Buying guide for best external hard drives for xbox one Key considerations Xbox One external hard drive prices Tips FAQ Buying guide for best external hard drives for xbox one The Xbox One is one of the most powerful gaming systems on Earth: it plays cutting-edge triple-A titles, streams every different kind of media you can think of, and it. Seagate Game Drive for Xbox One. Store Your Collection. Many of us are huge XBox fans, having. Anyone looking to add storage to XBox One shouldn't need to look hard to find a usable external hard drive. The XBox One console is capable of using any standard USB external hard drive, just as long as it is at least USB 2.0, although a USB 3.0 hard drive is greatly recommended. The Western Digital My Passport SSD may not be the cheapest additional Xbox Series X storage out there but is one of the most reliable. This external SSD is stylishly designed to make sure that it won’t stick out like a sore thumb on your gaming station. It comes in three color variants, namely gray, red, and blue.

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• Best External Storage For Xbox One
• Best External Storage For Xbox One
• Extra Storage For Xbox One

Now that we're reaching the very end (or pinnacle, if you like) of this generation, adding one of the best Xbox One external hard drives into your set up is an incredibly wise, important, and downright useful move. It's not a sexy aspect to think about, but through one simple acquisition, you can basically solve the age-old problem of running out of space. Considering everything that our consoles do and have to hold nowadays - games, saves, downloads, videos, screenshots, and other files - their built-in storage can quickly disappear. If you're struggling for storage space, then picking up one of the best Xbox One external hard drives can sort you right out.

Such are the general improvements and refinements made across the hard drive market now, a lot of them are only the size of a phone, and use a simple USB connection to slot into your Xbox One with little fuss and very neatly. And, for the convenience chasers among you, once you've formatted an external HDD, you can just leave it plugged in, use it at your leisure and barely think about it again. It's so simple and so cost-effective. If you're constantly downloading games, and have an Xbox Game Pass subscription or Games with Gold, it's an essential item to have.

Making a decision on the best Xbox One external hard drive is ultimately driven by what you want from a portable HDD. As we've heard from the recent conversations about the next generation of consoles, speed is a massive factor, with HDDs being almost wholesale replaced by SSDs whenever the opportunity presents itself. External SSDs are more expensive, however, but the faster read and write speeds they bring to the party can massively reduce load times and any time spent copying files from your console. Elsewhere, and probably for most users still, capacity is king. The larger the better. Most Xbox gamers will look to for at least 4TB or north of that to really get value from a single hard drive, while some just need an extra 1TB to keep a few more games within arms reach that they play regularly. Reliability is a key factor, especially if you're going to be carrying your HDD with you regularly. You don't want something made of cheap materials that will damage easily and potentially lose all your game saves and installs with the slightest of bumps. And finally, very importantly, price is key, too, as, while HDDs are essential, they aren't the most exciting of purchases. All in, one of the best Xbox One external hard drives really are one of the most essential Xbox One accessories.

Below is a selection of the best Xbox One external hard drives, balancing value for money against performance.

Best Xbox One external hard drives

1. WD 4TB My Passport Portable

The best Xbox One external hard drive

Capacity: 4TB Storage Type: HDD

Our top pick for best Xbox One external hard drive belongs to the Western Digital 4TB My Passport series. We used to recommend a 2TB drive (which is still more than large enough for most people), but with Xbox One X ownership rising and the increased size of 4K games, this is the best way to future proof yourself. In terms of features, this USB 3.0 (and USB 2.0) compatible hard drive offers 256-AES encryption and cloud storage, along with WD's own backup software. In reality, all you really need to know is that this hits the sweet spot of size, speed and affordability. This 4TB external hard drive will store up to 40 Xbox One X games (or more), and up to 100 or so regular Xbox One games. Basically, it's a monster, and with a three-year limited warranty, there's every reason to buy with utmost confidence. It's available in a 2TB option, too, but 4TB feels like maximum value. What's more, the new design is excellent, stylish and keeps all that is good in a sleek new aesthetic.

