USB 2.0 is limited to less than 40 MByte/s (60 MByte/s in theory) and you're pretty much lost.
USB 3.0 will allow much faster rates if your external drive is up to the task.
- External hard drive with "old style" spinning media: Sorry, this is just so 2009 and won't make you happy.
- External SSD: You may think about using this.