ADATA is Taiwan’s largest manufacturer of flash storage and DRAM memory for computers. They have been at the forefront of SSD development for many years, bringing us famous SSDs like the SX8200, SX900, and S510.
Today we are reviewing the ADATA SE900G, which is the company’s latest portable SSD. It is one of the first external storage drives that utilizes the blazing fast USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 20 Gbps interface, which doubles the transfer rates over USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 aka USB 3.1 Gen 2. Many portable SSDs using USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 were bottlenecked by the USB interface speed, so it makes sense to increase the interface transfer rate another notch. At this time, not a single AMD AM4 motherboard natively supports the 20 Gbps USB interface, on the Intel side there’s about 60 motherboards, most using the Z590 chipset. For all our testing we used a Gigabyte GC-USB 3.2 Gen2x2 PCI-Express x4 add-in card—so we can properly test ADATA’s SE900G portable SSD.
Another highlight of ADATA’s SSD is that it has a dazzling RGB lighting implementation that covers almost the whole front of the SSD.
Internally, the SE900G uses a USB-to-PCIe bridge chip, paired with a full-size ADATA SX8200 Pro SSD. The SX8200 Pro uses Micron 96-layer B27A 3D TLC flash, and a Silicon Motion SM662EN controller, with 1 GB of Samsung DRAM.
We review the ADATA SE900G in the 2 TB variant, which retails for $285, but it is also available in capacities of 512 GB, and 1 TB. Warranty is set to five years for all these models.
Adata SE900G is a speedy USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 portable SSD that features a dazzling RGB design but lacks the features and warranty support that we see with other SSDs.
For
+ Competitive performance
+ Stylish RGB lighting
+ Competitive pricing
Against
– 3-year warranty
– Lacks AES 256-bit encryption
– Lacks IP rating
– RGB lights aren’t controllable
Features and Specifications
RGB has made its way into everything these days: fans, cases, PSUs, motherboards, GPUs, RAM, and even M.2 and SATA internal SSDs. Now we can add portable SSDs to the list, too. Adata’s new SE900G is a speedy portable USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 SSD that is also quite the show stopper with its stylish and hypnotizing RGB shine.
The SE900G also comes with plenty of horsepower under the hood in the form of an M.2 SSD that is very similar to
the company’s controversial XPG SX8200 Pro NVMe SSD
. Like the SX8200 Pro, Adata says that the components inside this SSD can change with newer revisions. Adata guarantees that the drive will meet its performance and endurance specifications regardless of the chosen internal componentry.
Paired with a fast USB 20 Gbps interface, the SE900 flies past its 10 Gbps competition and comes with reasonable pricing, making it a great value for those looking for a flashy portable SSD.
Specifications
Product
SE900G 500GB
SE900G 1TB
SE900G 2TB
Pricing
$99.99
$159.99
$289.99
Capacity (User / Raw)
512GB / 512GB
1024GB / 1024GB
2048GB / 2048GB
Interface / Protocol
USB-C / USB 3.2 Gen 2×2
USB-C / USB 3.2 Gen 2×2
USB-C / USB 3.2 Gen 2×2
Included
USB Type-C & USB Type-C to USB Type-A
USB Type-C & USB Type-C to USB Type-A
USB Type-C & USB Type-C to USB Type-A
Sequential Read
2,000 MBps
2,000 MBps
2,000 MBps
Sequential Write
2,000 MBps
2,000 MBps
2,000 MBps
Interface Controller
ASMedia ASM2364
ASMedia ASM2364
ASMedia ASM2364
NAND Controller
SM2262EN
SM2262EN
SM2262EN
DRAM
DDR4
DDR4
DDR4
Storage Media
Micron 96L TLC
Micron 96L TLC
Micron 96L TLC
Power
Bus-powered
Bus-powered
Bus-powered
Dimensions (L x W x H)
110.8 x 66 x 16.5mm
110.8 x 66 x 16.5mm
110.8 x 66 x 16.5mm
Weight
160g
160g
160g
Part Number
ASE900G-512GU32G2-CBK
ASE900G-1TU32G2-CBK
ASE900G-2TU32G2-CBK
Warranty
3-Years
3-Years
3-Years
Adata’s SE900G is available in three capacities of 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB at reasonable pricing, given its sequential performance ratings of up to 2,000 MBps of read/write throughput.