2. Toshiba 1TB Canvio Advance

Best budget Xbox One external hard drive

Capacity: 1TB Storage Type: HDD

We have a new budget pick for the best Xbox One external hard drive. The Toshiba Canvio Advance is a lovely piece of kit: it comes with a glossy shell, a simple design, and a neat, blue power-light on the top. It doesn't require an additional power source, and simply plugs into the USB port on your Xbox One console and... just works. It has read and write speeds to match all other drives on this list, and comes with a two year warranty as standard. If you want to use it for PC too, it has password protection and automatic file back-up, which are both useful features that elevate this model above our previous budget pick, the Canvio Basics. The only real drawback of the Advance is that it doesn't come in a green color, which means it won't complement your console. However, you can get white which does look slick next to most Xbox consoles. You should be able to grab the 1TB version for around $50 / £50, which makes it a genuine bargain too.

3. WD Black P10 1-5TB Game Drive

Best External Storage For Xbox One X

A bit pricey, but reliable and built to last

Capacity: 1-5TB Storage type: : HDD

The WD Black P10 hard drive is a superb portable option for expandable storage. And while not listed as an armored or 'rugged' hard drive, we found it to have a really sturdy build-quality with the metal topside giving it a bit of a shipping container aesthetic. We also noticed the hard drive runs cool (and quietly too), even with back to back-to-back 16-hour days for a couple of weeks.

Why would you have it running that long? Well, we decided to test the 5TB version and download every single Xbox Game Pass game (took a while with our home connection speed). And we managed it too, that's over 280 games, with a bit of space leftover.

The write speed is nothing special at 'up to 130 MB/s' but we found it matched that of the Xbox One console itself, so we were perfectly happy running our entire game collection from this external hard drive rather than the console's storage system.

An Xbox branded version has a white trim instead of the cheaper all-black model, but that's the only real difference and we found the plain one to be cheaper. Although some of the branded ones come with a code for two months of Game Pass, so worth checking the product description for confirmation there.

4. Seagate 2TB/4TB Xbox One Game Drive

The official Xbox One external hard drive (and it's a good one too!)

Capacity: 2TB/4TB Storage Type: HDD

This officially branded external hard drive on Xbox One comes in 2 or 4GB options giving you a choice depending on if you want to go for media storage, or games. It's basically a regular Seagate drive in a flashier case, and you're paying about $15-20 extra for having the (admittedly quite nice) embossed Xbox logo and official green case colour. If your budget allows, and aesthetics are important to you, it's functionally still a great choice, and you can often find it on sale. The Seagate 2TB Game Drive in official Xbox green often drops in price around big retail events, so while now is a great time to buy, we'll surely see reductions in the new year sales.

If you're not worried about official branding, this Seagate 4TB drive at Walmart is currently $40 off at $89.

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5. Seagate Expansion 8TB

Best External Storage For Xbox One

Capacity: 8TB Storage Type: HDD

The Seagate Expansion 8TB is USB 3.0 compatible and offers more storage than you'll likely ever need. It's the ideal choice for the prolific Xbox One user who wants to buy one hard drive and never have to think about storage again. The huge storage capacity raises the price, obviously, and the 8TB drive requires an external power adapter (supplied in the box), but is surprisingly elegant for such a large device. At 2.09 lbs with dimensions of 4.75 x 6.93 x 1.44 in, the Seagate Expansion 8TB is also considerably lighter than rival large capacity external hard drives, such as the WD 8TB My Book drive at 3.0 lbs with dimensions of 1.9 x 5.5 x 6.7 in.

