10 Best External SSD's in India 2021 (Seagate, Samsung, and more)

SSD stands for Solid State Drive. External SSD is a portable drive to save and carry your data around wherever you go. It is made of flash memory cells that retain your data even when there’s no power. Back in 1970 and 1980, they were used in supercomputers initially. With recent innovations, SSD's are taking over the traditional hard drives with lower pricing and speedy performance. 

SSD's are more durable than hard drives that have moving parts in them and are less shockproof. In case of a hard fall or shock, hard drives can corrupt all your data; that hassle is very minimal with SSD's because of their rugged material. Also, it is projected that by 2021, SSD's will overtake hard drives. 

External SSD is leaps ahead of traditional hard drives with their speed and portability. They offer transfer speed up to 5 to 10 times higher than hard drives which can further go up to 20 times. Due to the lack of moving parts, they are durable and sturdy, and less shock prone. Many SSD's come with metal casings to add an extra layer of protection.

They are very concise and light in weight, some weighing just 51 grams and size equivalent to that of a business card or like a small spectacle case. Some SSD's also come with fingerprint sensors for an added layer of protection, which is unlikely available in any hard drive. For frequent travelers, on-the-go people in business, and home storage purposes, they are the new best store data.

Searching pages across the web and comparing different drives extensively. Here is our recommendation for the Top 10 best external SSD available in India.

The options are plenty; the variety is wide. Let's understand a few basics that shall help you opt for the aptest drive as per your requirement.

There are two types of External SSD's – SATA and NVMe. The former is the older generation. NVMe is a new and advanced generation of SSD. Not to complicate things, a simple understanding to differentiate between two is to look at transfer speeds. SATA based drive supports transfer speed up to 500Mbps whereas NVMe based supports the speed of 800mbps or higher.

NVMe based tends to be more expensive, and if your usage doesn’t involve the frequent transfer of large files like video files for your clients or pictures from a recent photoshoot, SATA based is more optimal to buy; With time, their costs have come down, and are more value for money. Check for specifications related to their type at the back of the package before you buy one.

In terms of tech, interface is used to connect two or more electronic devices. For example, a scanner connects to a computer via a USB; similarly the USB port on the system is considered interface. The scanner itself also has an interface, where the other end of the USB cable connects. 

There are different types of interface available, which determines the speed of transfer quite much. The speeds are defined in terms of MBps and Gbps. However, please do not get confused between bits and bytes, they are used interchangeably, but they differ.

Bits are used to measure data transfer speeds, and bytes are used to measure data capacity. 1 Byte = 8bits. There is a difference in writing; bits are denoted in small letters; Gb, whereas bytes go with capital letters GB. When certain transfer speeds are defined as 5Gbps with specific ports, it stands for 5 Gigabit per second.

There are different but confusing generations of USB interfaces available USB 3.0, 3.1, 3.2 Gen 1, and the list goes on. To make it simpler, USB 3.0 and 3.1 are now rebranded as USB 3.2 with different generations. So, USB 3.0/3.1 is now USB 3.2 Gen1 that offers transfer speeds up to 5Gbps.

With USB 3.2 Gen2X1 (Also known as USB 3.1 Gen 2), you get speeds up to 10Gbps. There is a new generation USB 3.2 Gen2X2 that supports speed up to 20Gbps. An important aspect to note, you need to have the same interface on your system to take advantage of the speed.

There are a few SSD’S with thunderbolt ports; they offer a rate up to 40Gbps; they are like USB- C port with the little lightning bolt on port and cable connector. Such SSD’s work only when connected in thunderbolt specific ports. Do check for the lightning bolt logo.

SSD’s are not cheap compared to HDD that are available at throwaway prices. The first rule to keep in mind is to calculate the cost per gigabyte you get. The larger the storage, the more value per rupee it gives. But, SSD’s get very expensive as the storage size increases like 1TB and above. The size varies from as small as 120GB to a massive 4TB.

If your usage involves big files and transfers very frequently, 500GB is a sweet spot. If you have a vast gaming library or movies and work-related files, 1TB is a useful storage option. Opt for 2TB when you need more room for your files, backups, and collections, for which 1TB falls short.

New generation SSD’s are compatible with the latest operating system available across the board, from windows to macs. Certain users still rely on older versions of operating systems like Windows 7 or Mac Mavericks OS; They need to be watchful before buying a new external SSD.

Specific SSD’s are not compatible with the older operating system, and it’s all a hassle to return and look for new ones and spend more time to get the right one. Thoroughly check for specs and look at your operating system compatibility.

Extra protection for your data drive is never a bad option. SSD’s are more durable than HDD; a fall or bump won’t make your drive prone to data corruption. Adding a specific extra external layer of protection against travel abuse and abrupt shocks is a worthy expense. Specific drives offer dust resistance, shockproof capability, as well as water resistance certified protection.

For people on the go- business commuters, travelers, freelancers, and out of box rugged external SSD makes more sense. Even if you opt to go for a non-rugged drive, we recommend buying a case to protect your storage drive. There are aftermarket covers and cases available.

We got more with us to offer you to be a smart consumer. If you are interested in hard drives more, check out our buying guide for it. We got guides on gaming monitors, mechanical keyboards, and more. 

Data is precious in today's digital era, and fast and secured access to it is no more a luxury but a necessity. Buying the right one matters since it's more like an investment than an expense.

Author - Dhruv Manchanda