Up until recently, most typical laptops and desktop PCs were equipped with HDDs or standard hard drives. These pieces of hardware act as memory compartments for all your computer’s storage needs, from your pictures and games to your iTunes library. This older technology would use actual mechanical spinning parts that would read the information off of a magnetic coated metal platter. Because this was an actual mechanical process it limited speeds and also wore out parts which would occasionally make it less reliable.
Introducing SSDs or solid state drives. This newer form of data storage utilizes flash memory and no moving parts, therefore making your computer faster and your drive more durable. People often report much faster boot times, quicker application launches, and much faster file transfers. SSDs do come at a steeper dollar per gigabyte ratio, but the much quicker speeds and dependent reliability of these drives often make up for this. We’ve compiled three great portable and affordable SSDs you can get now to speed up access to your files and data on the go, so take a look below!
#3:Â SanDisk Extreme 500GB Portable SSD
The SanDisk Extreme 500GB SSD is a great introduction into the world of solid state drives. It features USB 3.0 technology for faster transfer rates and sequential read speeds of up to 430 mb/s (The average HDD has read speeds of about 120-160 mb/s in comparison, whoah!). It’s our highest capacity SSD on this list and is of average size for a typical portable SSD.
#2:Â Samsung T5 250GB Portable SSDÂ
The Samsung T5 SSD features a slightly lower capacity in terms of storage, but wins in terms of dollar to gigabyte ratio for the read speeds it delivers. It also definitely gets points in terms of aesthetics and design, being the most visually pleasing drive on this list. It also packs an impressive 540 mb/s read speed, almost 100 mb/s faster than the SanDisk SSD.
#1:Â PNY Elite 240GB USB 3.0 Portable SSD
Our number one entry, the PNY Elite 240GB Portable SSD is the middle child of all three entries in terms of performance and capacity, but wins by a long shot in terms of size and portability. Because this list focuses on portable SSDs, the PNY wins hands down. It boasts the read speeds of the SanDisk with the capacity of the Samsung SSD, but in a much smaller package. A must if you’re in the market for a new drive.
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