It is never easy to find a good hard drive for all you need for games, with a wide range of options now available. When looking for a hard disk suited to both fast and conventional gaming and storage needs, always pay attention to its transfer speeds, cache and, of course, actual storage capacity.
When you play seriously, you must have a good PC, which ensures you can obtain the highest possible number of quality components. It also comes on hard disks, and in order to have the best experience, you need to ensure that you get the best HDD in 2020. Of course, some time ago hard drives had their peak, but thanks to the gaming community, there’s still a lot to ask for them. They provide plenty of storage space and these days are no longer so costly, so they are still popular.
Therefore it is important to bear in mind that not all storage options are created equal. In contrast to standard spinning platter hard drive or HDDs, buying a Solid-state drive or SSD ensures faster read and write speeds, which means faster and smoother games to load and run. And, really, if your new hard drive makes your machine feel slow, is that really an upgrade?
SSDs make the entire system faster and more user friendly. But also they’re important for gaming. A fast-charging SSD will cut off the load times of big games like Battlefield 5 or MMOs like World of Warcraft by hundreds of seconds. An SSD will not necessarily impact framerates such as the GPU or CPU, but will make downloading, booting, dying, and reloading a quicker, smoother process in games.
One of the most significant factors when shopping for a good gaming SSD is price per gigabyte. With many new games going beyond the 50 GB mark and even 150 GB mark that becomes even more critical.
Choosing a hard drive is not very hard these days, particularly as most hard drives are relatively good. That said, there are a few things you should remember to make sure before investing your hard-earned cash. Having said that, let us point out that not all hard drives meet the same requirements, particularly for hardcore players. That’s why we thought it was best to mention the ten best hard drives to play to get a good idea of what to look for. So if you need a new HDD, here are some of our top picks for best gaming HDDs.
Next, we’ve got another external portable HDD, this time from Seagate. This one offers a lot of storage and a fairly affordable price. This model does not have many fancy features, but it is still more than able to perform extremely quickly.
Unlike our previous entry, UDB 3.0 has connectivity. It is also available in some models, with various capacities. Choose from 1 TB, 2 TB or 4 TB. Read/write are not exceptional, like those listed in our other top picks, but it is a model that should be expected. It provides 120Mbps, which is still very good, and one of the best in external HDD class.
You can use it for both Mac and Windows, and all you need to do is plug it in. The contract takes just 1 year, which is not too promising, but we do not have much to say in this regard other than that.
If you want the best game storage solution, our money is spent on Seagate FireCura 2 TB, which is not at first spectacular or unique on that hard drive. It looks like a fairly normal mechanical drive.
Nonetheless, you will note that this is a hybrid storage device that provides a solid HDD, but speeds of an SSD, when explored in detail. In other words, FireCuda 2 TB takes the best of both worlds in the process, offering an ultimate solution.
This is possible due to its solid-state memory of 8 GB NAND, which enables accelerated loading and boot times and you will be able to tell the difference. And its total capacity, as the name suggests, is 2 TB, which is more than suitable for any gaming PC. These test results don’t surprise us as Seagate usually tends to deliver exceptional, high-quality storage devices.
3.Seagate Barracuda
As for the desktop counterpart of the aforementioned Seagate Barracuda, it adheres to a similar philosophy and shares the same strengths and weaknesses. This maintains the massive storage space, the large memory banks, and even increases the speed of rotation to 7200 RPM.
For storage options that go up to 8 TB or even 12 TB if you get a Barracuda Pro model (which is essentially the same drive with more memory only), storage capacity remains the best match for these drives. But as with the 2.5-inch versions, they also have a fairly high failure rate compared to other company-made HDDs.
In the end, nothing can be said as the 3.5-inch Barracuda is almost similar to the 2.5-inch Barracuda, characterized by faster rotational speed, better performance and even higher storage capacities. And their lower reliability does not make them great system drives like before.
4.WD My Passport External Hard Drive
Whether you want an external Xbox One hard drive or your PC, the My Passport is suitable for your account. Connectivity is what distinguishes a decent external gaming hard drive from a mediocre gaming hard drive and My Passport luckily has a USB 3.0 interface to ensure fast and peppy transfer rates. It is also extremely lightweight so it can fit seamlessly into your existing setup and be taken along comfortably with you like a traditional American passport.
The biggest point of sale is that scale. It is easily the smallest 2 TB external drive around, but also includes intelligent safety and software support for both Windows and Mac computers. The best feature is to automate the data backup to provide a further degree of tranquillity. The ports are also USB 2.0 compliant.