Our 2TB sample carries the lowest price-per-GB of the lineup. At $0.14 per gigabyte, it undercuts many USB 20Gbps SSDs on the market and even USB 10Gbps SSDs like SanDisk’s Extreme v2. Unfortunately, Adata only backs the SE900G with a basic three-year warranty rather than the five-year warranty we typically see with most enthusiast-grade storage.
The SE900G also doesn’t feature an Ingress Protection rating like our best external SSDs, nor does it come with AES 256-bit hardware encryption support to keep your data secure. The SE900G does come with the standard support for S.M.A.R.T. data reporting, UASP, and Trim, though.
Accessories
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The SE900G comes with two USB cables — one 11.5-inch long USB Type-C cable for newer systems, and another USB Type-C to Type-A for compatibility with older ones.
A Closer Look
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The SE900G is reasonably sized at 110.8 x 66 x 16.5mm, and it also has some heft to it. At 160 grams, the SE900G weighs two to three times more than many competing 5 Gbps and 10 Gbps portable SSDs. However, most of those drives also don’t run as fast as the SE900G and thus don’t need such robust thermal consideration. Adata’s SE900G features a large vented metal, heatsink-like back housing to provide adequate thermal dissipation under heavy use and provide some drop protection for the internals.
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A black and clear plastic panel covers the top of the SSD, allowing the RGB lights to shine through. The RGB lighting also doubles as a power indicator, and there’s also an indicator light next to the USB Type-C port.
A white PCB with eight LEDs resides under the top panel and provides the light show. Unfortunately, you cannot control the lights. This PCB also contains the ASMedia ASM2364 USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 to PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe bridge chip, M.2 slot, and supporting circuitry.
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At the heart of the SSD is a drive very similar to the XPG SX8200 Pro — this variant is powered by Silicon Motion’s very responsive SM2262EN PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe 1.3 SSD controller. This controller is a high-end eight-channel, DRAM-based design that leverages dual Arm Cortex R5 CPUs clocked at 625 MHz. This controller interfaces with 2GB of Samsung DDR4 DRAM at a clock speed of 700 MHz.
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Our SE900G sample also shipped with Micron’s 512Gb B27A 96L TLC NAND flash. There are 32 dies distributed into the four NAND packages and interface with the controller at speeds of 650 MTps. Each die has a quad-plane architecture, meaning the controller can achieve even higher levels of parallelism than dual-plane flash, which equates to faster performance. It even features subdivisions of tile groupings for faster and more efficient random reads over competing flash, such as BiCS4.
The tiles are redundant latches grouped for small I/O (4K), while BiCS4 has other means such as SBL (shielded-bitline) current sense as opposed to ABL (all bitline) current sense. Also, unlike BiCS4, Micron’s 96L TLC takes advantage of the CuA (Circuitry Under the Array) architecture where the NAND cell arrays are placed on top of the periphery circuitry (decoders, sense amplifiers, timing circuitry, buffers, etc.) to help shrink the die as well as enable the use of the company’s unique tile grouping. Additionally, Micron claims its floating gate design gives it some inherent data retention benefit over competing charge trap flash, too.
It’s noteworthy that while these internal components came inside our review sample, Adata may change the DRAM, NAND, SSD controller, and/or bridge chip at any point in the production cycle for this drive. That means the components can vary over time. Adata guarantees that the drive will meet its performance and endurance specifications regardless of the chosen internal componentry.
Silicon Power is a Taiwanese hardware manufacturer founded in 2003. In enthusiast circles, they are well known for providing high-quality flash storage products at reasonable pricing. Silicon Power’s various product lines include DRAM modules, SSDs, flash drives, and portable storage.
Today, we are taking a look at the Silicon Power XD80, which is the company’s new high-performance PCIe Gen 3 TLC-based SSD that was announced last month. The XD70 is based on a combination of a Phison E12 controller paired with TLC flash from Toshiba. A UnilC DRAM chip provides 512 MB of storage for the mapping tables of the SSD.
