5 Best Budget External Hard Drives For PS5
The world has recently been hit by the wave and craze of the incredibly popular next Playstation variant by Sony. The Sony Playstation 5 has been able to sell out worldwide at a mind-blowing speed. On top of that, there are still hundreds of thousands of people who are yet to receive their consoles. The PS5 has gotten more than enough attention from the public gaming community. When we say that, we mean this ranges from casual gamers all the way to competitive players. As things go with newly released hardware or products, there are always extra accessories that come along with them. Good third party accessories make the experience more user friendly. Besides, yous should also take a look at External Graphics Cards for more upgrades.
One of such extra commodities that are needed with a PS5 is external storage drives. In 2022, we can expect gaming to gain even more popularity. This means that more games are being developed all the time, and you’ll need a good bit of storage to play them all. You might end up deleting some older save files or even entire games at the end.
To avoid such a hassle and to allow for better use of storage, you can use External storage drives that use SuperSpeed. This not only makes your save files indefinite, but it also makes sure you can play old PS4 games on your new PS5 with external storage being critical in managing your space. The use of such drives is very common and almost imperative when it comes to console gaming.
1. WD My Passport Ultra 1TB
Feature Rich Premium Choice
Pros
- Password protection
- WD Discovery software
- Automatic backup capability
- Easy to use
Cons
- Relatively expensive
Dimensions: 8 cm x 1.5 cm x 11 cm | Weight: 170 g | Interface: USB 3.0 | Color: Black | Storage Capacity: 1 TB | Warranty: 3 Years | Transfer Rate: 5 GBps
Check PriceWestern Digital, or WD as it is famously known, is an American company that manufactures storage-related hardware and equipment. WD has a wide range of products ranging from storage platforms, embedded and removable flash, external as well as internal drives. WD is one of the world’s finest in their specific area of expertise. The Western Digital My Passport 1 TB is an external hard drive that can be used with a variety of different setups and systems as a storage unit. The WD My Passport hard drive can be used with Windows, MAC, and also PlayStation setups such as the PS5. As this review is for the best PlayStation 5 external storage drives, we will judge how the WD My Passport 1 TB external hard drive functions as a PS5 external storage drive.
The WD My Passport has different levels of storage capacities in its different variants. You can even go as high as 4 TB storage. Although you will rarely ever find yourself in need of such extraordinarily high storage space, it is still available in case you do. The WD My Passport 1 TB is available in different colors. With that said, most people are fine with just a black drive but it’s good to have options. The WD 1 TB external storage drive interfaces via USB 3.0. Thanks to this, it has a very high transfer rate of up to 5 Gigabytes per second. The external hard drive is full black and gives a very sleek and stylish look.
There are a bunch of reasons and features which make this the best external storage device for the PS5. One of these is password protection which allows you to make sure the stuff you have stored in the hard drive is safe. The WD Discovery software provides a wide variety of features and functions. You can connect your hard drive to multiple social media platforms as well as your cloud storage account. You can then import your documents, games, photos, etc. over the internet as well. The WD My Passport external drive also has an automated backup function. You can set up your hard drive to automatically back up different files and folders on a schedule that you can set via the WD Discovery software. Western Digital products have also made a great reputation for themselves for making solid, long-lasting, and durable HDDs.
The installation is also fairly easy as all you have to do is connect the drive to your setup, set it up to how you want it to function via the WD software, and it is installed. The read and write speed of this hard drive is fast and the only real downside is the price. Therefore, My Passport 1 TB hard drive is relatively expensive as compared to the other hard drives or external storage devices that work best with a PS5. You do get a 3-year long warranty period with this hard drive so there is some consolation for the high price point.
2. Seagate Expansion 4 TB
Highest Storage Space but Lower Portability
Pros
- High storage space
- Plug in and play capability
- No software required
Cons
- No online storage
- Not as easily portable
Dimensions: 17 cm x 3.6 cm x 12 cm | Weight: 950 g | Interface: USB 3.0 | Color: Black | Storage Capacity: 4 TB | Warranty: Up to 3 years | Transfer Rate: 5 Gbps
Seagate is one of the most famous or prominent companies in the world of external hard drives or storage drives. Seagate makes a variety of different devices that provide storage solutions on different platforms such as PlayStation, Xbox, and computer setups as well. The Seagate Expansion is a series of external hard drives that were made after the release of USB 3.0. Since most companies adopted the newer and faster USB slots quite quickly, Seagate followed suit and it proved to be the right choice.
