Best External Drive Backup Software Thats Platform
Best External Drive Backup PS4 And Xbox

A 4TB Thunderbolt with USB-C version is available for Thunderbolt-equipped Macs for about 200.

Best External Drive Backup PS4 And Xbox

Game consoles such as the PS4 and Xbox One include drives that max out at 1-terabyte (which is roughly 1,000GB) and those fill up quickly if youre not disciplined about removing games as you acquire more.

Thanks to speedier USB-C and USB 3.0 (as well as 3.13.2 ) interfaces, a traditional hard drive that uses old hard drive technology (mechanical platters and a moving read-write head to access data) works just fine for most people.

Prices have come down a lot in recent years, with even mega-capacity models tipping the scales at 5TB but costing just over 100.

A solid state drive doesnt have moving parts and has up to four times faster read speeds, but it costs a lot more per gigabyte.

Best External Drive Backup Software Thats Platform

But a lot of times theyll be designated as working with a specific platform out of the box and sometimes come with backup software thats platform-specific.

Unless otherwise indicated, all the PC drives mentioned here are compatible with Windows but can be formatted for a Mac user.

Many of them include cables or adapters to accommodate USB-C and USB-A ports.

But if they dont happen to be included, you can easily buy dongles for about 10.

Ideally, youll want redundant backups either off-site or in the cloud for key data (such as family photos) in case of theft or fire.

With those caveats noted, our current top picks for the best external hard drive and SSDs are below.

These (or nearly identical models with less storage capacity) have been used or anecdotally tested by CNET editors.

The 1TB version (190) only costs 30 more than the standard Extreme Portable and it delivers almost twice the speed with 1,050MBps (just over a gigabyte per second) transfer rates, according to SanDisk.

I copied a 4.2GB video file to the SSD in 8.1 seconds from a 2019 Mac Mini running a Core i5 processor with 16GB of RAM.

Compatible with Macs and Windows PCs, its technically ruggedized with an IP55 rating, meaning it can withstand a sustained spray of water.

It has a USB-C interface and includes both USB-C to USB-C and USC-A to USB-C cable.

But you might as well spend the extra dough and get 4TB for this portable external hard drive.

Note that Seagate makes an SSD Game Drive For Xbox but not PS4.

If you dont need the two months of Game Pass Ultimate, you can save 10 on the standard version of the drive, which also works with PCs and the PS4.

Available in a few color options, it also comes in 1TB (55), 4TB (93) and 5TB (115) versions, but the higher capacity drives are thicker.

You pay a bit of a premium over the standard WD drive, but this newer model offers a USB-C connection, meaning it has the latest and greatest connectivity for Macs and PCs.

No USB-C on your system No problem: Western Digital also tosses in a USB-A to USB-C adapter, so itll work with pretty much any computer straight out of the box.

This rugged hard disk drive uses a USB-C interface, is compatible with Mac and Windows PCs and is water and shock-resistant.

Best External Drive For Mac Backup