5.Seagate IronWolf 14 TB Hard Drive
AAA games manufacturers are becoming increasingly absurd storage hogs but Seagate IronWolf’s whopping 14 TB should be greater than anyone else wants in the foreseeable future. The IronWolf can provide if you have the money to be spent and expect the best. It’s a game hard disk absolute beast. Unlike most of its rivals, the RPM speed is incredible at 7200.
But the real point of sale is the NAS format of this drive. It means it can function for every computer in your house as an external drive backup. You’re looking for LAN parties or a group of gamers? The IronWolf is more than appropriate for sport, business and entertainment. Frankly, for most players, it’s going to be a bit over-kill, but it is one of the best options.
With the use of narrower lines, Seagate has raised the platter capacity from 923 Gb / in2 of the 12 TB IronWolf Pro to 1058 GB / in2. Seagate has switched to TDMR (Two Dimensional Magnet Recording) technology to address any reliable errors due to these narrower records. To improve the accuracy of tracking, TDMR uses two read elements on its drive head.
Seagate quota power levels of 0,8 W standby, 0.8 W sleep, average 5.3W idle and average 7.9W active for the 14 TB IronWolf Pro.
6.WD BLACK HDD
Our third choice is the WD Black hard drive, which is a good choice for serious players. It can achieve high-quality performance; this HDD is highly reliable, which has a 5-year guarantee. It does not note that its use of stable Trac and Dynamic Cache Technology improves performance.
Essentially, if you are a player and have a hard drive mission— it will complete without any issues quickly and efficiently.
It also offers a double-core processor and is FIT tested, which it has in common with the hard drives of the data center. In essence, you can be sure it never just gives up when you want it the most, and every gamer needs that kind of reliability.
The only real downside we’ve noticed with it is that it can get pretty hot, but that’s something you can manage with a good cooling system so we don’t take that as a, particularly damning issue.
7.WD Blue
We’ve got Western Digital Blue next up on our chart. Now, hard drives for WD are among the most common, so it’s no surprise that after featuring Black, we have their Blue model so quickly. After all, WD HDDs are well-rounded, providing reasonable power consumption, respectable speeds and pretty good storage capabilities. This also refers to Blue 2.5-inch HDDs.
The low noise arises due to its technology NoTouch, which stops it from really touching disks. This also extends its longevity and will last you for years to come. But we confess that it is not the most powerful HDD out there, even if the gaming is still just as useful.
The only real downside is that a high-capacity model is very difficult to find. Simply put, they have little capacity and not much is possible. At the end of the day, it depends on your preferences and what you want to use.
8.TOSHIBA X300 HDD
And finally, we’ve just left WD and Seagate — we’ve got Toshiba X300, one of the best performance options. The storage capacity also provides quite a deal. It is not so much Ultrastar, although its size is also not far behind, varying from 4 TB to 10 TB.
You’re certainly more than just a few gamers with it. Also, it provides not only huge storage space but also decent read / write speeds, which can also be greater than 200Mbps. As a result, FireCuda can go hand-in-hand, not forgetting that FireCuda is the Hybrid of HDD and SSD. In other words, X300 gives you movement, efficiency and room to retain your favorite games.
For short, the only real downside we may suggest is a limited warranty, which only lasts 2 years. In other terms, the new HDD’s have the same efficiency. Apart from that, the solution is fantastic and we are sure it will be of excellent service to you.
9.Toshiba P300
And now, we’re getting to Toshiba’s laptop edition–two of them. The first is Toshiba P300, which, although with a set of changes, is essentially 3.5-inch laptop equivalent to the above L200. The P300 has up to three TB of storage and a significantly larger memory cache and also increases the speed of rotation to 7200 RPM.
Contrary to the L200, this hard drive has no output delays and continues to maintain the quality and reliability of the former. Toshiba not only achieves excellent quality but also at a very fair and affordable price.
Overall, any of the P300 hard drives don’t have any major problems. With very few instances of HDD failure, Toshiba has a great track record and their P300 models tend to have everything in one modestly priced package. The only thing you may find is that they’re not as popular on the list as the other HDDs, which may result in less availability.
10.WD 14TB Ultrastar HDD0
On the other side, we have great news for you if you search for a big HDD capacity as WD is also the perfect hard drive out there–the 14 TB Ultrastar HDD. Make no difference–the solution for serious gamers, streamers and video editors is specially designed. It’ll also be really useful for you. This is a daily article around 4 K games. That is why Ultrastar is a go-to platform if you need a huge capacity for storage. When it comes to storage size it simply beats all the competition without any problems.
