27 External SSDs Tested - Which are the Best for Gaming?

I tested 27 external SSDs to find out which is the best for gaming.
Press "more" to see all products and a summary of the performance ranking.

These are all SSDs I tested, ranked by the Score shown in the video, from fastest to slowest. So the best advice is this: work your way down the list until you find a good deal on a high ranked drive. Easy! So at the time of filming the Crucial X8 (#2) was the best deal, but remember that can always change! (all links are affiliate links)
#1 Gigabyte Vision Drive - (no current listing)
#10 Blitzwolf BW-PSSD4 - (.CN webshops only)
#12 ASUS ROG Arion S 500 - (no current listing)
#21 Patriot PXD - (no current listing)
#22 Orico CN300 - (.CN webshops only)
All links above are affiliate links. I will try to update them regularly but it's a lot of links so do stay sharp and make sure you end up with the right product please. For example the ROG Arion is also sold as an external SSD case only (with no SSD in it!).

If you want to support what I do, check these out:
Or consider leaving a "super thanks" so I can buy more SSDs for the next videos! ;)

Timestamps:
0:00​ - Introduction
1:09 - General Information about External SSDs
2:20 - Important Information for PS5 & Xbox Series X Owners
2:58 - Meet 27 External SSDs - Today is about GAMING only
3:49 - Performance Summary & Tiers
4:29 - S-Tier - Gigabyte Vision Drive, Crucial X8, Sandisk Extreme Pro, WD MyPassport SSD, WD Black D30, Kingston XS2000
7:22 A-Tier - ADATA SE900G, WD Black P50, Seagate Barracuda Fast SSC, Blitzowlf BW-PSSD4, Transcend ESD370C, ASUS ROG Arion S 500
8:38 - B-Tier - Samsung T7, Samsung T7 Shield, Samsung T7 Touch, Sandisk Extreme, Seagate Barracuda Gaming SSD
9:39 - C-Tier - Crucial X6, ADATA SC690, Lacie Portable SSD, Seagate One Touch, Patriot PCD, Seagate Game Drive SSD for Xbox
10:33 - Game Library Moving Performance
11:35 - Game Recording Performance
12:04 - Final Thoughts and Buying Advice

Disclosure:
- Some of these products were sent by their respective manufacturer for the purpose of testing, some I bought myself. As per my own guidelines, no manufacturer (or PR company, or otherwise) get any say about anything in this video or any of my other reviews. It's not sponsored by them, no-one got to preview this video beforehand, or any other nonsense like that. My reviews reflect my own views, nothing more, nothing less.
- Amazon links I provide are (typically) affiliate links. Using these does not cost you anything at all. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means they do provide me with a small commission when you decide to buy a product, at no cost to you.

#ssd #externalssd #gaming

[TechTesters]

Some important notes:
- All tests were done with a high-end, i9-12900K, Z690, DDR5 rig with a 20 Gigabit USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port. If you're wondering why none are showing "1000MB/s or more" like some marketing claims, that is because games usually consist of a lot of smaller files that are much harder to read or copy.

- In case it wasn't clear from the thumbnail, title and video: I am ONLY looking at Gaming Performance today, followed by value (price), because that's what I think a gaming SSD should be about. I am not weighing any unique features at all! So if you want to pay more for an SSD with RGB or IP ratings, or prefer to buy a super lightweight one (weight graph is in the video), that is entirely up to you!

- OBVIOUSLY there is more to game loading than just your SSD performance, and actual time savings will vary per system and per game. Your biggest upgrade is always going from any HDD to any SSD, and upgrading from a slower SSD (assuming you own one already) to a faster one isn't nearly as important. But why settle for something that performs worse when this video shows that great performers don't have to be expensive at all? 😉

- Regarding capacity: I know some people will get upset that there are different capacities in the graphs. That's just the way it has to be as I cannot just buy every drive in the capacity I would like (If you want to change that, free to donate using paypal or the super thanks button for example, so I can buy even more SSDs next time ;) ). BUT, while it’s generally true that larger SSDs perform better than slower ones, the benefits beyond 1 TB are usually insignificant, AND that is more relevant with internal drives than external ones. That’s why I included the Samsung T7 Shield in both 1TB and 2TB capacities, just to show you they will offer pretty much the same level of performance. The same goes for other products as well (I have several in multiple capacities, but that I did not include in the graph). So generally speaking, this tier list will NOT change whether you’re looking at 500GB, 1 TB or 2TB models, and even cross capacity comparisons hold a lot of weight.

As always, hope you enjoy the video and if you have any questions, just ask! 😘

[the-patient-]

It's impressive the amount of work required to perform these tests, digest all the data and come up with so clear and informative graphs. The watch count of this channel should be in the tens of millions.

[JD-McC]

I love these mass comprehensive, comparative reviews of yours. Please keep doing these.

[HorstJt]

Stephan: how many external drives do I need to test? Nada: Yes

[FeelRossly]

Thank you SO MUCH for this! I'd gone round in circles trying to work out what I really needed. You solved it in one (thoroughly researched and informative) video! Currently the X8 is far and away the best deal.

[BonJoviBeatlesLedZep]

Thank you so much for this video. Got the Crucial X8 because of it and I'm so in love with it! Games load SO FAST. I literally don't even think about the fact that it's an external SSD

[GaryEllis-bn]

this lady puts everything over so good love the way she expresses herself thankyou

[TechManG]

Thank you for all the hard work you do on all your SSDs benchmarks!

[toosla]

It is much useful to choose which type would be the best external SSD to run games, experiments, big data, etc. Thank you very much!

[deenyc]

I appreciate the list in the description.

[kingzach]

I find it really interesting how the SanDisk Extreme Pro that is supposed to be rated at 2000MB/s consistently seems to be slower than the Crucial X8 which is only rated at 1050MB/s that is quite crazy that SanDisk is able to get away with lying to their customers about their performance of their drives.

I think my next External SSD will most likely be the Crucial X8. That is very surprising.

[Joseph_AS]

Thank you so much you've saved me a lot of work and research! Guess I'll be picking the X8

[justmejustme]

That was A LOT of work... Thank you for the effort and great video 👍

[dantheman]

Hello, a superb product review once again. I learned a lot and I do have a use for an external. Thanks again for the usual hard work you do to prepare your reviews for us. Stay well.

[gabrielwilliams]

This was the most helpful video out of the many I've watched! Thank you for the breakdown in different categories. It's a big help.

[emigdioalaniz]

One note to have better control in testing and benchmark with a better control, try to use same TB capacity. Given that some that have smaller Capacity are designed for faster loads than those that are higher in capacity or vice versa. The Bandwidth is saturated by the information and capacity. If we put 1TB with 1TB makes better control than having a 2TB to 1TB face off. Just a note

[ivovass]

Very useful information here, many many models compared in one place. Thank you for the advice

[salteveline]

hello Techtesters Nada❣️thanks for the in depth review!

[ToastedBread]

Nice vid thanks couldn't find any good offers but thanks to this I'm getting myself a crucial x8 what an amazing ssd for the price

[orangsabarr]

I was very confused but your video helped me a lot in choosing an external SSD, thank you!