- Feb 3, 2017 - The long-requested feature will make it much easier to expand the console's. PS4 update lets you install games to an external hard drive.
- PS4 Pro SSD Upgrade: Does SATA III Make a Difference? Up with the console's stock hard drive, but those who elected to take advantage of Sony's user-upgradeable storage policy and install an.
It’s a bad idea to store your media collection on a solid-state drive, as the speed isn’t necessary and you’ll use up much of your precious space. If you don’t have enough space on your SSD, store your large media collection on a mechanical hard drive. If you use a laptop, consider getting an external hard drive for your media.
PS. Im really new to this pc building thing but I have always had a love for technology.
The Xbox One (XBO) is nearly two years old, and those who chose the One over the PlayStation 4 (PS4)PS4 vs Xbox One: 5 Reasons To Buy The Xbox OnePS4 vs Xbox One: 5 Reasons To Buy The Xbox OneThis year's E3 felt almost like it was over before it began. Though the conference lasts for days, both Microsoft and Sony made their announcements before the doors opened, showing not just hardware but also...Read More are having a great time with Microsoft’s latest offering. Between games with easy Achievements6 Xbox One Games with Easy Achievements You Can Get Now6 Xbox One Games with Easy Achievements You Can Get NowLooking to earn some easy Gamerscore? These Xbox One games will send you shooting up the leaderboards.Read More and blockbusters like Halo 5, if you bought your Xbox at launch your hard drive is likely close to full.
Thankfully, Microsoft updated the system to let you connect external hard drives and gain additional space. Here are some reasons why buying an external hard disk drive (HDD) is worth the investment, as well as some advice on which to get.
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You’ll Have More Space for Games
This is the obvious reason for adding an external drive to your system, but it bears explanation. Both the XBO and PS4 require you to install games onto your hard drive before playing them, and the space requirements are hefty. Taking a look at a list of game install sizes, we can see that Grand Theft Auto V clocks in at 49 GB, Halo: The Master Chief Collection is 63 GB, and Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (our reviewAssassin's Creed Syndicate Is Here - Should You Buy It?Assassin's Creed Syndicate Is Here - Should You Buy It?Syndicate runs with what's made the series great (rather than adding in pirate ships to cover the cracks), makes some much needed improvements to areas that needed them, and cuts out a lot of the...Read More) takes up 40 GB.
Remember that even though the Xbox One comes with a 500 GB hard drive installed (though you can get a one terabyte model nowadays), you’ll only have about 360 GB of that space to use for yourself. That means if you installed the three games above on your system, you’d be looking at around 208 GB left – and those numbers don’t even include mandatory game updates (which can be several gigabytes, such as Destiny‘s 18 GB 2.0 update) or DLC.
Finally, with Xbox Live GoldXbox Live vs. PlayStation Plus: What Do You Get With Each?Xbox Live vs. PlayStation Plus: What Do You Get With Each?If you're got a PS4 or Xbox One, you've probably thought about subscribing to PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live Gold. Let's see what they offer gamers for the price.Read More, you get free titles to download every month via the Games with Gold program. So, even if you’re not buying many full retail games, you’ll still be doing a lot of installing to check out what you got for free. Nobody likes to have to juggle games around because they don’t have enough space; adding an external hard drive will fix this.
You Can’t Replace the Internal Drive
We’ve shown how to upgrade the internal hard drive on the PS4How To Upgrade Your PS4's Hard DriveHow To Upgrade Your PS4's Hard DriveThe PS4 makes it easy to add more storage space. Let's look at what drives you can choose between and how the process works.Read More, but you can’t do this easily (or aren’t technically supposed to) with the Xbox One. Instead, connecting an external HDD to the system serves as your way to upgrade.
People who want a no-fuss solution to storage space will appreciate this, because replacing an internal hard drive necessitates backing up and restoring your content5 Ways Gamers Can Save Game Progress To The Cloud5 Ways Gamers Can Save Game Progress To The CloudWhat would happen if your game console or PC died? Would you have to restart all the games you're playing from scratch?Read More, removing some tight screws, and ensuring you get a drive that works with the system and doesn’t cause problems. With an external drive, you simply plug it in, format the drive, and start using it. It’s much simpler.
