty	Buy On Amazon
	WD_BLACK 5TB P10 Game Drive, Portable External Hard Drive	Built-in USB Cable 2 Year Warranty	Buy On Amazon
	WD 2TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive	Light In Weight Fast Transfer Data	Buy On Amazon

1.  WD 5TB My Passport Portable External Hard Drive HDD

WD’s My Passport is slimmer than ever and affordably priced. With a 3-year warranty and hardware encryption, it’s a well-backed and secure option for those looking for dense portable storage.

Its combination of solid performance, hardware encryption, and useful utilities makes the 5TB WD My Passport a strong contender for everyday backup of sensitive data or storing a massive collection of videos, photos, and documents.

WD’s My Passport is a popular seller and for good reason. It’s priced competitively and offers up a pretty good value if you are looking for a lot of portable storage on the cheap compared to SSDs. These portable hard disk drives (HDDs) aren’t the flashiest or fastest of storage devices, but having had quite a few passes through my hands over the years for various backup or data migration purposes, they always get the job done.

Features

• Slim and Decent Density: The new My Passport has been slimmed down a bit compared to its predecessors, but packs some decent density.
• Storage: WD’s My Passport comes in capacities of 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, and 5TB. All are backed by a 3-year limited warranty and priced to move.
• WD Security Software: With WD Discovery, you can enable the My Passport’s AES 256-bit hardware encryption-based password protection via WD security software.
• Power Indicator Light: It features a small white power indicator light that only appears visible when the device is powered on.

2.  Toshiba Canvio Gaming 2TB Portable External Hard Drive

Toshiba Electronics has announced the release of the Canvio Gaming line of Portable External Hard Drive. The Toshiba external hard drive line includes 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB models. According to the manufacturer, they are “specially adapted for games.

The Toshiba Canvio 2TB external hard drive is possibly the smallest and most compact 2TB portable hard drive currently available.  A standard size 2TB external hard drive like the Seagate Expansion weighs nearly 4 times more and is almost 4 inches longer than the Toshiba.  So if you are looking for a truly portable external hard drive that’s small enough to actually fit in your pocket, the Toshiba Canvio could be ideal.

Features

• USB 3.0 Cable: The Toshiba Canviorequires no additional power supply and will connect to your pc, mac, or laptop with a USB 3.0 cable.
• 10GB Free Storage: Once connected this compact portable hard drive delivers a bundle of cool features including 10GB of free cloud storage remote access to your files using any mobile device.
• Variety Of Colors And Sizes: Available in 5 colors and in sizes ranging from 500GB to 2TB the Toshiba USB hard drive will provide a fast, quiet, and compact storage solution at a very affordable price.
• Compatibility: The Canvio Gaming is compatible with Xbox, PlayStation, or PC gaming systems, giving you the freedom to play with ease on your console of choice.
• Game On: The Canvio Gaming portable external hard drive is specially designed to meet your gaming needs, so you can spend more time winning.

3.  Seagate BarraCuda 4TB Internal Hard Drive HDD

Seagate is looking to make a splash with its flagship in the newly-named line-up, the Desktop HDD 4TB, also known by the ST4000DM000 model number. Up until now, Seagate’s desktop portfolio didn’t stretch as high as 4 TB. Only the business-oriented Constellation ES.3 line included a 4 TB repository.

But now that Seagate is playing in the super-high-capacity space. It currently enjoys a commanding price-per-gigabyte advantage. The ST4000DM000 is going for as little as $180 on Newegg right now. That’s four and a half cents per gig.

Features

• 5 inch HDD: The Seagate BarraCuda comes in the standard 3.5-inch HDD form factor.
• Burst Performance: Seagate BarraCuda’s SATA 6Gb/s interface optimizes burst performance while Seagate Secure models offer hardware-based data security
• Storage: Cost-effective 5400 RPM internal hard drive upgrade for laptop or desktop computers allows you to store all of your games, music, movies, and more.
• Spins At 5900 RPM: The Desktop HDD 4TB (ST4000DM000) spreads its multiple terabytes across four platters and spins at 5900 RPM.
• Aluminum Plate: Usual with SATA HDDs, it comes with the standard aluminum plate on top of things to keep its internals safely tucked inside.

