5 Best External SSDs in 2024

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Affordable and high-quality External SSDs.

best external ssd

The best external SSD helps you store your files and take them with you wherever you go. Portable SSDs come without moving parts, which makes them less vulnerable to damage. Since such devices are faster and more reliable, many high-level specialists opt for portable SSDs.

Top 5 Best External SSDs

  1. Samsung T7 Portable - Our Choice
  2. Seagate Barracuda Fast - Easy Backup
  3. SanDisk Extreme Portable - Waterproof
  4. WD My Passport Go - For travel
  5. SAMSUNG T7 Touch - With fingerprint

Unlike hard drives, solid-state drives have various advantages and are therefore more expensive. If you are not on a budget, consider this option to increase your storage. I have prepared this review to help you choose a decent SSD at an affordable price.

1. Samsung T7 Portable

Our Choice
samsung t7 portable external ssd

Capacity: 500 GB | Interface: USB 3.2 Gen2 | Speed: 1050 MB/s

  • ✚ 256-bit AES hardware encryption
  • ✚ Discrete Type-A and Type-C USB cables
  • ✚ Tiny size
  • No IP rating
Rating

When you are looking for the best external hard drive that can make your life easier, look no further than theamsung Samsonite T7 SSD 500GB. With features such as extreme shock protection, it offers the best protection for your data. It is lightweight, slim, and portable, which allows for it to be taken with you on the go. This is one of the most powerful and high performance Solid State Drives available today. With the industry leading in storage technology, the Samsonite T7 SSD 500GB is here to provide you with what you need.

The Samsung T7 SSD 500GB comes with two unique features; a USB shield that ensures a secure and safe data transfer when connecting it to a computer and a miscast technology that guarantee a true conforming write performance.

2. Seagate Barracuda Fast

Easy Backup
seagate barracuda fast external ssd

Capacity: 500 GB | Interface: USB 3.0 | Speed: 540 MB/s

  • ✚ Nicely priced
  • ✚ Compact size
  • ✚ Three-year warranty
  • Short cable length
Rating

The Seagate Barracuda SSD 500GB is a great value for those looking for the best external ssd drives for their desktop PCs. With a quad-core processor running at 2.5GHz, the Barracuda offers high-performance computing power to help your desktop PC project superior results no matter what you are doing. This solid-state hard drive comes equipped with two USBs and one FireWire port to help you connect up quickly and efficiently with the various peripherals that you need connected on your desk. Along with standard connectivity features like an 8 port serial port and a host of differential/unique ports, the Seagate comes with the same powerful, hard drive performance as other top-end 500GB drives at lower prices.

The Seagate Barracuda SSD 500GB is an ideal choice to help you take advantage of faster speeds when it comes to data storage. When paired with your personal computer, you can experience fast and dependable storage speeds with the help of this powerful hard drive. If you work on a variety of programs and files that require large amounts of space, then the ability of a 500GB and drive to handle the pace at which your files are changing will be essential.

3. SanDisk Extreme Portable

Waterproof
sandisk extreme portable external ssd

Capacity: 1 TB | Interface: USB 3.1 Type C | Speed: 550 MB/s

  • ✚ Trim, understated design
  • ✚ IP55 support
  • ✚ Includes carabiner and keychain loop
  • No seal over USB port
Rating

This is a very fast read/write drive and comes with a magnetic stripe drive letter which helps to prevent overwriting of documents. SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD comes with all the same features as the larger drive, but the SanDisk Extreme comes with a double steel layer that is non-magnetic to prevent damage from adverse weather conditions. In addition to the above features, it also features a large number of features including the boot/installer program, password protection, encryption, copy protection, data backup, data recovery, a full suite of software including a word processor, spreadsheet and more.

The SanDisk Extreme is very small and compact when compared to other hard disk drives and comes in a variety of colors, so it is easily interchangeable with other types of SanDisk drives. There are some other small sizes available such as the SanDisk Ultra Plus but it is basically the same as the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD.

