Games and apps are two things that eat up the most storage on your console’s drive. Gamers tend to keep their favorites around and not delete them, Why? Because we enjoy playing them over and over. Some people think they need an officially branded Xbox One hard disk drive, or HDD. However, solid state drives (SSDs) such as the Crucial X10 Pro are a newer, faster and even more reliable choice for storage. And, as an added benefit, if you have managed to track down a Series X, you can even play your Xbox One titles directly from an external SSD!
Xbox One External Hard Drive
It seems like yesterday HDDs were ‘the’ storage to have. And in some instances, they still serve a purpose. But, like any aging technology, HDDs have their limitations. SSDs are better suited for today’s storage-heavy games, particularly when speedy load times are important.
HDD for Xbox One Pros
HDDs offer an affordable option for topping off storage, without breaking the bank. They offer load times comparable with the internal drive included in the Xbox One and can be found in high capacities.
- Cheap
- OEM-equivalent load time
- Larger capacities available
HDDs for Xbox One Cons
The biggest issue when using an HDD with an Xbox One is speed. HDDs are not as fast or as durable as SSDs due to the fragile and moving mechanical components within. Drop one and risk rendering it useless.
- Significantly slower than SSDs (for example, the Crucial X8 is 7.5x faster than comparable external HDDs!)
- Fragile
- Can be bulky
Xbox One External Solid State Drive
SSDs are lightning-fast and sure to cut load times. We’ll take a moment to examine pros and cons to evaluate before taking the leap into external SSD storage.
SSD for Xbox One Pros
SSDs have gained traction in the gaming market over the years and have become the go-to-solution for external drives when console gaming. For instance, both the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 ship with SSDs – a first for mainstream gaming consoles
- Superior speed (The Crucial X8 has speeds up to 1080MB/s) More durable (No internal moving parts)
- Range of storage sizes and form factors
SSD for Xbox One Cons
Historically, SSDs are not without their faults. In years past, they have demanded a higher price tag than HDDs, however, they are now more affordable than ever. The other thing to consider is capacity. Most external SSDs tend to cap out at around 4TB. Hard drive capacities can be much higher.
- Storage size lower than HDDs
- Higher cost
Choosing the right external drive for Xbox One
If you demand the most from your gaming experience and from your Xbox One. Then the obvious choice is an SSD. Portable SSDs offer a plug-and-play solution for expanding storage on your Xbox One. Simply, plug in your drive and start the format process. Once done, you can name your drive. It’s an easy and straight forward installation. Once formatted you now have expanded your storage and can carry your games with you to another console.
Drives such as the Crucial X8 or X6 are perfect option for storing more games for the Xbox One. With speeds up to 1050MB/s¹, the Crucial X8 runs up to 1.8x faster than other portable SSDs and up to 7.5x faster than portable HDDs.¹
Store with confidence on the Crucial X8. There hasn’t been a better time to add a Crucial X8 portable SSD for your gaming library on Xbox One.
1. MB/s speed measured as maximum sequential performance of device as measured by Crucial on a high performance desktop computer with Crystal Disk Mark (version 6.0.2 for x64). Your performance may vary. Comparative speed claims measured as maximum sequential performance of similarly situated portable SSDs, mainstream portable HDDs and mainstream USB flash drives from vertically-integrated manufacturers selling under their own brands as of June 2019.
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