The New DVR Functionality Requires One
Cord-cutting to get away from ridiculous cable costsConsidering Canceling Cable? The True Cost of Cutting the CordConsidering Canceling Cable? The True Cost of Cutting the CordWhen you add everything up, do you really save money by cutting the cord? We do the math involved with cancelling cable in favor of Internet services.Read More is becoming more popular. With support for services like Netflix and Hulu, along with the ability to watch live TV, using your Xbox One as a media centerWhich Game Consoles Can You Use as a Media Center?Which Game Consoles Can You Use as a Media Center?Looking at Microsoft and Sony's next generation offerings, it seems that bringing video, TV, music and your photo collection (and probably social networking) into the mix of games and achievement unlocking is now part and...Read More is a great way to break away from traditional TV. In 2016, you’ll be able to do even more when the XBO gets support for digital video recording (DVR).
To keep recorded shows, you’ll have to have an external hard drive; even the new 1 TB internal drive won’t work. This won’t be a draw for everyone, of course, but if you want to get the most out of your Xbox One’s functionality, an external HDD is a necessity for DVR.
Games Load Faster on External Drives
It may seem counter-intuitive, but running your Xbox One games from an external drive will actually increase their performance. There are a few reasons (check this GameFAQs thread for more info):
- USB 3.0 usedWhy You Should Upgrade To USB 3.0Why You Should Upgrade To USB 3.0It’s been quite a while since USB 3.0 has been included in motherboards, but now we've come to the point where most devices and computers come with the new and improved ports. We all know...Read More by the external drive is a faster connection than the SATA II used by the internal drive.
- The external drive probably has better specs (the stock XBO HDD is mediocre).
- The external drive doesn’t have to handle all the other system functionality, like running multiple applications or other Xbox features, and thus has more resources to dedicate to running games.
This is an instant performance bonus without any overhead. PS4 owners would have to install a solid-state drive (SSD)5 Things You Should Consider When Buying An SSD5 Things You Should Consider When Buying An SSDThe world of home computing is moving towards solid state drives for storage. Should you buy one?Read More to get these performance gains, and they’re much more expensive than an external drive.
The System Integrates Them Nicely
You might think of having an external HDD as a choreHow to Care for Your Hard Drives and Make Them Last LongerHow to Care for Your Hard Drives and Make Them Last LongerSometimes an early death is the fault of the manufacturer, but more often than not, hard drives fail earlier than they should because we don't take care of them.Read More, figuring it entails juggling games back and forth or having to explicitly enable it. In reality, using one with your Xbox couldn’t be simpler. Just plug in your drive, format it (you’ll only be able to use this drive with your XBO), and it essentially adds to your available storage.
When you manage your game data, you’ll be able to filter by games on the internal/external drive, and can even set the external as your default for new games (a good idea, per the performance benefits above). The system will roll everything into one and let you know how much total space is left. There really aren’t any drawbacks!
How to Choose a Drive
Hopefully now you’re convinced that buying an external driveThe 8 Best Portable Hard Drives You Can Buy Right NowThe 8 Best Portable Hard Drives You Can Buy Right NowRead More for your Xbox One is a worthwhile purchase. Let’s look at a few options to consider when shopping for one, as well as a few potential models. This isn’t an exhaustive look, but should get you on the right path.
A few notes on requirements for the external HDD:
- The minimum size is 256 GB, but you’ll want to go larger than this. Not only is it tough to find a model smaller than 500 GB these days, you want to add a lot of storage, so why buy a drive that’s half the size of the stock HDD? Note that there are no upper limits on size.
- The drive must support USB 3.0. This standard has been around for several years, so finding a 3.0 model should be no problem.
- You can choose between drives that are powered over USB or models that need a separate power cord. This will be up to you, but unless you’re really crunched for outlet space5 Ways to Clean Up Computer Cable Clutter Under Your Desk5 Ways to Clean Up Computer Cable Clutter Under Your DeskCable clutter is one of technology's biggest annoyances. Today we show you how to organize and arrange the cables under your desk.Read More, you might as well get a model that plugs into the wall, as it’s likely to be a bit faster.
Now, let’s talk about a few other points. First, while you could use an SSD as your external drive for increased speed, the price just isn’t going to be worth it. You’ll see only slight speed increases with an external SSD versus an HDD, you’re already speeding up your games in the first place, and it’s better to get a large drive now so you don’t have to buy another one in a year or so. Unless you have tons of money to blow, stick with an HDD for your external.