The Silicon Power UD70 comes in capacities of 256 GB ($48), 512 GB ($78), 1 TB ($126), and 2 TB ($243). Endurance for these models is set to 380 TBW, 800 TBW, 1665 TBW and 3115 TBW respectively. Silicon Power includes a five-year warranty with the XD80.
Specifications: Silicon Power XD80 2 TB
Brand:
Silicon Power
Model:
SP002TBP34XD8005
Capacity:
2048 GB (1907 GB usable) No additional overprovisioning
Lexar has made a name for itself in the portable storage market. They are very well known for their SD cards and USB sticks, so it’s natural for them to expand into other areas of flash storage, like consumer SSDs. Lexar was founded as a subsidiary of Micron, but was sold to Longsys in 2017 and has been operating quite independently since.
The Lexar SL200 is a USB-C-based, portable SSD that uses the USB 3.1 interface with speeds of up to 500 MB/s. Traditionally, most large-capacity external storage has been based on hard drives, which come at very low cost per TB but have several drawbacks. First, since they are mechanical components, they are sensitive to shock—if you drop one, it’s very likely broken. SSDs, on the other hand, are almost immune to external damage. Another plus of SSDs is that they don’t use any mechanical components to transfer data, so their seek times are much lower than on HDDs, and transfer rates are higher, too.
Internally, the Lexar SL200 uses a Lexar DM918 controller paired with 3D TLC NAND flash and a USB-to-SATA bridge chip from ASMedia.
Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 7000s is a high-performance, premium-priced M.2 NVMe SSD that keeps cool under any workload due to its sleek pre-installed heatsink.
For
+ Competitive performance
+ Attractive design
+ Effective cooling
+ AES 256-bit encryption
+ 5-year warranty and high endurance ratings
Features and Specifications
Today, we have Gigabyte’s Aorus Gen4 7000s in the lab for review with cooling that is fit for an SSD that can gulp down over 8.5 watts of power. With an extremely well-crafted heatsink that is decked out with tons of fins, it’s ready for the harshest of workloads and will add some bling to a high-end gaming build. Designed to compete with the best SSDs, the Aorus Gen4 7000s dishes out up to 7 GBps and surprisingly, from testing, shows improvement over earlier Phison E18 NVMe SSD samples we’ve come across.
We’ve had our hands on many Phison PS5018-E18-based SSDs in the past few months and they all deliver very high performance. But with such high speed, these SSDs also have high power consumption in comparison to other SSDs such as Samsung’s 980 Pro and WD’s Black SN850, and concurrently, this results in high heat output in heavy usage, especially for the higher capacity models like Sabrent’s 4TB Rocket 4 Plus.
As awesome as Sabrent’s recently reviewed 4TB Rocket 4 Plus is, when relying solely on the thin heat spreader to keep it cool, it is still susceptible to throttling under massive write workloads. Because of this, many of these new Phison 18-powered SSDs are rolling out, equipped with heatsinks to ensure throttle-free, (or at least hopefully throttle-free), operation.
Corsair went as far as to develop both a heatsinked MP600 Pro as well as an MP600 Pro Hydro X edition for those with custom water-cooled rigs who demand completely throttle-free operation. In our hands, we now have Gigabyte’s Aorus Gen4 7000s, an interesting alternative that hasn’t gone to such drastic measures. Coming with a surface area maximized heatsink, the Aorus Gen4 7000s utilizes a more traditional design approach to tackle the minor heat problem, but what’s not so traditional is that it also incorporates a nanocarbon coating that is stated to reduce temperatures by 20%.
