I recently started having serious speed problems with a nearly new 1.9 TB external SSD. It has only about 5 GB of data on it, but downloads to the drive sometimes drop to around 1 MB/s. A 116 MB file took roughly 20 minutes to finish, and the download estimate even changed to "?" for a while. I first suspected the game launcher, but browser downloads are affected too. Downloads to my internal drive seem normal and much faster. Both USB ports I tried have an "SS" label, so I'm wondering whether there's anything I should check on the SSD, USB connection, or cable.
3 Answers
Start by checking the entire USB connection, not just the port. The computer port, SSD enclosure, and cable all need to support a fast USB standard. A slow, damaged, or low-quality cable can make the drive behave like it’s connected through an older USB mode. Try a known-good high-speed cable and another USB port, preferably directly on the computer rather than through a hub.
Downloads aren’t a reliable way to measure SSD performance because the internet connection, server, launcher, and write process can all affect the result. First copy a large file—at least 4 GB—from one folder on the external drive to another and watch the transfer rate. You can also use a disk benchmark tool such as CrystalDiskMark to test the drive directly.
The cable is a strong suspect here. A bad or outdated USB cable can cause extremely slow transfers and even make download speed estimates show “?”. Since the drive is otherwise nearly empty and the internal drive downloads normally, replacing the cable is a sensible first test.
I checked the cable after seeing this suggestion, and it may only support an older USB standard. I’m going to test the SSD with a proper high-speed replacement cable.