6. Samsung 860 EVO 500GB SSD

The fastest hard drives if you're willing to do a little DIY

Best External Storage For Xbox One

Capacity: 500GB Storage Type: SSD

You will need to buy a separate USB 3.0 caddy to use this, since the connector is Serial ATA-600 not USB 3.0, but they're circa $10 and easy to install. At 500GB you're not getting the best price-to-storage ratio, but what you are getting is the speed of an SSD external hard drive on Xbox One. That means it's solid state memory, rather than an actual spinning disk. You won't immediately feel the difference when accessing media files and in-game video, but the speedier loading times can make a noticeable improvement in games like, say, Far Cry 5 where warping across the map causes the game to reload. If you want a great 500GB SSD drive, but don't want to buy an external USB 3.0 caddy, we recommend the Samsung T5 Portable 500GB. It's about $60 more expensive than buying a Serial ATA-600 (SATA) SSD drive and a USB 3.0 caddy - but that's the premium for having USB 3.1 (which is USB 3.0 compatible) built in.

7. Lacie Rugged Mini 1TB

The toughest Xbox One external hard drive

Capacity: 1TB Storage Type: HDD

If you're worried about your HDD breaking, because you're always throwing it into a backpack or taking it into the great outdoors, the Lacie Rugged is for you. This tough little monster is dust and rain resistant, and comes with a rubber shield around the body of the HDD which helps protect it from impact damage or shock. That means if you drop this drive, it's far more likely to work perfectly afterwards.

Transfer speeds are similar to other drives, as is the size of the unit itself. The orange color and chunky shape won't be to everyone's liking, and the higher price will put some people off, but if you're worried about damaging your external drive then this is the toughest of the lot. We recommend the 1TB drive, as it's on sale now, but you should be able to get the 2TB version for around $100.

With modern games setting new records in terms of storage size, 500GB or even 1TB internal storage on an Xbox seems low. The internal storage of the Xbox One isn’t upgradable. However, the console supports external storage. Through the lifecycle of the console, it is possible you will built a library of games that surpass the built-in storage of the console. Deleting games becomes a tough chose as most games are 50GB in size on average. Games like Red Dead Redemption 2 touch the 100GB mark as well. Here, we look at what are your best options when it comes to storage devices for Xbox

Extra Storage For Xbox One

Seagate 3TB Expansion USB 3.0 Portable 2.5 inch External Hard Drive

Seagate is a renowned and popular name when it comes to storage devices and there 3TB Expansion Hard Drive proves why they are so popular among fans. With a clean design that is lightweight too, it is easy to carry and looks good not just at home but also at work. Gone are the days when you have to delete your Xbox classics to make room for modern games as it’s 3TB capacity allows you to store tons of games, be it Xbox Exclusives like Forza or cross-platform hit like GTA V. It connects via USB and is easy to set up and the USB 3.0 support brings faster load times and efficient performance. It is also compatible with Windows devices, giving you the versatility to use it in any way you want.

Seagate Game Drive for Xbox 4 TB External Hard Drive Portable HDD

A Hard Drive designed just for your Xbox. The Green finish along with a minimalistic design makes it a perfect match for your Xbox. The 4TB storage capacity ensures you have tons of space to store hundreds of games and you will never check the size of the game again. With USB 3.0 connectivity and optimizations specifically for Xbox, you don’t need to worry about performance. For classic lovers, it also supports USB 2.0 and you can easily plug it on your Xbox 360 as well. With its compact nature, you just have to plug it and the adventure awaits you.

Seagate Game Drive for Xbox 2 TB External Hard Drive Portable HDD

With a Game Pass subscription, chances are you'll want to download as many games as possible on your Xbox One. In this case the 500GB or 1TB of storage of the console will not suffice. With an external 2TB drive, you can expand the storage of your console, ensuring you can download as many games as you like. This plug and play hard drive from Seagate has Xbox branding to ensure it merges into your gaming setup. it comes in three color options White, Classic Xbox Green and a special Sea of Thieves edition that also includes a one-month Game Pass subscription.

Seagate Game Drive for Xbox 2 TB External Hard Drive Portable HDD

With 2TB of space, save tons of games on this drive and gain free access to more than a hundred titles thanks to the included one-month Game Pass subscription. Just plug the drive, complete the setup within a few minutes and you are good to go. Seagate promises to deliver no-lag gaming with optimizations being done to provide performance levels as fast as the internal storage. With a classic white finish on a sleek and compact form factor, this thing can travel from your home to your vacations with ease.