Best External Hard Drive for Gaming 2023

The Best External Hard Drive is a topic of concern for hardcore gamers! With more and more games releasing, some of which have gigabyte sizes in the triple digits, it won’t be long before your base PC or console runs out of space.

Whether you’re looking for more storage space for your home setup or are looking for an external hard drive for traveling, we’ve got you covered!

Regardless of your preferred gaming style be it console or PC, check out our recommendations for the best external hard drives of 2023!

10. Samsung T7 Touch

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Samsung T7 Touch Specifications:

Let’s start things off with the best external hard drive for keeping your data safe. The Samsung T7 Touch has some of the best encryption of any external hard drive out there. With built-in AES 256-bit encryption and only unlockable via finger press, you can ensure your data is safe. Moreover, you can add up to four fingers so trusted friends or family can unlock it as well!

The Samsung T7 touch performs decently well when it comes to speed but the main reason you may want to avoid this device is the price. It seems the touch interface is what raises the value of this product as the regular Samsung T7 is a lot cheaper and almost identical to the T7 touch.

9. SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD

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SanDisk 2TB Extreme Pro Portable SSD Specifications:

The SanDisk is the best external hard drive for those who need something truly portable. While other external hard drives are portable because they fit your backpack, the SanDisk Pro fits cozily in your pocket!

Despite its compact size, the SanDisk Pro can reach relatively high speeds, has data encryption, and has a rounded stylistic design. The only downside to what would be the best external hard drive for portability is its price. However, if you can afford to pick it up, we highly recommend it!

8. G-Technology G-Drive Mobile

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G-Technology G-Drive Mobile Specifications:

The G-Technology G-Drive Mobile external hard drive is the best external hard drive for mobile gamers. This device offers a spacious 1TB of storage space which should be enough storage for any mobile gamers library (even when taking emulated games into account).

This external hard drive is designed specifically for mobile gamers and offers little compatibility with other devices. However, if you are a mobile gamer through and through with no interest in console gaming or PC gaming, this is the device for you!

7. Seagate FireCuda Gaming Hub

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Seagate FireCuda Gaming Hub Specifications:

The Seagate FireCuda Gaming Hub is a glowing neon titan of an HDD with rainbow LEDs, multiple connections, and 8TB of storage space!

However, as you can see, if you opt for the larger 8TB gaming hub instead of the 5TB HDD, you’ll be purchasing something about the same size as a small console! Still, the RGB LEDs ensure it will fit right at home next to your PC setup and the 3-Years Rescue Service warranty that comes with any purchase is a nice addition!

6. LaCie Rugged

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LaCie Rugged Specifications:

The LaCie rugged is the best external hard drive you will find when it comes to durability. The protective passing around this HDD makes it incredibly tough and can withstand punishment in the trunk of a car, in a jostling backpack, or the cargo hold of a plane!

However, toughness is not the only selling point for the LaCie rugged. It is incredibly affordable and decently fast (110MB/s). We all have accidents now and again. The LaCie rugged ensures that even if you drop it from a short distance, your gaming collection and save data will remain intact, much like the best external hard drive itself!

5. Seagate Backup Plus

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Seagate Backup Plus Specifications:

Despite the pricey investment of picking up the Seagate Backup Plus, there are a lot of benefits that come with purchasing it. Firstly, when purchasing this HDD, you will receive a 1-Year warranty for any lost data. Additionally, the USB interface and 5GBps are lightning-fast and incomparable to other HDDs on the market. Unfortunately, we need to stress this HDDs association with “lightning” as it lacks any Thunderbolt support.

However, there are several unique color variations to choose from when selecting your Seagate Backup Plus. This is a very effective external hard drive and is compatible with all kinds of gaming devices!

4. WD Black P10

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WD Black P10 Specifications:

The WD Black P10 is a great portable hard drive designed for gaming on the go. Specialized for the traveling console gamer, you won’t have to worry about picking and choosing your favorite games with this best external hard drive, as it comes with 2-8TB of storage!

Furthermore, the WD Black P10 comes with one month of Microsoft’s Game Pass Ultimate if this is your first time subscribing! While this HDD works perfectly well on PS4 and PC, this external hard drive is tailored for Xbox gamers! With up to 130MB/s, you won’t want to miss out on this product!

3. Seagate Expansion

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Seagate Expansion Specifications:

If you find yourself in dire need of storage space when leaving your home gaming setup, the Seagate Expansion is the best external hard drive you could ask for! The Seagate Expansion struggles to hit the same high speeds as other external hard drives on this list, but what it lacks in efficiency, it makes up for with its capacity of 8TB!

As mentioned, the speed of the Seagate Expansion can hit around 150MB/s, which is considered decent for its price. It is also fully USB 3.0 compatible, allowing it to plug into your gaming laptop easily!

2. Samsung T5

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Samsung T5 Specifications:

The Samsung T5 is perhaps the best external hard drive you will find when it comes to portability, affordability, and speed. Despite this technically not being an HDD, it is much faster than other HDDs, so we thought it deserved an inclusion.

Furthermore, the speed of this device does not impact its storage space, as the Samsung T5 comes with a storage ceiling of 2TB!

1. WD My Passport

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WD My Passport Specifications:

Overall, the WD My Passport is the best external hard drive of 2023. This hard drive offers solid performance, hardware encryption, and a large storage capacity. Furthermore, its affordable price only adds to its overall value leaving you more money for a better setup!

Additionally, thanks to the password protection found in this device, you don’t need to worry about crafty hackers acquiring your sensitive information. While other hard drives are smaller and lighter than the WD My Passport (1TB=170g / 4TB=250g), it boasts enough attractive features that make up for any downsides.

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