Are External Hard Drives Significantly Slower for Gaming?

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Asked By CuriousCat42 On

I recently got a prebuilt PC after my first build failed, and now I'm looking to expand my storage since many of the games I want are over 100GB, but my PC only has 1TB. I'm feeling a bit anxious about installing a second internal M.2 SSD, so I'm thinking about going with an external hard drive instead because it seems simpler – just plug it in via USB. I've heard that loading times with external hard drives can be a lot slower for games. I'm curious to know how much slower they really are and what specific issues I might face by using an external hard drive.

5 Answers

Answered By DesktopDude On

The enclosure is just a small case for your SSD. If you have a desktop, you could just set it on top or tape it to the case. It won't require much airflow, so it's pretty low-key!

CuriousCat42 -

Good to know! I might place it on something elevated, though, just in case.

Answered By TechieTommy On

If you're worried about speed, consider getting an external SSD. If it supports USB 3.2, it should perform almost as well as an internal SSD. Trust me, it's way faster than a traditional hard drive and quieter too!

CuriousCat42 -

I hadn’t thought about an external SSD! How can I check if my USB is 3.2?

Answered By ChillGamer On

My external SSD runs cool and hardly warms up. You don’t have to worry about it needing airflow like other components – it’s pretty solid!

Answered By VideoEditVictor On

I use a USB-C adapter with an M.2 SSD, and even though I don't play games, I edit videos without speed issues. It works great!

CuriousCat42 -

Thanks for the tip! I forgot external SSDs were a thing.

Answered By BudgetBuilder On

I bought a 1TB Kingston external drive for about $65 on Amazon. The 2TB models are in the range of $125 to $165. Don't forget you'll need an enclosure to house the SSD, usually around $20.

CuriousCat42 -

What exactly is an enclosure? Is it just a case for the SSD, or can I leave it out?

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