The NVIDIA Shield TV Pro is one of the best Android TV boxes, and the fact that it's still on sale today is a testament to how far ahead of its time it really was. Most TVs today come with Google TV built-in, so you don't really need an external streaming box, but they don't all necessarily offer a smooth interface and fluid experience. This is where the NVIDIA Shield TV Pro stands out.
It comes with a beefy Tegra X1+ chipset, 3GB of RAM, and can output 4K video with Dolby Vision HDR. Sadly, the internal storage is limited to 16GB only, out of which, some is used by the OS which leaves you with even lesser space. Thankfully, the Shield TV Pro has two USB 3.0 (Type-A) ports, which you can use to connect a flash drive or external hard drive and make it the best streaming device. Here are our top choices for external drives for your NVIDIA Shield TV Pro.
Expand your storage with the best external drives for the Shield TV Pro
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Best overall
The Samsung T7 is a tough portable SSD with an aluminum construction for shock resistance, and good thermal management. It boasts sequential read and write speeds of around 1,000MB/s and has a speedy USB 3.2 interface, making it a great alternative to the Shield TV Pro's internal storage. It comes in three colors and three storage tiers of up to 2TB.
Best value
If you're looking for external storage to merely store your personal photos, videos, etc and view them occasionally on the Shield TV Pro, the WD Elements hard drive is a fantastic option that doesn't cost a lot. It's USB 3.0, which is what the Sheild supports, and it comes in capacities ranging from 1TB to 5TB.
Best affordable SSD storage
With the Crucial X6 Portable SSD, you have up to 4TB of storage, along with super-fast read and write speeds thanks to the onboard USB 3.2 controller. The X6 is lightweight and compact, making it a great option if you want to bring your movies with you, or you can just leave it plugged into the Shield TV Pro and stash it away.
Best plug-and-forget storage
The ADATA UV350 flash drive has a metal enclosure for toughness, and has a small footprint so it won't block the neighbouring USB port on the Shield TV Pro. Capacities range from 32GB to 512GB, giving you plenty of options. It can do USB 3.2 (Gen1) speeds and comes with a lanyard hole for a keychain, so you don't lose it.
Best ample storage
The WD My Book stands vertically alongside your Shield TV Pro, and offers abundant storage options ranging from 4TB to a whopping 22TB. The interface is USB 3.2 so read and write speeds will be quick, and it comes with a three-year warranty. Since it uses a desktop-class hard drive, it comes with a power adapter in order work properly.
Best RGB storage
This one's for all the gamers out there. This cyberpunk-looking SSD from KingSpec complements the quirky design of the Shield TV Pro very well. It even has an RGB LED which cycles through 128 colors in a breathing pattern, making it look even cooler. It has a zinc-alloy case, USB 3.2 (Gen2) interface, and comes in three capacities up to 2TB. You'll just need a Type-A to Type-C adapter as it only ships with a USB-C to C cable.
Choosing the best external drives for the Shield TV Pro
Whether you plan to use the external drive to replace the Shield's 16GB internal storage or to simply augment it for downloaded content from your PC to your living room TV, these are all excellent NVIDIA Shield TV Pro drives. However, if you're looking to max out your internal storage, we'd recommend using a fast SSD as the default storage option on the Shield TV Pro. The Samsung T7 SSD fits the bill perfectly, offering good thermal management for continuous operation, a rugged body, and capacities up to 2TB.
If you want to save a bit on SSD storage, the Crucial X6 drive offers similar capacities as the Samsung and the same interface, but at a lower cost. A standard portable hard drive is ideal for when you'll be doing mostly read operations from the drive, like just viewing content. If you already have a ton of offline media and would to view it on the TV, the WD Elements hard drive is a nice affordable option that comes in large capacities. Need more storage? In this case, the WD My Book external drive offers up to a maddening 22TB of storage, if you so dare.
Don't like cables dangling out of the back of your Sheild TV Pro? A simple flash drive is what you need in this case. The ADATA UV350 is a robust option thanks to the metal build, sleek design, and large capacities of up to 512GB. You can also add a bit of flair to your Shield setup with the KingSpec Z5 RGB SSD. It's fast, stylish, and flashy!
The Shield TV Pro can also double up as a great cloud gaming console, thanks to the GeForce NOW cloud game streaming service. Make sure you go and grab the best gaming controller for the Shield TV Pro for the optimal gaming experience.