Does It Matter Which Hard Drive You Download Game To Pc
The other big factor is the drive’s rotations per minute (RPM)Buying a New Hard Drive? 7 Things You Must KnowBuying a New Hard Drive? 7 Things You Must KnowBuying a hard drive is easy if you know some basic tips. Here's a guide to understanding the most important hard drive features.Read More. The stock internal drive is a 5,400 RPM drive, so you can either match this or go for a faster 7,200 RPM drive. Though there’s nothing wrong with a 5,400 RPM drive, if you can spend a little extra cash a 7,200 RPM model is worth the upcharge. Don’t bother with a 10,000 RPM model, though, as it won’t noticeably increase your speeds.
Finally, you’ll have to pick a manufacturer and buy a drive. The three biggest makers are Seagate, Toshiba, and Western Digital. The name doesn’t mean a whole lot, but since Seagate drives have high failure rates, it’s wise to avoid buying one. Thankfully, your best choices aren’t Seagate.
Here are some of the best choices for different needs:
- The best value for the money is the $130 Western Digital My Book 4 TB external HDD. 4 TB of storage means you won’t run out for a long time, it works out to just $32/TB, is AC-powered, and isn’t a Seagate. It’s a bit large, but that’s typical for a drive this size.
- If you don’t need 4 TB, want to cut costs, or don’t want to deal with an AC adapter, the $87 Western Digital My Passport Ultra 2 TB is probably your best choice. It’s more costly per terabyte than the above model, but it’s much smaller if space is a concern and 4 TB might be overkill for some people. This drive lets you future-proof your console without breaking the bank. A 1 TB model is also available for $60.
- For those looking to spend the least money possible, the $67 Toshiba Canvio Basics 1 TB Drive is a good option. As you can tell, the smaller the drive the higher the cost per terabyte, but you’re still tripling your space with this option. If you plan on playing lots of games, it may be worth spending the extra $20 to get the 2 TB model above so you don’t have to buy another one in the future.
- If you only need 1 TB but want 7,200 RPM, check out the $70 HGST Touro S 1 TB.
Of course, there are dozens of other drives that work with the Xbox One. If you have one already, try it out! Bear in mind when buying one, however, that the system will format it for XBO use, so dedicate the HDD you buy to your Xbox. It isn’t meant for also using on your computer.
Storage: Upgraded!
Now you know what to look for when adding more space to your Xbox One. With a bit of time, you can get the drive that’s right for you, then set and forget it while enjoying your favorite games. With the added speed, there’s no reason not to upgrade!
Which Hard Drive To Buy
Not sure if an Xbox One is right for you? Check out our reviewMicrosoft Xbox One Review And GiveawayMicrosoft Xbox One Review And GiveawayThe console wars are officially raging, and we've had sufficient time with both of them. That begs the question: how does the Xbox One compare?Read More from when the system launched.
Does It Matter Which Hard Drive You Download Game To Watch
Which external hard drive will you get for your Xbox One? How much free space does your console have right now? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to leave your drive recommendations, too!
Does It Matter Which Hard Drive You Download Game To Computer
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Does It Matter Which Hard Drive You Download Game To Play
Hi, I have an external hard-drive for my Xbox One. It has been formatted and I installed a few games on it. Fortnite was installed on the XBO's internal drive. It needs an update, and I get an error message saying there is no storage space. Why isn't it updating on the external hard drive? Do the updates for a game installed on the internal system need to update on the internal system as well? Thanks.
Hi, can tell me if you're allowed to turn the power off on the harddrive (it's a separate power source to the xbox)? My brother says it will delete all the data, but the Xbox is powered down?
It just gets really warm and the (fan)/(motor)? is loud enough to hear. I thought that turning it off whilst the xbox is off might help, but my brother refuses. Any help or suggestions?
can you put the external hard drive inside a pc?
i will say by a external HDD you really need to be in the details because i had a intenso HDD 2 TB i placed games on it and play on it the worst buy ever the external HDD was like a energy saver you play a game you will see its freezing that's true the HDD was stopping being active until its starting to realize i need to get out of idle so to let the HDD start from idle takes 3 seconds to load everything to get the game running again 15 seconds its so annoying i crushed the external HDD
Ben,
Can the XBox One read a hard drive connected to a wireless router?
I'd like to have the ability to download movies from my PC to an external drive which can then be read by the XBox.
