Although your Xbox One console comes with a 1TB internal hard drive, soon this space wouldn’t be enough to handle the biggest titles that need more space to install. Take an example of Red Dead 2 and Call of Duty: Warzone, if you install just these two games on your console, you will sacrifice half of your internal disk space. And if you want to expand disk space on your Xbox One console, you must go for an external hard drive. In this guide, we’ve rounded up some of the best external hard drives for Xbox One that are cheaper and won’t dig a hole in your wallet.
Best Cheap External Hard Drive for Xbox One on the List
If you want to boost the storage capacity of your console, then here are some of the most reliable options to consider:
Samsung 860 EVO 500GB – Wallet-Friendly External Storage for Xbox One
Reasons to Buy
The Samsung 860 EVO is one of the cheapest external SSD for games consoles. With an amazing sequential read speed of 550MB/s and write speed up to 520MB/s, this is an ideal external drive to connect with your Xbox One console. For added security, this disk drive holds AES 256-bit hardware-based encryption as well.
Connectivity Interface: SATA-600
We know that a 500GB is not a worthy capacity if you are looking to install multiple bigger titles. But there are hardly any games that need over 250GB of disk space to install. But SSD are known for faster data access and performance, and this is what the Samsung 860 EVO packs inside it, a true performance.
The Samsung 860 EVO isn’t a hard drive that makes use of spinning disk to access data. This external SSD for Xbox One comes with over 500MB/s sequential read and write speed. This means you will see great performance when it comes play your favorite titles directly from an external drive.
The only dowside to this external drive is that it supports older SATA-600 connectory. So you would need a Sata to USB 3.0 connector to run this drive. A USB 3.0 caddy can make things easier if you spend a few more bucks buying it.
With a 500GB you aren’t getting the best price to storage value but you are getting a high performing external drive. At least you can cram two of your favorite AAA titles in this drive without compromising on the gameplay performance.
Seagate Portable 1TB External Hard Drive – A Cheaper Option to Expand Your Xbox Storage
Reasons to Buy
Seagate is one of the most trusted brands in the market. Also, Seagate has a dedicated line of hard drives meant for Xbox One and other consoles. On top of all, this external storage drive comes with 1 year of warranty.
Connectivity Interface: USB 3.0
This portable external hard drive for Xbox consoles comes in different storage capacities. For the purpose of this guide, we have chosen the 1TB version. However, if you want to go for higher volume hard drives, there isn’t a big price difference.
This is one of the slickest and clean external hard drives from Seagate with no labels at all. The USB 3.0 interface makes this hard drive easy to connect with your Mac computer or a game console.
You really don’t need any kind of software to install into your Xbox One to run this hard drive. Just plug it into your USB port and you’re good to go. It comes with an 18 inch long USB 3.0 cable for a secure connection.
This hard drive has a durable case to protect the internal components of the hard drive. Its smaller dimensions let you fit it inside in your pocket and carry it anywhere you want. A year of warranty isn’t enough but at least you can test the hard drive to its limits within this period. And if the hard drive fails within this period, you can immediately replace it with a new one.
WD 2TB Elements – Best Budget-Friendly Xbox One External Hard Drive
Reasons to Buy
Western Digital is one of the most reliable manufacturers of storage devices. With a 2TB of external hard drive, you get more space to install bigger titles that consume a lot of space. A great storage device for Xbox One console with a neat design and small dimensions.
Connectivity Interface: USB 3.0
This is one of the best storage devices to save your Xbox One games and other necessary documents. With 2TB of storage capacity, the Western Digital Elements also gives you USB 3.0 connectivity for faster data transfer. Now you really don’t need to delete your favorite old games to make space for the new ones. This hard disk has enough space to hold most of your favorite games at the same time.
You can hold more than 35 4K HDR Xbox One games on this hard drive at a single time. If you need more space for a low cost, this might be the best option to go with.
