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What’s the Best Hard Drive for Gaming? Our Reviews and Guide
In the world of gaming, you can only go as far as your equipment allows for you to go. A hard drive for gaming might not be at the top of your mind when it comes to what’s most important in your set up. The fact is though, a gaming hard drive still very much has an important place in the gaming universe.
This is mostly because in this day and age, games are becoming more and more demanding on our equipment. It’s a constant battle to keep your PC or console up to spec to make sure you get the best graphics and frame rates so that your games run smooth.
That’s where the best hard drive for gaming can come into the mix. Even though an SSD can offer the fastest performance, an HDD or SSHD can offer plenty of speed while providing the most storage at the best cost. In this post, we’ll go over our picks for the best gaming hard drives for all different platforms, and also look at the important factors to consider when looking for a gaming hard drive.
Please note* The scope of this post only includes HDD and SSHD types of drives. We’ll look at the speedier SSD drive type in a future post.
Table of Contents
In a Hurry? Here’s Our Top Picks:
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Seagate FireCuda 2TB Solid State Hybrid Drive Performance SSHD – 3.5 Inch SATA 6Gb/s Flash Accelerated for Gaming PC Desktop Frustration Free Packaging (ST2000DX002)
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Best Hard Drive for Gaming – Our Reviews
In this section we’re going to feature our favorite gaming hard drives. Each gamer’s setup is different, so we’re going to cover the best options for a few different platforms and scenarios. Stick around after the reviews for some tips on what to look for in a gaming hard drive!
Seagate FireCuda 2TB Solid State Hybrid Drive Performance SSHD
Store games and play them faster with an internal SSHD drive delivering SSD performance and HDD capacities
Perfect for PC gaming and laptop gaming, this hybrid hard drive helps load maps and boot levels faster with flash enhanced speeds
Choose from a variety of capacities for an optimized rig
Low power consumption means a more cost effective setup
Get long-term peace of mind with the included five-year limited warranty
The idea behind a SSHD in theory is to get the best of both worlds of a SSD and a HDD. In practice, it’s a little harder to pull off. That being said, the Seagate FireCuda Performance SSHD pulls this off masterfully and has the ability to serve as an all in one primary drive.
2 TB is an incredible amount of storage capacity to utilize for games. With how many games are on the market today, it’s nice to have the ability to load up on as many as you want. The FireCuda also features flash enhanced speeds, and the ability to customize speed and cache for an optimized gaming setup.
Another great feature of Seagate products is that they come backed with a 5 year manufacturer’s warranty. Any time you are dealing with computer components, there’s always a small chance of something being defective. So it’s nice to know that you are covered for a super long time.
Note that Seagate makes both a desktop version of the FireCuda, and a laptop version. The primary difference being the form factor of the hard drive.
Things we Like:
Option to choose between 500 GB, 1TB, or 2TB storage
Flash enhanced 7200 RPM speeds
Versions available for both gaming desktops and gaming laptops
Performance storage available in up to 10TB capacities
2X DRAM cache up to 256 MB for faster read operations
Designed for creative professionals, gamers and system builders
5-year manufacturer's limited warranty
When it comes to performance, the Western Digital Black Performance Hard Drive simply can’t be touched. The only downside to it is the price point, which is on the expensive side for a gaming hard drive.
But, if you have a little extra in your budget it’s definitely worth it. The WD Black is designed to support the most heavy computing tasks – whether that’s gaming, creating digital art, editing, or anything else. The form factor is 3.5″ and speeds run at 7200 RPM.
Higher capacity models of the WD Black feature an outstanding 256 MB of DRAM cache and is optimized for drive performance. The WD Black works as a stand alone drive, but can also be combined with a SSD in a dual configuration which allows the caching of your operating system onto the SSD for maximum performance.
WD Black drives are also equipped with StableTrac Technology. This feature secures the motor shaft inside the hard drive, thus increasing reliability and long term performance.