I could get a harddrive with wifi, but the cost is greater.
Thanks for an informative article.You are very missinformed.
1) External CAN decrease loading speed, but can also slow it down all depends if drive you connect is faster or slower thaninternal.
2) USB3.0 without UASP is no faster than SATA II, besides unless you are plugging in SSD it makes no difference besides higher latency on USB3.0. Both SATA II and USB3.0 without UASP are limited to about 200mb/s which no HDD is that fast.
3) Rotation speed of the HDD is not indication of performance 5400RPM goes from 20mb/s to 160mb/s and 7200RPM goes from 50mb/s to 180mb/s. So 120MB/s 5400rpm drive is better and faster than 100mb/s 7200rpm drive
not even close to ALL i wanted to know.
i mean 32 vs 64 vs 128 mb cashe, 3Gbs vs 6 Gbs sata. the cheaper route of getting an internal HDD and enclosure/ usb 3.0 adapter wasnt mentioned. the specs of the original hard drive werent mentioned.
a boon: referenced his accusation of seagates manufacturing ineptitude with a random tweet.annoying clickbait with absolutely no valuable info. this site should be hacked.
Does anybody know the steps or process when you get a replacement Xbox one device how external hard drive works with a new replacement device.... I had to take my Xbox one back to Best Buy under the warranty and they sent me a new device anybody able to help me out with this ? I have my external hard drive with a lot of data just want to make sure I don't mess this up before I hook up my replacement Xbox to the external hard drive
it should be plug and play after you do all updates on new system
only thing it could possibly do is ask for a formate and you stop and unplug your external...
Hi. I have an Xbox One with 2 external hard drives attached to it and I was wondering, when those get full is it possible to swap out one for a new one as long as only new games get put on the new hard drive. Then switch between them for different games or do I have to move everything over to the new external if it has a much larger capacity?
Forgive my ignorance, but I just purchased an xbox one within the last month. It is the 500 Gig model and I am already seeing some of the constraints of having such a harddrive. If I were to go and purchase an external (looking at the 2TB WD), do you just plug it in and are prompted to format it? Then the xbox will read it as separate storage unit or all one large storage capacity?
Hey Ben!
What are ypur thoughts on the Samsung evo 850?Hey Ben!
What are your thoughts on the Samsung evo 850?
Hi Ben,
Thanks for the article and thank you in advance for your loyalty on replying to these comments.
I have 1 TB Seagate (I know) that I've always just used to keep media - movies, pictures - to play on the Xbox Media Player app, and never have had any issue there. However, I would like to use my external drive for game storage as well.
I've contacted Xbox hardware support and they tell me it's not possible to have an external formatted for both game storage and media - it has to be one or the other.
Does this sound right to you? Do you know how exactly the external drive is formatted once it's formatted for games & apps by the Xbox, and do you know if you could then take that hard drive to a PC and transfer back all media that will allow it to be recognized and played on the Xbox Media Player?
Thanks again!
Hi Ben, thanks for the article. I just purchased a WD 2TB drive and will install it on my 500GB XBox One today. I understand about the option to place new items on the WD drive, but what about the existing games on the XBox drive? Questions:
o) Should I leave the existing games on my XBox drive?
o) If I should transfer my existing games to the new WD drive, how do I do that?Thanks again.
Greg
I have a quick question. So i have to constantly be disconnecting my xbox one from power outlet because my parents dont know i have it (long story) so if i get an external hard drive would this unplugging and plugging of the xbox cauee it to not work properly? And will i still be able to game share my friend? Thanks in advance.
@BenStegner There's one very important thing you forgot to mention: If you let your XBOX one format a storage drive, then it will never work on PC again. It will become totally unresponsive and only work on XBOX One consoles!
This information is untrue, I have a WD mypassport that I've switched from pc storage , formatted for XB1 use then switched back .... twice. Also have used a 320GB WD black as well as a crucial 256Gb m4.... all of which were able to work on a pc afterwards ... you have to reformat it, extend the new volume and assign a drive path.
Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management -> Storage -> Disk Management ... Locate your external disk # in the list and like i said earlier - reformat it, extend the new volume and assign a drive path.
I just bought an elite and I'm not really saavy on the subject. How would this compare to internal vs external since the elite has a SSD.
