Greatest exterior laborious drives and SSDs for Chromebooks in 2024

One of the best exterior laborious drives and SSDs for Chromebooks can present a workaround for restricted or sluggish native space for storing in your laptop computer. That is particularly essential when even a few of the greatest Chromebooks nonetheless use sluggish and restricted eMMC drives with a heavy reliance on cloud storage. You do not at all times wish to offload your information to the cloud, particularly if it is delicate or notably essential.

Stable-state drives (SSD) have largely taken over for laborious disk drives (HDD) resulting from their compact measurement, superior sturdiness, and trendy efficiency, so we have largely included these sooner choices. Nonetheless, HDDs are nonetheless common in the case of bulk storage on a budget, and we have included a few choices on this listing. Listed below are one of the best exterior laborious drives and SSDs on your Chromebook.

High exterior laborious drives and SSDs for Chromebooks

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Greatest general

Samsung T7 Transportable SSD

With rugged and fingerprint fashions additionally obtainable

$140 $270 Save
$130

Samsung’s T7, additionally obtainable in T7 Contact and T7 Protect variants, is our high decide for an exterior SSD. It is competitively priced, dependable, and might maximize efficiency on USB-C 3.2 (Gen 2).

Professionals

• Aggressive pricing
• 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities obtainable
• As much as 1,050MB/s learn speeds with USB-C 3.2 (Gen 2)

Cons

• Rugged and safe fashions aren’t as inexpensive

Samsung’s T7 lineup of exterior SSDs is tough to beat, which is why it is on the high of our listing. The usual T7 is available in three completely different colours and three capacities (500GB, 1TB, and 2TB), constructed from a strong chunk of aluminum for loads of sturdiness. It is sufficiently small that you could slip it right into a pocket once you’re on the transfer, and it weighs in at about two ounces.

The T7 connects to your Chromebook with USB-C 3.2 (Gen 2), offering learn speeds as much as 1,050MB/s and write speeds as much as 1,000MB/s. You’ll be able to, after all, use the SSD with slower interfaces (like USB-A), although efficiency might be capped relying on the kind of connection. All drives have 256-bit AES encryption to guard your information.

The usual T7 will swimsuit most individuals, however Samsung additionally makes T7 Contact and T7 Protect (launched most not too long ago) fashions. The previous provides a fingerprint reader for fast and easy accessibility to encrypted on the drive, whereas the latter provides IP65 water and mud resistance within the type of a rubberized shell. We nonetheless suppose the traditional T7 is one of the best drive for most individuals, but it surely’s good to have choices do you have to need extra safety or sturdiness. All drives are priced competitively and have a fame for being extraordinarily dependable. These are my go-to SSDs, and I’ve but to expertise a failure or concern.

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Premium decide

SanDisk Skilled PRO-G40

Thunderbolt efficiency

$160 $300 Save
$140

The SanDisk PRO-G40 moveable SSD is a fairly rugged exterior SSD with IP68 water and mud safety, three-meter drop safety, and a five-year guarantee. It really works greatest with a Thunderbolt 3 connection, but it surely’s additionally suitable with common USB-C. This can be a nice, if costly, choice for energy customers.

Professionals

• Switch speeds as much as 3,000MB/s
• IP68 water and mud safety
• 5-year guarantee

Cons

• Overkill for many Chromebook customers

The collection of exterior SSDs suitable with Thunderbolt is restricted; most depend on customary USB-C to ship speeds as much as about 1,050MB/s. That is nice for most individuals, however energy customers would possibly wish to make the most of their Chromebook’s port potential. Should you do have a laptop computer with Thunderbolt, the SanDisk PRO-G40 must be a best choice.

The SSD weighs in at about 121g, but it has IP68 water and mud resistance, three-meter drop safety, and even sufficient crush resistance (4,000 kilos!) that you simply’d have a tough time flattening it out. Its Thunderbolt 3 connection permits it to hit learn speeds as much as 3,000MB/s and write speeds as much as 2,500MB/s, falling again to USB-C 3.2 (Gen 2) speeds in case your laptop computer does not have Thunderbolt. Choose it up in 1TB and 2TB capacities, and luxuriate in a five-year guarantee.

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Greatest worth

WD My Passport HDD

Reasonably priced and moveable HDD

WD’s My Passport is a hard-disk drive, which means it will not match the speeds or reliability of an SSD. Nonetheless, it makes up for it by providing inexpensive bulk storage. It has 256-bit AES encryption to guard your information, and it is obtainable in as much as a 5TB capability.

Professionals

• As much as 5TB of storage for about $110
• 256-bit AES encryption
• Transportable design

Cons

• Not as quick as an SSD
• Not as dependable as an SSD
• Not as compact as an SSD

Whereas we have targeted primarily on SSDs on this information, there are nonetheless some exterior HDDs on the market value a glance. If you would like to spend as little as attainable and nonetheless have a transportable drive, the WD My Passport can ship. It measures roughly 4 inches by three inches, it is light-weight, and it has a detachable host cable. This can be a nice decide when you’re trying to pair a price range drive with a nice price range Chromebook. It is even obtainable in 5 completely different colours.

It is meant to work with the USB-A 3.2 (Gen 1) customary, which interprets to learn pace as much as about 130MB/s when mixed with the laborious disk’s potential. It isn’t almost as quick as an SSD, however you’ll be able to decide up 1TB of storage for about $65. It additionally is available in 2TB, 4TB, and 5TB capacities, topping out at simply $130 for the most important choice. As well as, drives include 256-bit AES encryption and a three-year guarantee.

