This 5TB hard drive deal solves the tiny Series X SSD problem - and is worth a look on PS5 too

seagate hard drive ps5 xbox series x — (Image credit: Seagate)

So you've got your heart set on an Xbox Series X or PS5? Got a few games lined up already? Worried about that tiny (yet super fast) SSD being full to capacity by Christmas. Yeah, us too. So we've been looking for the most cost-effective ways of getting around it. And you know what? It's certainly not getting the super expensive official SSD memory card for the Series X. It's with a regular 5TB USB external hard drive at a frankly stunning price.

5TB Seagate Backup Plus ~~$159.99~~ $94.99 at Amazon
See also: where to buy a PS5
See also: where to buy an Xbox Series X

This external hard drive is listed as a PC/laptop model, but as we've known for years now, USB drives like this are a great match for PS4 and Xbox One and now, the PS5 and Xbox Series X too. There are loads of happy user reviews from people using this exact drive on the PS4/Xbox One consoles so you can have confidence in it from this perspective.

Yes, to run next-gen titles on the new consoles with all the benefits of super-fast loading speeds, ray-tracing, and so on, you will need to run those games from the bespoke SSD that's made the PS5 price and Xbox Series X prices so expensive in the first place. And if you want to play current-gen games on the new machines with the much talked about improved loading speeds, yes you'll need to load them onto the SSD.

"So what the hell do I need an external hard drive for?", you might ask. Not only can you use a drive like this to carry over already downloaded games from PS4 to PS5 and Xbox One to Xbox Series X, with no need to redownload them, but you can also store next-gen Series X titles (but not PS5 games) on it for when you need to shuffle titles around to free up space. Next-gen games are going to take up enormous amounts of space and before long you're going to find yourself having to delete games to make room for a new purchase, or you know, to get the latest bloatware from Warzone. It's a shame you can't store PS5 games on external hard drives too just yet, but Sony is looking into making this happen. It's handy for your PS4 games on PS5 though.

For your Series X though, with an external drive of this size, you won't have to wait for hours to redownload any games, just simply transfer them back over when you want to play them again. A 1TB Xbox Series X expansion SSD card costs $220; wouldn't you rather spend that on a bunch of games? Not to mention anyone with a data cap on their home internet service won't have to worry about getting a nasty bill.

Get next-gen ready with this hard drive deal

Even if you're sticking with your current console for a while, we think an external hard drive is an essential purchase. I picked one up at the start of lockdown and filled it with pretty much every Xbox Game Pass title available, leaving me a huge range of playing options and allowing me to try new games at will. Plus, having Warzone, Apex Legends, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Halo Collection all installed at once along with more than 100 other games meant I never had to wait. Well, except when Warzone has a new patch of course.

If you're after a few other options, be sure to check out our guides on the best Xbox One external hard drives and best PS4 external hard drives. We've also got you covered for some PS4 SSD picks.

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Brendan is GamesRadar's former Managing Editor of the Hardware & eCommerce team. He also spent time as the Deals Editor at our sister site, TechRadar. He's obsessed with finding the best tech, games, gadgets, and hardware at the lowest price. He also spends way too much of his free time trying to decide what new things to watch on Netflix, then just rewatches It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia instead. Nowadays you'll find him as the eCommerce Content Director for Future's mobile tech sites, Android Central, iMore, and Windows Central.