Hi,
In my experience of using an SSD external drive, it doesn't make a huge difference. The 1st thing I did was transfer Fallout 4 (infamous for it's long load times) to it; the decrease in loading times was evident, but not game changing (pardon the pun).
I should point out that the XBOX One Elite uses an SSHD, which is a very small SSD augmented with a traditional hard drive. Unless you upgrade to a full SSD drive, you'll probably actually notice an increase in loading times! Most external drives are just mechanical (and therefore slower) than your internal one.
@Noah - All hard drives will fail, it's just a matter of when. What the author probably alludes to is an article that was released a few months back that showed the failure rates across the major HDD brands. Seagate came out on top (or bottom, depending how you look at it). The margin, however, was very minimal if I recall, so it's not like it's reason to panic if you own a Seagate drive. Working the IT world, I've seen them all fail, so the bias only comes from a statistical standpoint. For what it's worth, I 'feel' like I've had better luck with Western Digital mechanical drives.
I don't know if I'm just lucky or the article is bias against seagate, but I've had a 3TB seagate external for over a year now and I haven't had a single problem on my xbox one.
My xbox one wont read my 4 tb external hard drive. It is a non ac powered why would that be?
WD 4TB kicks out during game play any ideas? thanks in advance
Wait how can I recover from accidentally formating my hard drive. What I mean is it formatted my hard drive and now all my saved games are gone:(
If i own 2 xbox consoles in different locations is it possible to use the external hard drive to switch the saved games between consoles? Therefore allowing me to continue my saved games on either console.
So once I transfer my games to my external hard drive can I delete them from the internel storage and still play ?
I have to disagree that Seagate drives are bad. Long time ago I switched from Western Digital to Seagate because several failed on me, I now have only Seagate drives and only 2 failed me which were 500GB same model and bought at the same time. None of the modern ones I bought (1tb or more) have failed on me and I've bought quite a few because I have 2 nas enclosures and I've also sold a few used PC's with them and no problems.
One thing I don't like about Seagate is how they lowered their warranty, I remember one reason I switched was because at the time they had a 5 year warranty.
I have a Toshiba Canvio 1T that I've been using for external storage with my xbox one. I first got it about 6 weeks ago and had no problems after following the instructions for formatting. However, today my xbox will not recognize the hard drive (it worked fine yesterday). I spent almost an hour with xbox one tech support who finally told me to get a new hard drive. My question is, can I transfer the files from my current hard drive to a new hard drive if the xbox is not recognizing my current hard drive? I have games and lots of data on the current hard drive.
Thanks!
Hi my name is Danny and I bought the Xbox one and used all my internal 500gb memory in one day so I bought an external hard drive for my Xbox one and it's the western digital my passport ultra 1tb. I love it I have over 28 games on it and about 12 applications on it and I have only used only 47.8% of my memory on my external. So I recommend the western digital my passport ultra.
i also assume then, by putting everything on an external hdd, you can plug that hdd into any xbox one as long as you log in to your account/profile, you can access all your content without issue
I had a 1 tb hard drive and being a tard I didnt read the text b4 formatting and now I cant use it is their anyway I can unformat it
The more reliable drive imo is Seagate but i agree there are certain models of each i would avoid all together.
What about drive format? What formats can XBone read?h
Blah blah f blah
What do u do after plugging it into the xbox one to use it
The whole spiel was a big sales pitch for getting a usb external but doesnt answer the question poised by the title of this story
You should be a politician
I had the 2GB WD drive listed in your article fail within 6 months, two WD 250gb 7200 rpm hard drive fails in my kids computers with 6 months of install. I have 1TB 7200 RPM Seagate in my Desktop for 3 years and 2 250gb 5200 rpm external Seagates that I have had for 5 years. I used to swear by WDs quality. No more WD for me. They have proven themselves to me. It may have been true in the late 90s that Seagate sucked, but no more.
If I go to my buddies house and copy the games he has bought digitally, could I play them without the disk and without him being signed into my xbox?
I'm not sure I get all the Seagate hate. Yes, they've released a couple of batches of bad drives over the years, but so has WD (anyone remember the famous IBM 'Deathstar' drives? Well Hitachi bought IBM's hard drive business, then WD bought Hitachi's hard drive business, so if you want to go by legacy...). In years of running a mix of both WD and Seagate I've seen them fail at about an equal rate (that is to say: not often, except the really old ones).