Things we Like:
Option to choose between 500 GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, or 6TB storage
Store more, compute faster, and do it confidently with the proven reliability of BarraCuda internal hard drives
Build a powerhouse gaming computer or desktop setup with a variety of capacities and form factors
The go-to SATA hard drive solution for nearly every PC application—from music to video to photo editing to PC gaming
Confidently rely on internal hard drive technology backed by 20 years of innovation
Enjoy long-term peace of mind with the included two-year limited warranty
Many of us, myself included, have built a gaming pc on a budget. Any time you are being budget conscious, it’s super important to strike a perfect balance of price and performance. Buy something too cheap and it might be worthless. Buy a component too expensive and it could wipe out your budget for other parts.
If this is you, the Seagate BarraCuda might be a perfect fit. It typically is priced under $50 for the 1TB version. Depending on your needs, that could be plenty of drive space.
The compromise is the smaller, relative to the other best hard drives for gaming, cache at only 64mb. If you are engaging in super heavy activity like gaming and streaming at the same time, this could cause issues. But for most gamers, it’s perfectly fine.
With the lower price point also comes a shorter term on the warranty. The warranty only covers defects and other issues for 2 years instead of the 5 that is common on a few other gaming hard drives.
Things we Like:
Really good price point for all storage capacities.
Option to choose between 1TB, 2TB, 3TB, 4TB, 6TB, or 8TB storage
Laptop and desktop compatible form factors
2 year manufacturer’s warranty
Things we Don’t:
Only 64 MB of DRAM cache
External Hard Drive for Gaming
All of the previous products we looked at were internal hard drives for PC’s and laptops. Next we want to go over a different class, external gaming hard drives.
Is an External Hard Drive Good for Gaming?
It depends! Generally speaking though, yes. Most times, an external gaming hard drive will run a little slower compared to an internal hard drive. An external drive is more portable though. Also, external hard drives are necessary if you are looking for a gaming hard drive for a console. This is your only option to add storage space to an Xbox or PlayStation.
Seagate Game Drive for Xbox 2TB External Hard Drive
Do not delete games from Xbox consoles just to make room for new ones store 50 plus titles with 2TB of portable external hard drive storage
Experience no lag gaming with a portable hard drive optimized specifically for Xbox
Dive into the action with a quick step by step setup and plug and play USB 3.0 connectivity no power cable needed
Featuring the classic green design of the original Xbox logo, this gaming hard drive is the perfect accessory for any setup and its compact, travel ready form factor means the adventure can go anywhere
Enjoy long term peace of mind with the included 1 year limited warranty and 1 year rescue service
As you might have noticed by this point, Seagate is an incredibly trustworthy brand in the components space. They actually have an official partnership with Xbox and make a specifically designed gaming hard drive for Xbox. It’s a really high quality product too.
There are multiple storage sizes offered but the most popular is 2TB. That’s enough storage to house roughly 50 Xbox games and/or other applications too. Since the drive is optimized specifically for the Xbox, there’s no lag or choppiness that comes with playing games saved on the external drive.
Another great feature is that the drive is a simple plug and play. There’s no installation or wall power required to get things going. All you have to do is plug the drive into your Xbox and it’s ready to use.
Things we Like:
Good price point
Option to choose between 500 GB – 8TB storage
Simple plug and play design
Official drive optimized specifically for Xbox
Comes in a few different design types
Slim form factor is easy to travel with
Things we Don’t:
Manufacturer’s warranty only lasts for 1 year
Seagate Game Drive for PS4 2TB External Hard Drive – Officially Licensed
Do not delete games from PS4 consoles just to make room for new ones; Store 50 plus games with 2TB of portable hard drive storage
Official Licensed PS4 product for seamless operation and compatibility; Operates under PS4 hard drive firmware
Dive into the action with a quick step by step setup and plug and play USB 3.0 connectivity; No power cable needed
This game drive features the classic black and blue design of PS4; It’s the perfect accessory for any gaming setup and its compact; Travel ready form factor means the adventure can go anywhere
Enjoy long term peace of mind with the included 3 year limited warranty
Just like Xbox, Seagate manufacturers an officially licensed gaming hard drive for PS4. It’s specifically optimized for the PS4 and can’t be beat when it comes to performance and practicality.
