Whether it’s for storage, or for backing up your Windows or Mac computer, external storage devices are pretty useful. While you can pick up an external hard disk for pretty cheap these days, external SSDs have also gotten a lot more affordable as well. So, if you’re looking to buy a portable SSD for your laptop here are the 5 best external SSDs you can buy in 2020:
Before we take a look at the external SSDs you can buy in 2020, let’s talk briefly about why you should consider an SSD over an external hard disk without getting too into the woods about the technical differences. Here are some reasons why SSDs are in-general better than hard disks for storage:
There are also two different types of SSDs you will find: NVMe SSDs and SATA SSDs. While NVMe SSDs offer considerably higher speeds than solid state drives using SATA interfaces, they are also usually priced higher than SATA SSDs. At the end of the day, it’s all about the price-performance trade-off you’re willing to make in your purchase.
1. Samsung X5 Thunderbolt 3 NVMe SSD
The first SSD I’m putting on this list is the Samsung X5 SSD that comes with Thunderbolt 3 for speeds you’d normally expect to see on internal SSDs. The X5 is also an NVMe SSD at its core, but the reason it’s almost twice as fast as the other NVMe SSDs you’ll find on this list is because it’s using Thunderbolt 3 instead of USB 3.2 Gen1 or USB 3.2 Gen2 interfaces.
The SL100 Pro from Lexar is an NVMe SSD that brings read speeds up to 950MB/s and write speeds up to 900MB/s which is almost twice the speeds offered by SATA SSDs like the Samsung T5.
The Lexar SL100 Pro comes in a small, portable package that should be easy to carry around, weighing in at just around 69g. The SSD has a USB Type-C port for connectivity, but Lexar ships both USB Type-C to Type-C and USB Type-C to Type-A cables with the SSD so even if your laptop doesn’t have a USB-C (or Thunderbolt 3) port you will be able to use the SSD without needing any adapters.
3. Crucial X8 Portable NVMe SSD
Crucial is one of the biggest names when it comes to storage devices. You might have heard of Crucial if you have ever looked for RAM sticks, or internal SSDs or HDDs for your tower PC. The X8 from Crucial is a portable external SSD that uses NVMe instead of SATA, and is claimed to support read/write speeds of 1050MB/s.
For people who need a more rugged storage solution for their data, one that’s protected against accidental drops and possible exposure to water and dust, the SanDisk Extreme Pro SSD is definitely the one to go with.
The SSD is available in 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB variants for a starting price of $119.99.
Another SSD you can consider buying for your storage needs is the Samsung T5 Portable SSD. This is one we use at the Beebom office a lot for our video team’s storage requirements, and it’s battle tested for sure.
The T5 from Samsung is a SATA SSD, though, so you’ll get read/write speeds of up to 540MB/s with this SSD using the USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C to Type-C cable that’s included in the box. There’s also a Type-C to Type-A cable here for connecting the SSD with devices that don’t have a Type-C port.
Use External SSDs for Faster, More Reliable Storage
Those were the best external SSDs you can buy right now. There are some others you can check out as well, including the Seagate Fast SSD ($169), and the WD MyPassport ($149.99) both of which are SATA based SSDs that offer speeds up to 540MB/s. While you can choose to go with either NVMe or SATA based SSDs for your storage needs, you should know that while SATA based SSDs are relatively more affordable, NVMe drives will offer much faster transfer speeds. Moreover, if you get an SSD that uses Thunderbolt 3, you’ll get the fastest speeds while transferring data.