Originally, Ultrastar was created to take the NAS into account, but it still needs to be listed. As technology changing, we will have to struggle as eight kilograms and new solutions will have to be developed. Nevertheless, for now, Ultrastar has a 7200 rpm and 512 MB cache to hold its crown, which is why we choose the best large storage disk to run on.
11.Samsung Seagate Spinpoint
You’ll know how well it operates from the very moment you mount and run Samsung Seagate Spinpoint M9T. The immediate outcome is that any game is loaded much quicker.
The first thing to note is that this is a reputable company’s other great hard drive. There is never a concern if it will fail or not. For smaller machines, the size of this drive is convenient.
Due to its use of a 4 platter design, the z-height makes the WD drive too large for notebooks. The Samsung M9 T completes its massive storage using three 667 GB plates within its confines to solve the density problem. Although it’s easy to forget that Samsung, currently a Seagate corporation, still has a hard drive operation, they’ve certainly come back with an M9 T bang.
Whether a PS4 or a laptop is used, this hard disk is easy to install and does what it needs to do, making it the best hard drive for gaming.
12.LaCie Rugged 2TB Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive
This is another high-performance hard drive you can use right now for your game needs. The model is designed with robustness to achieve the best reliability. Every time you use the model, you can continue to enjoy the performance. When it comes to performance, being tough is not just about all the talk, but rather being very strong.
This model is IP-54 and is therefore robust to the elements. You never know if you can dump it into water inadvertently or expose it to other elements. You should be able to pick up without much trouble when this happens.
When it comes to pace the manufacturer made no compromise. You can conveniently use the pattern on both the Mac and PC. You are getting interfaces for the USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt. This kind of versatility is what you want when it comes to getting the right performance whatever the computer.
The hard drive will offer a capacity of 122MB / s which you can enjoy. Having the best transfer of data would allow it to be used for applications like gaming.
13.G-Technology 1TB G-DRIVE External Hard Drive
Another device that we should be searching for is an external hard drive from G-Technology. This hard drive is simply the best Gaming PC external hard drive. The firm is indeed a reputable hard drive manufacturer, highly rated on Amazon.
This product has a high-quality casing that comes with an elegant design. The package also includes a case designed to improve hard drive longevity.
Apart from its use of USB-C, the best thing about this drive is that it is bus driven. That means you can connect it easily with a single USB-C cable to your MacBook and manage your business. G-Technology offers two extra-stout-looking USB-C cables— one, a USB-C to USB-C cable, and another USB-C to USB-A cable for older hardware interactions.
Using USB 3.0 technology this hard drive can also transfer loads of files easily. It makes your game run smoothly and quickly with that feature. Interestingly, there is a 3-year warranty for this hard drive too.
14.Hitachi Ultrastar 7K3000 3TB HDD
Our choice for best value hard drive is the Hitachi Ultrastar 7K3000. It’s had a price drop recently— a huge fall in the market, all the way down to just under $60. 3 TB of storage is nutty at that amount, and without losing reliability you will also receive all this storage. Hitachi’s drives are among industry’s most reliable, and by saving money here, you’re not missing out on anything.
Of course, this drive isn’t going to be as good as an SSHD— but by now we’ve hammered the point home for every standard HDD. Hitachi has all other possibilities beaten on its list, hands down, even their own 4 TB drive-if you just want the best hard disk for money!
15.Fantom Drives 2TB External Hard Drive
To consoles and laptop players who do not want to open their device to repair their hard drives, external hard drives are useful. External HDDs also offer great space for gamers who use several computers a day, from media use to games and productivity for every occasion. If you want a high performance external hard disk, then your best bet is Fantom Drives.
Do not be— the bandwidth of the USB 3.0 interface is much greater than that of even a 7200 rm RPm desktop disk if you are concerned about the speed lost. The efficiency of this drive is according to our tests and peer feedback, which means there is almost no downside to running it. It’s quite voluminous, however, and it needs its strength.
Conclusion
The hard drive could be one of the most important components depending on the type of game you are using your computer. This is particularly true if the downloads, game saves and extra components of your games take up a great amount of space. It is also important to look at your memory as it also influences all of these components. Space could be even bigger than the hard drive.
Looking for a great hard drive for gaming? Don’t worry. There is little or no work to unpack the details. Begin by thinking about the amount of storage you need and whether you want an external or internal layout. Regardless of your personal preferences, at least one hard drive on our list would certainly meet your requirements. These hard drives are now affordable thanks to technological improvements. So, just go get them.
And you’ve got it — our best picks on HDDs. There are a few that we were pleased with so that, depending on what you’re searching for on a hard disk, you can search several different versions.
We are all more than able to deal with serious games and we have no real problems with them. Take your range, test it carefully, and have a good game for years.
