Seagate Game Drive for Xbox, 4TB, External Hard Drive Portable, USB 3.2 Gen 1, Black with built-in green LED bar, Xbox Certified, 2 year Rescue Services (STKX4000402)

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Let’s assume you want to keep your entire game library installed. It depends a little bit on how many games you own, although if you’re in the market for an external hard drive you’re clearly looking to install more than just Fortnite, Apex Legends and the latest FIFA. The best external drives for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S 1. Toshiba Canvio Flex 2TB: Best value HDD for Xbox Series consoles Whilst we will do everything we can to meet the delivery times above, there may be factors outside of our control and we cannot guarantee delivery within this time frame. It's worth keeping in mind that older games do benefit from increased speeds, reducing load times, so there is some benefit to installing them on something faster than a mechanical hard drive like Seagate's model, which runs at up to 120MB/s. By contrast, the proprietary Xbox Series X|S storage runs at 2.4GB/s uncompressed, which is quite the gulf. You’re after more space: As it can’t run Xbox Series X|S games natively, you may want to opt for a HDD for more storage space overall.

The best external hard drives for Xbox One in 2023 1. Toshiba Canvio Flex: Best all-round hard drive for Xbox One We run two sets of tests when we’re looking at external hard drives for the Xbox Series S and Series X. First, we connect them to a PC and run the CrystalDiskMark benchmark to test their raw sequential and random read/write speeds. Sequential speeds are an indication of how fast the drive can read or write large quantities of data in one sustained burst, which makes a big difference when you’re first running a game, loading a saved game, streaming in all the models and textures in a level, or transferring a game from one drive to another. Random read/write speeds cover smaller data transfers, and make an impact when you’re running a game directly from the hard drive. in one of the best Xbox One external hard drives will go far. We're talking around 50 games, depending on what they are. Smaller, retro style games may only take up a few gigs, while some newer AAA titles are upwards of 80-100GB. Either way, 2TB is sure to futureproof you. Do all external hard drives work with Xbox One?Its USB-C port can be used on your devices as either a USB-A or USB-C connection and in our testing, we got the same speeds through either port so it shouldn't matter which you have free or available, or if you change the device it's used with during its lifetime. There's a small but clear LED indicator on one of the short ends which is always a help, but one small downside is that it does get a little warm when in use so it'll pay to keep that in mind when positioning it. So, what if you're not looking to spend a ridiculous amount of money, but you still need a fair bit of extra storage? If you're looking to reduce your problems with storing older titles, this 4TB hard drive from WD will remove most of your woes. A full install of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II with the Warzone 2.0 Battle Royale mode will take well over 100GB on the internal SSD. Ditto for Forza Horizon 5. Go for this year’s big exclusive, Starfield, and you’re looking at around 125GB. Sign up to Xbox Games Pass and make use of its extensive library, and you could see your available storage space reduced to zero before you know it.

Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, Northern Ireland and the Scottish Highlands) may take longer to reach you. You can get a 1TB version here for a similar price to HDDs with equivalent capacities. The Crucial X6 is fantastic for storing and playing games and data, no matter the platform you're on. It may be pictured here next to a DualSense, but keep in mind that these drives work with any device so long as they're formatted correctly, and the Xbox One will do the heavy lifting with that in a flash. Interface type: The Xbox One series of consoles supports up to two external hard drives, connected via a USB 3 cable. This is important: the Xbox One doesn’t support newer USB 3.1 gen 2, or indeed USB-C or other miniaturised versions of the USB connector (miniUSB or microUSB). Fortunately, most modern external hard drives have a USB 3 cable, so you won’t need to worry too much about this. SSDs are typically much faster than HDDs, but that can mean they’ll typically be more expensive. SSDs typically also have smaller storage capacities overall, unless you choose to pay a princely sum for a larger capacity model. HDDs are much more space friendly, with some models offering up to 5TB or 8TB worth of space. They’re often cheaper, too, but perform slower on average than SSDs.We run two sets of tests when we’re looking at external hard drives for the Xbox One or One X. First, we connect them to a PC and run the CrystalDiskMark benchmark to test their raw sequential and random read/write speeds. Sequential speeds are an indication of how fast the drive can read or write large quantities of data in one sustained burst, which makes a big difference when you’re first running a game, loading a saved game, streaming in all the models and textures in a level, or transferring a game from one drive to another. Random read/write speeds cover smaller data transfers, and make an impact when you’re running a game directly from the hard drive. With a rating of 5,900 RPM, this massive external hard drive isn't branded in any special way, but it manages to stand out due to how large it is. Due to its size, this isn't a simple plug-and-play, as the drive needs its own power supply via an 18W adapter that's naturally included.