Specifications
Product
Gen4 7000s 1TB
Gen4 7000s 2TB
Pricing
$209.99
$389.99
Capacity (User / Raw)
1000GB / 1024GB
2000GB / 2048GB
Form Factor
M.2 2280
M.2 2280
Interface / Protocol
PCIe 4.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4
PCIe 4.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4
Controller
Phison PS5018-E18
Phison PS5018-E18
DRAM
DDR4
DDR4
Memory
Micron 96L TLC
Micron 96L TLC
Sequential Read
7,000 MBps
7,000 MBps
Sequential Write
5,500 MBps
6,850 MBps
Random Read
350,000 IOPS
650,000 IOPS
Random Write
700,000 IOPS
700,000 IOPS
Security
AES 256-bit encryption
AES 256-bit encryption
Endurance (TBW)
700 TB
1,400 TB
Part Number
GP-AG70S1TB
GP-AG70S2TB
Warranty
5-Years
5-Years
The Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 7000s is available in two capacities, 1TB and 2TB, priced at $210 and $390, respectively. Gigabyte rates each capacity to hit 7,000 MBps read, but the 1TB is rated to deliver 5,500 MBps write while the 2TB model can hit 6,850 MBps write. In terms of peak random performance, the SSD is rated capable of up to 650,000 / 700,000 random read/write IOPS at the highest capacity.
Gigabyte backs the Aorus Gen4 7000s with a 5-year warranty and each comes with respectable write endurance ratings – up to 700TB per 1TB in capacity. Such high endurance is thanks to Phison’s fourth-generation LDPC and RAID ECC, wear leveling, a bit of over-provisioning. Also, like Corsair’s MP600 Pro, the SSD supports AES 256-bit hardware encryption, perfect for those on the go who need to meet security compliance standards when handling sensitive data.
Software and Accessories
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Gigabyte provides a basic SSD Toolbox that can read the SSD’s health, S.M.A.R.T. data, as well as secure erase it (assuming it’s a secondary drive).
A Closer Look
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Gigabyte’s Aorus Gen4 7000s comes in an M.2 2280 double-sided form factor. The included aluminum heatsink measures 11.5 x 23.5 x 76 mm and the black and silver two-tone looks fantastic, too. We’re not too sure how much the nanocarbon coating helps by itself, but based on the way this heatsink is designed, we’re fairly confident that there is plenty of surface area to dissipate all the heat it needs to without it. The SSD is sandwiched between two thick thermal pads that transfer heat from the PCB to the heatsink and baseplate.
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As mentioned, Gigabyte’s Aorus Gen4 7000s is powered by Phison’s second-generation PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD controller, the PS5018-E18. It leverages DRAM and features a triple-core architecture that is paired with the company’s CoXProcessor 2.0 technology (an extra two R5 CPU cores) for fast and consistent response. The main CPU cores are Arm Cortex R5’s clocked at 1 GHz, up from 733MHz on its predecessor, the PS5016-E16, while the CoXProcessor 2.0 cores are clocked slower for better efficiency.
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Our 2TB sample comes with 2GB of DDR4 from SK hynix, split amongst two DRAM ICs, one on each side of the PCB. These chips interface with the controller at speeds clocking 1,600 MHz and consume 1.2V. Additionally, there are eight NAND flash emplacements in total for storage, each containing 256GB of Micron’s 512Gb 96L TLC flash (32 dies in total). This NAND operates at fast speeds of up to 1,200 MTps and features a quad-plane architecture for fast, responsive performance.
Acer is a world-leading manufacturer of computer hardware. The company was founded in 1976, in Taiwan. They are mostly famous for their laptops, desktop PCs, and monitors. They have now branched into the field of solid-state storage with OEM partner BIWIN Storage, who are also helping HP produce their SSDs.
The FA100 is part of the Acer SSD lineup, which was announced last week. Designed as a cost-effective, entry-level M.2 NVMe SSD, the FA100 offers performance greater than traditional SATA drives and is much faster than any mechanical HDD too, of course. Acer has built the FA100 using the Innogrit IG5216 controller paired with 3D TLC NAND flash. A DRAM cache chip is not included, probably to save on cost.
The Acer FA100 is available in capacities of 128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB. Endurance for these models is set at 70 TBW, 150 TBW, 300 TBW, 600 TBW, and 1200 TBW respectively. None of the price points but for the $125 1 TB FA100 in this review are known. Acer includes a five-year warranty with the FA100.
