They are small, robust and fast: SSD hard drives offer additional storage space for documents, photos and other data. We had 40 external SSD hard drives tested. 27 were awarded the test quality rating of Good. But it's worth taking a look at the details: We discovered significant differences in price and maximum achievable speed...

Fast SSDs have become affordable. For most users, SSDs with USB 3.2 Gen2 and 1 or 2 TB of storage space are the best choice. Here, the SK Hynix Beetle X31 Portable (1 TB, 100 euros) and the Emtec X210 (2 TB, 140 euros) were the best in the test. The Kingston XS1000 (80 euros) was the price-performance winner among the 1 TB models...

If a notebook or PC with USB 3.2 Gen2x2 is available, the Corsair EX100U is worth a look. The external SSD shows decent performance values in almost every situation and even on a non-compatible Thunderbolt or USB 3.1 port, the transfer rates remain solid. There will be some competitor models whose sequential write and read speeds are even higher...

Attractive overall package that convinces with small dimensions, good performance and a favourable price. However, the limits of the controller and the USB interface are not fully exploited.