An external SSD, especially if it is based on the PCIe NVMe interface, promises much higher performance than a traditional hard drive, which can exceed the transfer rate of 1 GB / s, compared to the 100-150 MB / s that ‘they offer mechanical hard drives with USB connection. However, we must also take into account the same problem that we find in SSDs / internal hard drives: the price per GB of capacity.
So, what’s worth the most?
External SSD or USB HDD, which is better for you?
Currently, you can find external hard drives with a USB 3.0 connection that offer transfer rates of around 140MB / s quite inexpensively, with drives with a capacity of 4TB around 90 dollars. However, if you want to buy an external SSD for that price more or less, you’ll have to settle for 500GB capacities while internally they’re SATA (and they offer speeds of around 500MB / s), and if you are looking for NVMe SSDs you will have to pay a lot more. money, because unless you find a good deal, 500 GB models cost around 150 dollars.
Of course, the choice will depend on the capacity you need, your budget and also how you use it. In terms of performance, there’s no doubt that an external SSD is going to give you a lot more speed than a normal drive, but it’s also a lot more expensive and lower in capacity (on 2.5 ″ TB external drives , the maximum is currently 5 TB, while in SSDs the maximum is 2 TB as a rule, and at exorbitant prices).
When an external SSD is worth it
When you need external storage for high performance tasks, an external SSD will be the most cost effective. For example, if you are a content creation professional and need to have backup copies of your files quickly and directly, or if you just need to move your content from one site to another, an SSD will save you a lot of time compared to a disk. hard mechanics. However, this has a limit since this type of content also necessarily involves a lot of capacity.
This can also apply to users who travel a lot and have a laptop, for two reasons. Today almost all laptops already come with an SSD, but it is usually low in capacity. Having an external SSD as the extended storage will not only help you to keep the speed of all your storage to a certain extent and thus have extra capacity, but also when you travel a lot and since the SSD has no moving parts, it will help you keep the speed of your storage. t is much more resistant to shock and temperature changes than a normal hard drive. In short, it has better durability and is more suitable for transporting it from one place to another without damaging it.
When is a conventional external drive worth more
When you need sufficient storage capacity, whether for large volumes of files or for backups, a conventional hard drive is more worth it even if it comes at the cost of speed. Of course, it pays more for its price per GB of capacity, and unless you only have the cash left, this will be the most reasonable solution for large capacities.
Many of you are wondering if it is worth it for the extended storage of consoles. The answer is yes, a normal USB drive is worth more than an external SSD because that extra performance is not noticeable when games are installed on the device, and the higher capacity (or, we repeat, a better ratio capacity per price) conventional hard drives will allow you to have more games installed.
