Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Whether you're looking to expand the storage on a laptop, desktop or just need something that you can easily move data around between machines on, an external hard drive is an easy recommendation. Likewise an external drive for your Xbox console is a really smart addition with the ever growing size of modern games.
With Black Friday around the corner it's an ideal time to stock up on cut price storage. Whether you're looking for a lot, a little, something you can pocket or pack in your laptop bag, these are the best of the deals right now.
Top Deal
Seagate 2TB Portable hard drive | $55 at Amazon
One of the best deals around right now is this 2TB Seagate drive for under $60, a perfect expansion for PC or console needs.
When considering the best Black Friday deals on external storage first consider what you're looking for. Hard drives provide the most affordable upgrade, providing more capacity for a lower asking price but an SSD, while more expensive, has vastly superior performance.
Linked a little to this is how much extra storage you actually need. If you don't need a lot, you might find yourself better with an ultra-portable SSD which will be better to use in the long run. Whereas if you're looking to back up a lot of data or, say, use it with an Xbox One to store games, then a large capacity HDD is the way forward.
And if you're buying for your new Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S owners, be aware of limitations imposed on USB storage. Microsoft's next-generation SSD inside its new consoles means that while USB drives can store Xbox Series X|S Optimized games, they need to be moved to the internal storage when played. There's nothing stopping you getting a big USB hard drive or SSD to store your games on, but be aware of the limitations first.
Best Black Friday External Hard Drive Deals
For most, a hard drive offers excellent value for money, packing huge amounts of storage into an increasingly affordable box. The trade off over an SSD is performance, but if you need to store a lot of data then it's still the best value option.
WD easystore 2TB External Hard Drive | $60 at Best Buy
Western Digital is one of the most trusted brands in storage and this no frills portable HDD is absolutely perfect for anyone who needs a lot of storage in a compact drive. Pop it in your laptop bag or leave it at home hooked up to a desktop, you'll never know it's there.
WD 5TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive | $98 at Amazon
5TB is a lot of storage space, and 5TB for under $100 is something you simply won't get with any internal or external SSD and shows the value of taking a performance hit for sheer capacity. WD has just the thing with this Elements drive and its entirely portable with no need for external power.
Seagate 2TB Game Drive Star Wars Edition | $90 at Amazon
You're paying a premium with this based on the Star Wars and Xbox licenses, but, just look at it! If you're a fan of either this is such a neat addition to your collection, it's big enough to store plenty of games and any chance to save money on it is one to grab with both hands.
Best Black Friday External SSD Deals
While more expensive, the performance you get from an external SSD is leagues ahead of what you'll get on any HDD. Read and write speeds are faster, there are no moving parts so you never need to worry about external power and they're always a lot smaller and as such, more portable.
Samsung T7 500GB External SSD | $80 at Amazon and Best Buy
The Samsung T7 range demonstrates the latest in portable SSD technologies, including 1,050 MB/s read and 1,000 MB/s write peak speeds. It's the best external SSD you can get right now in no small part thanks to relying on USB 3.2 to max out the performance. It's also incredibly small and durable. You can't do better, and at this price it's a no brainer.
SanDisk 500GB Extreme Portable SSD | $85 at Amazon
This compact SanDisk SSD also fits the bill for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S systems, defined by a rugged design, with shock protection and IP55 dust and water resistance. It hits peak 1,050 MB/s read, and 1,000 MB/s write speeds, both impressive in the context of gaming. While it's all about speed, that added protection goes a long way if you're traveling — and clumsy. It's at the lowest price we've seen, offering serious savings below its usual $130 going rate.
Samsung T7 2TB External SSD | $250 at Amazon and Best Buy
SSDs with large capacities are still pretty expensive, but this big saving on the largest version of Samsung's class-leading T7 is so hot it can't be ignored. Performance is fantastic, it's tiny, uses USB-C and durable enough to go anywhere you go. Don't miss out on this.
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