Xbox Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S: Size, price, deals, more

Xbox Series X Seagate Expandable Card Source: Microsoft

Xbox Serial 10 and Xbox Series Due south approach storage a niggling different from the Xbox One family, with ultra-fast solid-land drive (SSD) storage fundamental to their makeup. It means you'll need a pricey Seagate Storage Expansion Carte to leverage the all-time from the latest Xbox consoles, adding an extra 1TB for your games and apps. Here's what y'all need to know about this new storage choice and whether information technology'southward right for you lot.

What is the Xbox Storage Expansion Card?

Xbox Series X Storage Expansion . Source: Microsoft

Microsoft'southward latest Xbox Serial Ten and Xbox Series S consoles deliver a meaning functioning spring, attributed to overhauled internals and its new SSD storage solution. It'south one of the key components that speed up the arrangement, cut load times while also powering many next-generation gaming experiences. It means that if yous want to expand your available storage, information technology'south more complicated than but plugging in any external hard drive.

USB external hard drives work with Xbox Serial X and Xbox Series Due south, admitting this time with notable limitations across some games. They tin can shop all Xbox games but only play Xbox One, Xbox 360, and original Xbox games via astern compatibility. New Xbox Series X|S Optimized games, including Xbox I experiences upgraded to Xbox Series 10|Due south, can but be played on an internal SSD or an official expansion card. That means you'll exist carting games back and forth, especially as the Xbox I generation steadily winds downward.

Increased demand for SSD storage saw Microsoft introduce the Xbox Storage Expansion Carte du jour, a proprietary external drive designed to match the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S operation. It partnered with Seagate on the debut NVMe expansion, bachelor dorsum in November aslope a console with a unmarried 1TB model. It hooks in through a defended "Storage Expansion" port on each console's rear, automatically multiplying your available SSD storage.

Unlike other USB-based storage, this Microsoft-approved solution mimics the internal SSD found in Xbox Serial X and Xbox Series Due south. The card boasts the same 2.four GB/s peak speeds as the internal SSD, making for a seamless upgrade to install more games on the panel. The PCIe 4.0 technology used makes this a little pricey only avoids shortcomings of the alternatives.

How much does the Xbox Storage Expansion Menu cost?

The Seagate Xbox Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S retails at $220, which grants y'all the only 1TB model available correct now. That translates to £220 in the Uk, $300 in Canada, or €270 in Europe. It's available from most major Xbox retailers, including Amazon and the Microsoft Store.

The SSD expansions for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S aren't exactly affordable, merely the blame doesn't fall on Microsoft. It's costly, specially compared to cheap difficult drives, which sometimes drop equally low equally $50 for 1TB. But this drive barbarous in line with our previous predictions, given the average pricing for notoriously pricey PCIe 4.0 SSD technology required to achieve high speeds. While Sony has discussed time to come support for third-party NVMe SSDs with PlayStation 5, those also come with a similarly high price tag.

USB external storage exists as a cheaper alternative, simply the Xbox Storage Expansion Bill of fare'south convenience will cost you. Entry-level drives like the Toshiba Canvio Nuts 1TB are an ideal culling, with the same chapters priced at only $45, if yous tin can wrangle those limitations.

Upgrade your Xbox

Seagate 1TB Game Drive for Xbox Series X, S

Seagate Storage Expansion Carte for Xbox Series X|S

The no-compromise SSD for Xbox Series X and S.

This custom NVMe SSD card is the but external storage capable of playing Xbox Series Ten and Series S titles.

Xbox Storage Expansion Bill of fare size

Seagate'due south Xbox Expansion Card comes in a single 1TB configuration, with no alternatives or additional capacities available equally of early 2022. While Microsoft designed these fun-sized cards with several manufacturers in mind, only Seagate has brought a solution to market. We know additional sizes are in the works, with more manufacturers planning products, making established names similar Western Digital and SanDisk likely for the future.

We may also see more affordable prices as the Xbox Expansion Carte ecosystem expands. It'southward currently highly dependent on PCIe 4.0, the cutting-edge storage technology that helps provide these SSDs with a direct line to the CPU. That'southward notoriously expensive fifty-fifty in the PC marketplace, but nosotros can expect a steady reject in pricing over the console'due south lifetime.

Is the Xbox Storage Expansion Card worth it?

Xbox Series S SSD Expansion Port Source: Microsoft

The Xbox Serial X and Xbox Serial South push button SSD storage as fundamental to the latest console generation, which means the game has changed for external expansions. Information technology's essential to understand what different storage devices tin deliver earlier checking out, finding a residual in operation and convenience, per your budget.

The Seagate Storage Expansion Carte remains the solution to beat, topping up your console with an additional 1TB SSD and seamlessly doubling or tripling your available drive infinite. It's the one to buy if you can justify the asking price, given how seamlessly it integrates with the system. You won't have to worry virtually compatibility, promising identical functioning that slices load times. It slots in and instantly configures, specially suited to enthusiasts. You can check our Xbox Seagate Storage Expansion Carte du jour review for a full breakup of what to expect.

Only an external USB drive also works, provided you don't regularly cycle between an all-encompassing library of games. You lot can't play Xbox Series X|Southward games directly, and so y'all'll find yourself cycling installed games between drives before you tin can jump into action. The all-time external hard drives for Xbox Series X provide the nearly affordable alternative, with 1TB models below $l. Upgrading to one of the best SSDs for Xbox Series 10 promises similar functionality but shorter load times and transfer times.

Xbox Storage Expansion Card deals and disbelieve

The Xbox Storage Expansion Carte du jour offset launched aslope Xbox Series X and Xbox Series Due south in Nov 2022, with this accessory usually goes for its retail price. While we saw some retailers offer a temporary discount throughout Black Fri, prices often remain static. Buyers tin can find farther savings through the secondhand market place, which will shave a small percentage off the cost. We proceed to round up the best available prices to save on console storage.

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