Same as Seagate, Western Digital Elements’ simple and clean design makes it a right fit for video game consoles that need storage expansion or a backup drive. If we compare its dimensions with the Seagate, then this drive is thicker and shorter.
Though this is not the fastest external hard drive, the Western Digital Elements offers more disk space at a reasonable price. Moreover, 2 years of warranty gives you more time to see if this external hard disk works well for you or not.
Also, you will get a 30-days free trial of WD SmartWare Pro that keeps your drive secure from malware and hack attacks. However, if you want to use that beyond the trial, it will cost you another $20 for the next 30 days. Western Digital Elements is preformatted and ready to use as soon as you plug it in.
WD BLACK 5TB P10 Game Drive – Best Value External HDD for Consoles
Reasons to Buy
If you need a quick and affordable storage upgrade for your Xbox console, this might be the best option to go with. WD Black is a branded and reliable external storage for game consoles with storage capacity up to 5TB and faster read/write speed.
Connectivity Interface: USB 3.0
Where most Xbox gamers look for a 4TB external HDD as a best value to store massive sized games, going for 5TB capacity gives you a little more edge in adding a bit more files to your game library. You can easily download over 250 Xbox Game Pass games and there still be a bit more space left in this hard drive.
The WD Black P10 has a sturdy build quality which makes it easy to carry anywhere you want. Also, this one of the most silent external hard drives for a game console that we’ve ever tested. Even if you run it for more than 10 hours, it won’t make any weird sound.
The Western Digital’s WD Black P10 Game Drive comes with a read and write speed up to 130MB/s which is somewhat similar to the speed of the hard drive that is installed on your Xbox One Console.
All in all, a great value hard drive to expand the storage of your Xbox console.
Seagate Desktop 8TB – High Capacity USB 3.0 External Hard Disk for Xbox Consoles
Reasons to Buy
If you are looking for more capacity, then this hard disk packs up to 8TB of memory to save hundreds of Xbox One games. The Seagate Desktop is a kind of Future-proof hard drive so you won’t feel like expanding your storage once you have it installed on your console. This external HDD is a one time investment if you want to save some cash.
Connectivity Interface: USB 3.0
As we’ve said earlier that demanding AAA titles are shrinking the size of pre-installed hard drives on a game console. So if you want to install bigger game titles that need more space to install, then go for a 8TB Seagate Desktop hard drive.
You could cram a lot of games, movies, and files on an 8TB hard drive. The Seagate Desktop comes with a traditional brick design with pointed corners at each side. Although it looks like a portable hard drive, we really don’t recommend putting it inside your pocket due to pointed corners. However, you can put this hard drive inside a case and carry it around whereever you want.
With more storage capacity, this Seagate hard drive uses an 18 Watt power adapter aside from just USB 3.0 port. There’s a light on the top that lets you know if the hard drive is turned on or off. Morover, you also get a 1.2 meter USB 3.0 cable inside the box.
The Seagate Desktop is one of the fastest external hard drives to connect with your Xbox One console. This drive has upto 124MBps in sequential read and195MBps write speed which is amazing keeping in mind its lower price point.
Things to Keep in Mind While Buying Cheaper External HDDs for Xbox Consoles
There’s always a reason to go after a portable external hard drive. So you keep in mind some important factors before buying an external storage disk.
Capacity
Obviosuly, the most important factor to look for is the capacity. If you thinking to expand the storage of your Xbox One so that you could install more games, go for a hard drive with larger capacity. An 8TB hard disk would be an ideal capacity to store a lot of Xbox games.
Durability
As external storage drives are prone to enviornmental factors that can cause wear and tear over time, you should always opt for a hard disk that has a solid build qualiy. A hard drive made up of low quality materials can break up and you will loose all your important game files.
Price
The last thing that you would be looking in a cheaper Xbox One external hard drive is the price. Make sure that the drive you choose meets all the above mentioned factors while staying under predefined budget.
