The best external SSD is more than just a backup device. It's a handy way to keep your most important data with you at school or work, on your commute, and of course at home. It allows you to keep your massive games library to hand without taking up precious storage space on your desktop and laptop. And it can of course work as a great backup space should your PC fail.
You want the best external SSD to be speedy and reliable too, if they're going to match the kind of quality we see from the best NVMe SSD inside your machine. If you're looking for a perfect external SDD, USB Type-C drives are top-tier, though overall, the performance of external SSDs has improved a lot in the past years. Some even support 2GB/s of raw bandwidth, so you can transfer huge game files in minutes rather than spending hours staring at that progress bar.
An external SSD is a more affordable way of gaining more storage for Sony PlayStation 5 or Microsoft Xbox Series X gaming consoles too. You can even run games directly off the SSD itself in most cases, but we understand the dubiousness around the idea.
Whatever the size, speed, and price of the external SSD, chances are we've got one that's right for you listed below. Each of these entries we've tested thoroughly, putting them through our gauntlet of benchmarks so they could earn their right to store your precious games.
Best external SSD
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