The Seagate Expansion Desktop drive that we are looking at today has a storage capacity of 4 TB. Although, an expansion desktop can have a much higher storage capacity than 4 TB. This is an all-black expansion drive which is consistent with the classic Seagate design and aesthetic of their other HDDs. Since this is a desktop expansion drive and not a portable hard drive, it takes up significantly more space than a portable hard drive would. This is also a reason for it being not as portable as an external hard drive. It is still portable since it can be carried around in a backpack quite easily, but it is not as portable as the slim hard drives are. There have also been complaints of there being no online storage or import ability available to this expansion drive.
As you can see from the specifications listed above, this is quite a heavy piece of hardware coming in at almost 1 Kg. The USB 3.0 superspeed cable gives it a high transfer rate. The 4 TB storage capacity is sure to be more than enough for any type of storage needs. It is quite hard to fill up 4 TB worth of space in an external storage drive. There is also no software setup or installation required for the Seagate Expansion Desktop Drive to function. All you need to do is plug in the cable to the appropriate USB slot on your PlayStation and store the file you want in the external expansion drive.
Due to the lack of software in its usage, there is also no customizability such as what was offered by the WD Discovery software in our previous external storage option. This expansion desktop will essentially be for users who do not intend to move their setup too much and also do not travel too much. This is portable since it is still no way as big as a computer setup, but there are many more portable options in the market than an expansion desktop. All in all, while this offers a much higher storage capacity than most hard drives, you do end up having to cut down a little on the portability factor.
Highly Portable Dimensions: 8 cm x 2 cm x 11 cm | Weight: 150 g | Interface: USB 3.0 | Color: Grey | Storage Capacity: 1 TB | Warranty: 3 Years | Transfer Rate: 5 GBps3. Samsung M3 Portable
Pros
Cons
You will definitely have heard the name Samsung before and it is quite safe to say that this is one of the biggest tech companies in the world. Virtually every department of tech in the world has quality Samsung products. As such, Samsung makes a lot of different products and items most of which are related to digital media such as television or computers, or mobile phones. It comes as no surprise to see the Samsung name on one of the best expansion hard drives for PlayStation as well. Although, there are quite a few premium storage products by Samsung, we feel that the Samsung M3 Portable 1 TB hard drive is the best option out of the lot for the PlayStation 5.
The Samsung M3 Portable’s hardware interface is via a USB 3.0 superspeed cable like all the other external hard drives which are compatible with PlayStation 5. As you can see from the dimensions, the M3 is rather compact. This is also very lightweight as it weighs around 150 g which is lesser than any of the previously mentioned drives. The 1 TB storage capacity is not the highest, but realistically speaking you will find it hard to fill it with enough games to run out of space unless of course, you like to hoard many titles at the same time. Due to its low weight as well as the low size, this is also highly portable. Even more so than other drives mentioned in this list as it is lighter than them.
Aesthetically speaking, the M3 portable drive doesn’t stand too much. The design is subtle and easy on the eyes. This can be a good thing especially if you are not too bothered by not having some of the brightest things on your setup. The greyish black color scheme is overall nice to look at without being bright. There is no password protection system on this hard drive. There is also no software for customization and hence no need to install software to get the M3 up and running. All you need to do is plug it into your setup and store what you want into the hard drive.
There is no online storage or cloud storage capability in the Samsung M3 hard drive. Hence, you can not import stuff into it over the internet directly. Fortunately, Samsung manages to redeem itself here. The Samsung M3 Portable lives up to the brand’s name. It offers excellent portability along with a high capacity. Samsung tends to give a very high price tag on their products. Fortunately, that is not the case with the M3 Portable hard drive. The M3 is reasonably priced. PS5 owners will love this drive. It’s easy to use, portable, and a good value for your money.
