New laptop slow when using External SSD

[Dyon_Engel]

About 2 months ago I bought a New gaming laptop.

But Whenever my external SSD is plugged in and doing something like downloading. the laptop becomes extremely slow and unresponsive. What can I do to fix this because

Windows runs from the Internal SSD and I use the external one mostly for storage and gaming purposes.

If I need to provide any more information please let me know.

Below are the specs of the laptop and SSD.

Laptop: HP Victus 16-r0870nd

SSD , 512 GB , PCI Express

Nvidia RTX 4070

Intel Core i7-13620H

DDR5 2x8GB Ram

1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Type-C

3x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (3.1 Gen 1) Type-A

--------------------------------------

SSD: Samsung

Samsung T9 2TB

Read/Write: 2GB/s

1x USB 3.2 (Gen2x2, 20Gb/s) type-C

[VikramTheGreat]

Hi @Dyon_Engel,

Welcome to the HP Support Community.
 

Thank you for posting your query. I will be glad to help you.

The slowdown when using an external SSD with the HP Victus 16-r0000 gaming laptop is likely due to a combination of factors, including heat, USB interface limitations, and potentially software/driver issues.

1. Heat: Gaming laptops, especially when under load, generate significant heat. Using an external SSD, which may also be generating heat, can exacerbate this, leading to throttling (the laptop slowing down to prevent overheating). 

2. USB Interface: The laptop's USB ports, especially if they are not Thunderbolt 4, may not be able to fully utilize the speed of the external SSD. This can result in a noticeable slowdown compared to using the laptop's internal SSD. 

3. Software/Driver Issues: Outdated or faulty drivers for the USB controller or the external SSD itself could be contributing to the slowdown. Updating these drivers can sometimes resolve performance issues. 

I hope this helps.

Take care and have a good day.

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, as it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

VikramTheGreat

HP Support

[Dyon_Engel]

First of all thank you for the reply.
To keep it clear and concise I will respond in the same order as you've provided me with an answer.

1. I'm able to monitor the external SSD drive temp as well as the internal components. None of those are above standard operating temperatures. the External SSD is standard operating around 19-25 degrees Celsius. And even the CPU stays below 40. 

2. While I know I will not reach the maximum speed of 20GB/S I'm using the 3.1 USB interface that should give me enough speed to not slow down my laptop significantly.

3. All drivers and software has been checked and is either the latest or updated, the issue still persists after this. 

The main problem I have with this is that even web browsing is significantly slower even if the External SSD is just plugged in without doing any tasks. 

[VikramTheGreat]

Hi @Dyon_Engel,

Thank you for getting back. I would request you to please disconnect the External drive from the Pc and request you to check the performance as support on 3rd party is limited. 

While doing it, I would request you to please run a Hardware test on the Pc and let me know the results. 

Extensive Test - 
1. Hold the power button for at least five seconds to turn off the computer. 
2. Turn on the computer and immediately press Esc repeatedly, about once every second. When the menu appears, press the F2 key. 
3. On the HP PC Hardware Diagnostics (UEFI) main menu, click System Tests. 
4. Click Extensive Test.

I hope this helps.

Take care and have a good day.

Please click “Accepted Solution” if you feel my post solved your issue, as it will help others find the solution. Click the “Kudos/Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

VikramTheGreat

HP Support