Essentially any external hard drive will be compatible with Xbox One in 2023. Just keep in mind that the console itself formats storage in exFAT, and the majority of hard drives are formatted to something like NTFS out of the box. This means you may have to format the drive before using it with an Xbox One, and that you won't be able to use it for anything else. When you format the drive, you'll lose all the data already on there, so keep that in mind. There are some cosmetic reasons to go for the FireCuda Gaming Hard Drive, not least that it comes in a range of different designs featuring classic Xbox heroes and Marvel and Star Wars fan favourites. Like the FireCuda SSD, it also has a cool illuminated bar on the front edge that flashes when the drive is busy. Yet the real reason to pay a little extra is that its performance is very good. On paper, the Toshiba Canvio Flex has faster sequential read/write speeds, while its random read/write speeds aren’t far behind. In practice, though, we found the FireCuda slightly faster to load some games and two or three seconds faster when loading save games, although the Toshiba had the edge on Prey. The difference isn’t that significant, but if you like the styling then this drive won’t let you down when it comes to performance. The Crucial X8 is a common recommendation for both PC and console use, simply because it’s both very cheap and a seriously speedy SSD. The limitations of the Xbox One’s USB 3.0 interface means you can’t actually make the most of the X8’s up to 1050MB/sec read and write speeds, but who cares when you can chop 30 to 40 seconds off the time it takes to load a saved game in Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla or Red Dead Redemption 2. It doesn’t make so much difference when it comes to simply loading games, but the high transfer speeds make this a good bet if you’re thinking of upgrading to an Xbox Series console, where you can run your old last-gen games from the external drive. It’s a well-built drive with a tough anodized aluminium casing, and it even comes with both a USB Type-C cable and Type-A adapter bundled in. You don’t need to spend more on an Xbox SSD – and, at this price, there’s no compelling reason to pay less. The final option to consider isn't an external hard drive. Rather, it's an external SSD. The Samsung T7 SSD series is an interesting balance that can help if you need speed while still trying to save some money, providing an overall great middle ground in almost every way. Because of the design, it's a perfect replica of the Xbox Series X|S internal SSD, reaching speeds of 2.4GB/s (raw) data that enable games designed around the technology to load exponentially faster than was ever possible before. After thorough testing, we've found that there is absolutely no difference between having a game installed on your internal Xbox SSD or on the Seagate Expansion Card, so you get the same great performance either way.

It's totally up to you whether you go for capacity in the form of HDD, or shoot for faster performance in the form of an SSD. No matter what you choose, one of the best Xbox One hard drives will be an extremely handy tool to have in your console's loadout. Combining this with an expansion card that you can afford is most likely the best option in the long, as you get better performance for all of your games, not just mass storage. Naturally, price is going to be the limiting factor here. You won’t actually notice much difference in terms of general gameplay, so the main advantage of an SSD is the significant reductions in your loading times. Here, much depends on the individual game. Red Dead Redemption 2 doesn’t really load any faster with an SSD than it does with an external HDD, but when loading saved games it’s a different story. While you could be looking at a nearly two minute (133 second) wait on Xbox One X with an external HDD, that drops to just 71 seconds with an SSD.

While Toshiba sells a gaming-specific version of its Canvio external HDD, the Canvio Flex is the current king when it comes to price, performance and value. It’s cheaper than most competitors, yet also one of the fastest portable HDDs we’ve tested. Our PC benchmarks place its sequential read/write speeds over a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A connection at 151.5MB/sec and 158.9MB/sec, and there’s precious little in it between the Canvio Flex and Canvio Gaming when it comes to random read/write speeds. Plugged into the Xbox Series X, it’s very competitive with the Seagate FireCuda Gaming Hard Drive, taking four seconds longer to load a saved game in Prey, but coming first by just under three seconds in Red Dead Redemption 2. You can also save a minute or so over slower drives when it comes to moving or copying installed games. Sure, it’s nowhere near as speedy as an SSD, but if you just want a drive for archiving Series S/X games and playing your old Xbox One favourites, this could be all you need. You’re on a budget: You might want to look elsewhere if you were hoping to spend less overall on an external SSD. Although Toshiba sells a gaming-specific version of its Canvio external HDD, the Canvio Flex is the current king when it comes to price, performance and value. It’s cheaper than most competitors, yet also one of the fastest portable HDDs we’ve tested. Our PC benchmarks place its sequential read/write speeds over a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A connection at 151.5MB/sec and 158.9MB/sec. When it comes to loading saved games on the Xbox One, it’s a second or two faster than the Seagate Expansion Portable and only just behind the Seagate Firecuda HDD in most of our test titles. It’s a great drive for hosting your Games Pass favourites if you don’t want to splash a lot of cash. You can also get 2TB and 4TB versions. An added benefit, of course, is that the Seagate Storage Expansion Card is also extremely fast, and we were able to transfer the entire 104.6GB Red Dead Redemption 2 file in less than three minutes during our tests. If you’ve got the money, and you’re fast approaching the upper limits of your Xbox’s internal storage, then there’s simply no better external storage option at the moment. How to choose the best external hard drive for your Xbox One What are the most important things to look for?With a 5,400 RPM drive, you're again looking at standard performance for older games. Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Original Xbox games won't load extra fast, but you also won't have any issues playing these games. You'll also be able to keep your SSD space clear for the handful of titles that you are playing. You want more space: Capping at a 1TB model, you won’t have drastically more storage space to work with.