A new Xbox console comes with either 1TB (Xbox Series X) or 512GB (Xbox Series S) of built-in storage to play with. Unlike the Sony PlayStation 5, there’s no internal expansion slot to take advantage of, so if you want to expand that storage you’ll need to hook up an external hard drive.

While 1TB or 512GB may seem like a generous allowance, it doesn’t take all that much effort to blow it through. If you have a rotating selection of games that you load regularly, you may find yourself going through the process of deleting and redownloading the games you want to play, especially if they’re larger games.

Adding external storage will come at a cost, but it will save you all that download time. Depending on the type you choose, you can play games directly from your extra drive or use your console’s file management features to switch games between internal and external storage.

The best option for adding storage to an Xbox Series X/S is to use the dedicated Storage Expansion Card slot on the back of the console (it looks like a larger USB port and is labeled Storage Expansion). Games can be played directly from an expansion card plugged in here, so it’s just as good as internal storage, but it’s also the more expensive option.