Seagate Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Series X|S, 512 GB, SSD, Plug and Play NVMe Expansion SSD Xbox Series X|S, Officially Licensed, 2 year Rescue Services (STJR512400)

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At least now there is more 'competition', it should help bring pricing down. On top of that, its easier to expand your storage. There is no limit to how many Cards you own (I own a 1TB & a 2TB card) so already have nearly 4TB's of Storage capacity - not including the 5TB HDD USB External Storage I have connected with my XB1 and older games stored on it. Microsoft has found itself in an all-new predicament. Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S don't have multiple storage options, so expandable storage is the only option. In the past, it was as easy as plugging in your external hard drive over USB. But when so many games rely on these new SSDs, what can you do if the best Xbox external drives just don't cut it?

Matt Brown | Windows Central (Image credit: Source: Matt Brown | Windows Central) You should buy this if ... If you want speedier storage, you can also opt for an external SSD. You would be paying a bit more than you would for an HDD, but you would be able to transfer and load games a lot faster. However, the same game-playing caveats apply here, so if you want to play an optimized current-generation game, it needs to be running off internal or expansion card storage.This officially licensed Xbox expansion card is plug-and-play with your Xbox Series X/S, so you don’t have to worry about compatibility or opening your console to install. All tests performed using an Xbox Series X console with a 1TB Seagate Storage Expansion Card. File sizes for each title accurate as of publication. It's hard to find specific flaws in the Seagate Storage Expansion Card as a product, but the price remains a crucial hurdle detracting from its appeal. Microsoft raised the bar from storage this generation, meaning these drives are prohibitively costly, even for the smallest available configuration. Whilst we will do everything we can to meet the delivery times above, there may be factors outside of our control and we cannot guarantee delivery within this time frame.

Utilizing PCIe 4.0 was always an expensive bet, with today's pricing falling in line with our previous predictions ahead of release. While proprietary in design, pricing isn't far from equivalent PC drives leveraging the same interface. The technology should become more affordable in time, but until then it's a luxury, especially on consoles.But even with fast speeds, that's not the main reason to buy a Storage Expansion Card. Put simply, it's a way to add more storage without worrying about which games will work or how you'll next move them around. One thing to note is that in my testing, I found the C50 to have slightly slower boot times for games than ones installed on internal storage. Forza Horizon 5 went from boot-up to in-game in 59 seconds. The C50 managed the same in 1 minute and 9 seconds, so roughly ten seconds off the pace. It’s something you probably won’t notice unless you’re timing it yourself, but certainly worth noting if you’re planning to move your favorite games over to the card. Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, Northern Ireland and the Scottish Highlands) may take longer to reach you. With the latest Xbox consoles adopting high-performance SSDs, Microsoft could've approached expandable storage in a few ways. Landing on these compact cards has provided a seamless solution that's guaranteed to work with all games on the system, even if limiting your options.

Games are getting bigger, eating up more storage. Capacities from 512GB to 1TB 2 let you keep more of those titles installed and ready to fire up at a moment’s notice.trev666 USB 'works' if all you want to do is 'store' games and only run XB1 versions from it. The whole point of these Expansion cards are to be able to run Series S/X Versions from the 'Storage' instead of having to wait for them to transfer across to the internal storage to play. While the 1TB internal SSD of the Series X sort of mitigates the storage issue, the little brother Xbox Series S, unfortunately, has half of that at 512 GB and only close to 400 GB of that are available to the player for their games. This means, especially with the huge file sizes of modern-day games, it's rather easy to fill that up and have no available space left in less than a month. This problem gets even worse with the tremendous benefits of the Xbox Game Pass subscription where you can have access to dozens of amazing titles at once. So the Series S players certainly could use the storage assistance more than the Series X players do here, especially if they have an extensive library of games. Seagate Storage Expansion Card: Price UK Turn your console on, and plug the drive into one of the USB ports. You will get a pop-up that asks how you wish to use the storage device. If you want to use it for games storage, select Use for Games. You will be asked to name your storage device. Your Xbox will then ask if you plan to use the drive with multiple consoles.

Looking past the upfront cost, the Storage Expansion Card easily hooks up and expands Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S consoles. Microsoft's DIY approach means every new Xbox console has a dedicated port for its proprietary cards, with the same inoperability expected across future Xbox revisions. Using PCIe 4.0 provides a direct line to the CPU, translating to ultra-fast speeds on the spec sheet. For now, the Xbox Storage Expansion Card is the proposed (and only) remedy, compacting the same speedy solid-state storage into standalone add-ons. It couldn't be more seamless on paper, adding an identical, secondary NVMe drive to the available storage. While Microsoft and Seagate first teamed up on a single 1TB Storage Expansion Card, the partnership has since introduced 512GB and 2TB capacities. It is true - you can store all your games on an external HDD that supports USB 3.0 too. In fact, they are much cheaper per GB and older generation games can even be played from them as well, but the issue is that the Series X|S optimised new-gen games can't run on that sluggish storage technology anymore and therefore can't be played from an HDD. Modern games require much faster loading capabilities and the Velocity architecture here immediately enables that. The overall performance of the Seagate Storage Expansion card is extremely similar to the internal SSD storage, guaranteeing perfect compatibility. In short, among all the other external storage solutions, only this one enables you to play your new-gen games from it. Essential For Series S This officially licensed Xbox expansion card is plug-and-play with your Xbox Series X|S, so you don’t have to worry about compatibility or opening your console to install. I can't say the Seagate Storage Expansion Card is a great deal, yet I still wholeheartedly recommend it to those on the fence.

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If you don't want to spring for the Expansion Card, you can turn to external storage options. The Xbox Series X and Series S have three USB 3.1 ports, which is plenty of space for accessories, including an external drive with a minimum of 128GB of storage. As game file sizes grow, capacities from 512GB let you keep more of today’s top titles installed and ready to go. We've previously seen discounts on 1TB and 2TB expansion cards, offering a small saving on the suggested retail price. Pricing on 512GB has proven firmer, with no sizeable savings in the U.S. at publication. The card measures a fun-sized 53mm by 32mm, seemingly based on CFexpress standard, almost on par with the average USB thumb drive. Unlike most external drives, it's cable-free and only slightly protrudes from the console's rear, preventing unwanted clutter around your desk or entertainment center. Each drive also comes with a protective sleeve, making these cards easy to move and store. Pro's and Con's to both. MS may have a 'Proprietary' solution that is perhaps more expensive per TB, but makes up for it in terms of ease of use etc. Sonys may offer cheaper options, but its still 'limited' by the size, realistically needs a Heatsink (MS designed their system to not require this) and doesn't cover you if you something happens from a third party SSD - like it overheats and damages your PS5.