4. Toshiba Canvio Basics 1 TB
Best Budget Pick
Pros
- Matte black design
- Light weight
- Cheaply priced
Cons
- Limited warranty time
- No online storage
Dimensions: 8 cm x 1.4 cm x 11 cm | Weight: 150 g | Interface: USB 3.0 | Color: Black | Storage Capacity: 1 TB | Warranty: 1 Year | Transfer Rate: 5 GBps
Toshiba is a well-known company in the world for electronic equipment. Toshiba makes a wide range of products from large scale products such as escalators and elevators. Of course, they also make small scale consumer products such as hard drives. This Canvio Basics drive is compatible with Desktop PCs, phone, laptops, and consoles like the PS5. Although the storage space goes up to 4 TB for the Canvio Basics external hard drive, we are looking at the 1 TB variant.
The Toshiba Canvio Basics 1 TB is all black in color. The matte black cover gives a very nice look to the external hard drive. This is another extremely lightweight hard drive, at only 150 grams of weight. Lower weight also translates to higher portability and the size of the Canvio Basics 1 TB is also small enough so it is easy to travel with.
The USB 3.0 interface ensures it has a high transfer rate of up to 5 Gigabytes per second. The cable is also backward compatible with USB 2.0 slots but there is a loss in transfer speed. For a PlayStation 5 however, you will only be operating through the USB 3.0 slot so you do not have to fear a loss in speed. There is no need for any software to be installed for this hard drive to function nor is there any requires setup process. Just plug it in and play.
There is also no online storage feature and there is no password security or customization that software offers. The Toshiba Canvio Basics 1 TB has a low warranty time period of 1 year. This is quite low if we compare it with the other hard drives which mostly have a 3-year warranty period. The Canvio Basics 1 TB is cheap. There is no denying it, this drive is quite affordable. Especially when you compare it to the other hard drives we have mentioned, this is at a very affordable price for all people. But there are notable setbacks that come with a cheap price. Be that as it may, The Toshiba Canvio Basics 1 TB is a great starter external hard drive for PlayStation 5.
5. G-TechnologyArmor ATD 4 TB
Best for Travelling
Pros
- Durable
- Refreshing design
- Weather and environment resistant
Cons
- Expensive
- Slow transfer rate
Dimensions: 8.6 cm x 3 cm x 13 cm | Weight: 350 g | Interface: USB 3.0 | Color: Black and Blue | Storage Capacity: 4 TB | Warranty: 3 Years | Transfer Rate: 135 MBps
G-Technology is a relatively lesser-known name in this list of the best PS5 external storage drives. These guys are not as famous as some of the other names, sure. However, that doesn’t mean that this drive isn’t good. In fact, this is one of the best external hard drives in the market at this time. This is exceptionally good for anyone who likes to travel or move their PlayStation setup a lot. Even for people who move places a lot, this will be the ideal product.
The G-Technology Armor ATD has different levels of storage capacity available in this model. The 4 TB Armor ATD version is the one that makes it into our list. This hard drive lives up to the Armor name as this is exceptionally sturdy and durable. There is a triple layer of shock resistance in this hard drive. This ensures that no harm comes to the hard drive and hence your data stored in it. This is also resistant to rain and dust. The durability coupled with the rain and dust resistance makes this the most durable external hard drive in the market at this time.
Design-wise, this is perhaps the most refreshing or innovative design among all of these hard drives. The drive is black on all sides except the front which is in blue color. A bold “G” logo is visible on the front in blue font, which represents the brand name. Although the hard drive interfaces via USB 3.0 its transfer rate is much lower than the other hard drives at only 135 Megabytes per second. As you can see, there is a massive difference in transfer speeds between the Armor ATD and the other mentioned hard drives. However, it is also clear that this hard drive specialty is in traveling and durability.
There is also a very high price point to get this device’s traveling and durable qualities. This is more expensive than any other hard drive mentioned in this list. So, if you have to carry your saved PlayStation 5 games with you in your external hard drive regularly or you have to travel often, this will be the ideal hard drive for you. Buying a cheaper hard drive may not be as durable and end up costing you all of your saved data. It may be expensive but it is reliable.