4. WD My Passport Go

For travel
wd my passport go external ssd

Capacity: 500 GB | Interface: USB 3.0, USB 2.0 | Speed: 400 MB/s

  • ✚ Integrated USB cable
  • ✚ Light and pocketable
  • ✚ 5-year warranty
  • No status lights
  • Cable too thin
Rating

If you are looking for a top quality external hard drive, one that can handle all of your large, high capacity photos, videos, and games without having to worry about losing any data or formatting the drive itself, look no further than the WD 500GB My Passport Go SSD. Tough, built to last. With a shockproof rubber outer case, a sturdy hard drive inside, and an internal cable for added convenience; this isn't any ordinary external hard drive.

Along with the shockproof rubber outer case, this hard drive is protected from bumps, scratches, and even direct sunlight. And because it is portable, it is easy to carry wherever you need it. Its two internal antennas help to prevent interference with other wireless devices, such as a laptop computer, thus improving your signal reception. And while this portable drive is great for traveling, it comes in handy in other situations, too. The built in memory allows you to store large amounts of data files and work simultaneously on them, meaning you never have to miss a deadline because you had to retrieve data from your hard drive or flash drive.

5. SAMSUNG T7 Touch

With fingerprint
samsung t7 touch external ssd

Capacity: 1 TB | Interface: USB 3.1 Type C | Speed: 1050 MB/s

  • ✚ Attractive aesthetics
  • ✚ Fast performance
  • ✚ Three-year warranty
  • Small write cache
Rating

Rather than being limited to a desktop computer at home, you now have the ability to bring your work anywhere with you. This is a great advantage when traveling, as you'll be able to access your documents no matter where you happen to be.

While there are many advantages to using an external Samsung t7 touch portable and laptop computer, we wanted to give our readers some info on the best way to secure your data with USB password protection software. When you connect your external Samsung laptop computer to a USB port, it automatically creates a secure encryption key that is required in order to access the files. With this type of password, no one will be able to access your files on your computer. Instead, only you will be able to access the files, meaning that all of your files will be protected and nobody else will be able to get at them.

IMAGE NAME FEATURES
samsung t7 portable external ssd
Samsung T7 Portable
Our Choice
  • 256-bit AES hardware encryption
  • Discrete Type-A and Type-C USB cables
CHECK PRICE
seagate barracuda fast external ssd
Seagate Barracuda Fast
Easy Backup
  • Nicely priced
  • Compact size
CHECK PRICE
sandisk extreme portable external ssd
SanDisk Extreme Portable
Waterproof
  • Trim, understated design
  • IP55 support
CHECK PRICE

How to Choose the Best External SSD?

how to choose the best external ssd

Storage capacity

If you need an SSD drive for a home computer to speed up the loading of the OS, programs, simple games and increase the responsiveness of the system, a 120-240 GB SSD will suffice.

For an average gaming computer, it is better to take an SSD with a volume of at least 240-500 GB. If you have a powerful PC, opt for a 500-2000 GB SSD.

The difference between SSD’s read and write speeds

When selecting an SSD, pay attention to its read, write speed and access times.

On average, SSDs perform reading operations 20 times more often than writing ones. Most modern SSDs have a read speed of 450-550 MB/s. The higher it is, the better. It doesn’t make any sense to buy an SSD with a lower read speed.

Most SSDs have write speeds ranging from 300 to 550 MB/s. I don’t recommend buying an SSD with a write speed below 300 Mb/s. If you want to use an SSD with a higher speed, keep in mind that it will be more expensive.

Which Manufacturers Make the Best SSDs

Only some manufacturers release reliable SSDs. These solid-state drives deliver a great performance, are durable and well-assembled.

When buying an SSD of a well-known brand, you do not need to worry that it will fail or its description is inaccurate. The best SSDs are released by Samsung, Western Digital, ADATA, Kingston.

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