4.  Seagate Portable 2TB External Hard Drive Portable HDD

The Seagate Backup Plus/Slim is one of the best deals on the market if you want lots of storage space on the go.

One has to wonder why Seagate has launched a new version of the Backup Plus. It uses the same three-year-old drive as its predecessor and doesn’t bring much to the table, especially as it carries a much higher price tag – although you do get bundled software in the form of Mylio Create and Adobe CC.

It is another portable hard disk drive that uses the tried and trusted ST2000LM007, a hard drive that was unleashed in the first quarter of 2016.

The Backup Plus Slim (STHN1000402) is available in 1TB and 2TB models, in a light blue, black, or brushed aluminum finish. Amazon lists these drives for $60 and $80 respectively.

Features

• Design: The new Seagate Backup Plus released in summer 2015has two editions, the 0.5-inch thin is called Backup Plus Slim and available up to 2TB in four colors including black, silver, blue and red. The slightly thicker (0.8-inch) 4TB version is called Seagate Backup Plus is available only in black.
• Connectivity: The new Backup Plus Slim is built with a new modern design, supports both USB 3.0/2.0 connections, and works right out of the box with Windows and Mac systems.
• Mylio Create and Adobe Creative Cloud: One of the new additions to the Backup Plus Slim is a bundled 1-year Mylio Create and 2-month Adobe Creative Cloud Photography plans.
• 2 Year Warranty: The Seagate Backup Plus Slim comes with a 2-year warranty and goes for roughly 55 and $70 for the 1TB and 2TB models, respectively.

5.  WD_BLACK 5TB P10 Game Drive, Portable External Hard Drive

Endowed with a gamer aesthetic, the WD Black P10 Game Drive can serve as a simple, stylish repository for your massive game library at a reasonable price.

Featuring a compact and easily portable design, this external hard drive offers 5TB of storage capacity, so you can always have your games on hand. It comes with a micro-USB Type-B cable to USB Type-A cable and is compatible with multiple platforms including PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Windows PCs, and Macs.

The WD P10 Game Drive is ideal for expanding the storage of your PC or gaming console, ensuring that you have room for all your games, highlight videos, and more. The external HDD drive is portable for taking with you to a family member or friend’s house, with USB 3.1 connectivity making it conveniently compatible and providing swift transfer speeds. This drive includes 1 month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which grants you access to Xbox Live multiplayer functions and a vast library of games to try.

Features

• Portable: It’s portable so that you can take it with you to a friend or family member’s house.
• Storage Capacity: It has a storage capacity of 5 TB so that you can store a variety of games, highlight footage, and more.
• USB 3.1 Connectivity: It uses USB 3.1 connectivity for swift data transfers.
• Built-in USB Cable: It has a built-in USB cable so that you’re always ready for transfers.
• Compatibility: It’s compatible for use with macOS and Windows operating systems, as well as your preferred gaming consoles.
• Warranty: A 3-year warranty is included.
• Design: It comes in a sleek, black design.

6.  WD 2TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive

Though not the fastest on the market, the WD Elements’ large capacity makes it an excellent deal considering its low price.

The WD Elements is a compact yet high-capacity external storage device that won’t dig a hole in your wallet. At a street price of just $55/AU$99 (converted that’s £37) for 1TB, it’s easily one of the cheapest portable drives on the market. You can also get the 2TB version for $85, or the 500GB for just $50.

Western Digital Elements is a great option if you want lots of storage on the cheap, and can live with some pretty mediocre speeds.

Features

• Slim: The Elements drives are focused on portability, stripping away the bulky enclosures and power supplies of desktop hard drives in favor of a slim form factor.
• Warranty: They give you two years from the date of purchase to file for a repair or replacement, but as with almost all limited warranties, damage you inflict on the drive isn’t covered.
• Fast Transfer Data: When connected to a USB 3.0 port, WD Elements portable hard drive delivers fast data transfer rates.
• Light Weight: The small, lightweight design offers up to 5TB capacity, making WD Elements portable hard drives the ideal companion for consumers on the go.

To Sum Up

So these are all the best gaming hard drives in the market. I have tried my best to be as flexible as possible and give you my best recommendation for each use case.

So regardless of whether you play on a desktop or laptop or game consoles, you are sure to find the right hard drive for you.

Enjoy your games.

FAQ’s