The PS4 gaming hard drive also is designed with a plug and play USB which makes set up incredibly easy. 2TB and 4TB storage capacities exist with the 2 TB option being the most popular for most gamers. That’s enough space to store 50+ game titles.
The form factor is slim and super easy to travel with, so you can easily bring your games on the go.
Things we Like:
Good price point
Option to choose between 2 or 4TB storage
Simple plug and play design
Official drive optimized specifically for PS4
Slim form factor is easy to travel with
3 year manufacturer’s warranty
Things we Don’t:
There’s nothing we don’t like on this one!
Western Digital 2TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive
High Capacity; Compatibility Formatted NTFS for Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7; Reformatting may be required for other operating systems; Compatibility may vary depending on user’s hardware configuration and operating system
2 year manufacturer's limited warranty
If you’re looking for an external gaming hard drive, odds are portability is an important aspect to you. The Western Digital Elements Portable External Hard Drive is a fantastic option if you fall into this boat. It’s relatively lightweight and has a smaller form factor for easy travel. It also comes in 1-4TB capacity options.
USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibility allow you to plug in and get to using your hard drive. It also features data transfer rates up to 5Gbps and is compatible with Mac and PC (although Macs are rarely, if ever, used for gaming).
Best Hard Drive for Gaming – Buying Tips
There are quite a few things to consider when it comes to gaming hard drives. Here we’ll outline some of the things you should think about before making any purchase:
Internal vs External
First and foremost, you need to decide whether an internal or external gaming hard drive will best fit your needs. Generally speaking, internal drives will run faster, perform better, and last longer overall.
The downside though, is that they are not very portable. They install inside of your computer case whereas an external drive is most often plugged in via USB. Most external drives also have a small enough form factor to easily travel with.
If you are a console gamer, the answer is that you need an external gaming hard drive simply because internal ones don’t exist.
Capacity
Capacity is probably the first thing most people look at when it comes to the best gaming hard drive for their needs. The whole purpose of buying an HDD vs a SSD most often comes down to capacity.
We recommend to map out how much space you currently use and how much you plan to use, then buy one tier above that. You really can never have too much storage and there are often diminishing costs for each additional amount of space. In other words, a 1TB drive might cost $50 and the same 2TB drive might cost $70, so that second TB of space only comes at the price of $20.
Speed
Waiting for downloads or data transfers is probably the most mind numbing part of gaming. Speed is important for obvious reasons, it cuts down on the time to download and transfer data. This means you spend more time gaming and less time waiting.
Generally speaking, for internal hard drives you’ll want transfer speeds above 150 MB/s. For external gaming hard drives you’ll want transfer speeds above 100 MB/s.
Cache
Cache is something that is probably more important and noticeable for hardcore or professional gamers. For the most part, a 64MB cache drive is perfectly good enough for gaming.
In professional gaming, things like frame rate can make or break how well you perform in an online tournament. For gamers with demanding needs for PC performance, it’s often better to to have more local data storage with a 256MB or higher cache drive.
Connectivity
Most external gaming hard drives connect via USB. For internal gaming hard drives, you’ll want to make sure the drive you buy has a connection that is supported by your PC. SATA, SATA2, and SATA3 are probably the most common connection types, but just double check on this before you buy.
Wrap Up
Hopefully this post has been helpful for you in your search for the best gaming hard drive! If you feel like we left some good options out of our list, please let us know in the comments section below.
Looking for more ideas for gamers? Check out our post on gamer ideas next!
Last update on 2021-03-04 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