Whereas Essential prospects love the efficiency and worth of the X6 and X8 SSDs, when a refresh got here with the X9 Professional and X10 Professional, many have been delighted that these drives are extra sturdy and provide {hardware} encryption instantly on the flash modules. Sadly, ChromeOS doesn’t work with hardware-encrypted drives, however Google will probably deal with this omission in some unspecified time in the future.

Utilizing a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port that many Chromebooks use, the X9 Professional can switch recordsdata at as much as 1050MB/s, and the TLC Nand modules it makes use of can maintain this pace even when writing giant recordsdata.

The quoted IP55 mud/water resistance doesn’t stretch to being submersed in water, however it may deal with a light-weight bathe or a espresso spill with out instantly failing.

A difficulty to be careful for with this alternative is that Essential makes a non-Professional X9, and it is easy to confuse them since they appear remarkably related. The essential X9 makes use of low cost QLC modules and has an identical pace however lacks mud and water safety and {hardware} encryption options. From our perspective, the X9 Professional is value the additional cash over the X9, and when you have USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 ports, the X10 Professional is perhaps justifiable, because it’s twice as quick on that connection.

LaCie’s Rugged SSD Professional combines quick Thunderbolt efficiency with excellent sturdiness and safety. It is the most effective all-around drives on the market, but it surely does not come low cost. If you’re prepared to shell out, you will get switch speeds as much as 2,800MB/s when related to Thunderbolt, IP67 water and mud resistance, drop safety as much as three meters, and even crush resistance rated at as much as two tons.

The SSD stays sufficiently small to simply match within the palm of your hand, and it is available in capacities starting from 1TB as much as 4TB. Ensure that your Chromebook is supplied with Thunderbolt earlier than shopping for as a way to get probably the most out of this drive.

WD’s My Guide is a variation of the My Passport drive, designed to behave as desktop exterior storage (with an AC energy requirement) on your Chromebook. You should utilize it with a nice Chromebook docking station or plugged instantly into your laptop computer with USB-A, the place you will see learn and write speeds as much as about 180MB/s. No, the HDD will not match the pace of an SSD, however the level right here is capability and worth.

The WD My Guide begins at a 4TB capability for about $110 and climbs all the best way to a whopping 22TB of storage for about $500. There are 6TB, 8TB, 12TB, 14TB, 16TB, and 18TB capacities alongside the best way, providing you with loads of choices. All drives include 256-bit AES encryption to guard your information.

Synology is often related to the greatest NAS enclosures, but it surely additionally provides a transportable SSD that stands out in some key methods. In our Synology BeeDrive evaluation, Karandeep Singh famous, “Much like the Google Drive app for desktop, the BeeDrive can again up your pc folders mechanically, and Synology has additionally included a nifty method to wirelessly again up your pictures — and even recordsdata — out of your cellphone to the drive.”

Sadly, the companion app is not suitable with ChromeOS, however you’ll be able to nonetheless use it as an everyday exterior drive with easy plug-and-play operation. And, after all, you continue to get the wi-fi transfers on your Android cellphone. The BeeDrive lacks encryption, but it surely does include IP55-rated water and mud resistance. It is obtainable in 1TB and 2TB capacities.

Getting the correct exterior drive on your Chromebook

Exterior drives are a handy approach so as to add extra storage to your Chromebook, they usually are available in loads of completely different sizes with completely different options to raised fit your wants. While you’re shopping for a brand new exterior drive, it is essential to give attention to the capability, switch pace, sturdiness, connection sort, and worth.

You may discover the most important capacities stay within the realm of HDDs (at the very least something that is remotely inexpensive), although SSDs typically include greater than sufficient storage for the typical person. Switch speeds will differ relying on the interface used, in addition to the kind of drive. HDDs with spinning platters are painfully sluggish now that SSDs have hit the market, and that is much more pronounced when the SSD makes use of Thunderbolt to hit switch speeds approaching 3,000MB/s.

Sturdiness is one other massive issue. HDDs aren’t almost as dependable as SSDs (which don’t have any transferring components), and it’s best to regulate completely different certifications for issues like drop, water, and mud safety. Should you regularly journey, a rugged SSD is at all times a good suggestion. The connection sort is much less essential, as most of those drives will work with USB-C or USB-A (albeit at a lesser efficiency stage most often). Simply be certain you are not spending massive on a Thunderbolt SSD in case your Chromebook is not geared up with a Thunderbolt port.

And eventually, costs will play a giant position in your resolution. HDDs are the most affordable choices, however they’re sluggish and never as dependable. SSDs are costlier, however they’re going to last more, they’re extra moveable, they usually’ll present a lot sooner transfers.

With these components in thoughts, the Samsung T7 lineup comes out on high. Pricing is aggressive, and you may get 500GB, 1TB, or 2TB capacities (a perfect vary for most individuals). The SSDs have 256-bit AES encryption, and the USB-C connection can handle as much as 1,050MB/s learn and 1,000MB/s write speeds. The SSDs are available in three colours whereas remaining compact sufficient to journey with you in all places you go.

Samsung has expanded the T7 to incorporate the T7 Contact and T7 Protect fashions. They’re basically the identical as the usual T7 in the case of efficiency, although the Contact provides an exterior fingerprint reader for faster entry, and the Protect provides a protecting coating with additional sturdiness certification.