Specifications: Acer FA 100 1 TB
Brand:
Acer
Model:
FA100-1TB
Capacity:
1024 GB (953 GB usable) No additional overprovisioning
G-Technology’s ArmorLock Encrypted NVMe SSD is ready for almost any condition or abuse and comes with secure, always-on 256-bit AES-XTS hardware encryption.
For
+ Competitive 10 Gbps performance
+ AES-XTS 256-bit hardware encryption
+ Rugged design
+ 5-year warranty
Against
– Single 2TB capacity
– Bulky size
– Costly
Features and Specifications
By leveraging your phone’s biometrics, such as touch or FaceID, G-Technology’s ArmorLock Encrypted NVMe SSD makes passwords a thing of the past in an attempt to remove the most common inconvenience when it comes to data security — entering a password. The ArmorLock Encrypted NVMe SSD is a secure portable storage solution with fast, consistent performance of up to 1 GBps of sequential read/write throughput that keeps your data safe with always-on 256-bit AES-XTS hardware encryption. Plus, it carries robust abuse ratings that ensure it will maintain reliability in the toughest conditions, perfect for those adventurous types.
Data security is becoming more important for a large swath of users, from creators in the media and entertainment industry to professionals in finance, government, healthcare, IT enterprise, and legal fields. Password protection backed by AES 256-bit encryption is the norm for those who need to ensure the data they have remains locked down and secure. Ranging from a simple password manager launching within the host OS to alphanumeric keypads with PIN protection and even fingerprint scanners, we have seen quite a few ways of unlocking password-protected storage devices over the years. Unlocking your secure storage with only a phone app seems convenient; let’s put it to the test.
Specifications
Product
ArmorLock Encrypted NVMe SSD 2TB
Pricing
$499.99
Capacity (User / Raw)
Interface / Protocol
USB-C / USB 3.2 Gen 2
Included
USB Type-C & USB Type-C to USB Type-A
Sequential Read
1,000 MBps
Sequential Write
1,000 MBps
Interface Controller
ASMedia ASM2362
NAND Controller
WD Architecture
DRAM
DDR4
Storage Media
WD 96L TLC
Power
Bus-powered
Endurance
IP55 water-dust resistant
2-meter drop protection
1,000 lbs. crush resistant
Security
AES-XTS 256-bit hardware encryption
Dimensions (L x W x H)
134 x 82 x 19 mm
Weight
200 g
Part Number
0G10484-1
Warranty
5-Years
G-Technology’s ArmorLock Encrypted NVMe SSD is available in just one 2TB model priced at $400. The SSD delivers up to 1,000 MBps of sequential throughput. Unlike most consumer-grade SSDs, the ArmorLock NVMe SSD’s write performance won’t significantly degrade below its rated performance under high abuse. Of course, that is assuming that it is connected to a compliant USB 3.2 Gen 2 port. The company backs it with a long five-year warranty for peace of mind, too.
Software & Accessories
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G-Technology includes two twelve-inch USB cables, one Type-C, and one Type-A to Type-C, with the ArmorLock Encrypted NVMe SSD.
ArmorLock App
You configure and manage the device through the company’s ArmorLock app, available on both the App Store and Google Play Store. Not only does the app enable firmware updates, formatting, and even secure erasing the device, but it can also track the last known location of the SSD and simplifies multi-user and multi-drive management. You cannot unlock the ArmorLock drive by connecting it directly to a PC — you have to use the app. As such, at installation, the app creates a recovery key that you store separately. This key allows you to install the app onto another phone if you lose your phone or uninstall the application, thus enabling you to unlock your storage device.
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A Closer Look
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G-Technology’s ArmorLock Encrypted NVMe SSD features a fairly rugged design and an activity indicator light. It carries an IP67 dust and water resistance rating and can handle a three-meter drop, and the company states that it boasts 1000-pound crush resistance. Its thick finned aluminum core aids with heat dissipation, but it comes at the expense of size.
While the device is pocketable, it is very large at 134 x 82 x 19 mm, and the plastic casing gives it a clunky and toy-like feel in the hand. We were even able to twist the casing, which ironically helped during our disassembly process. It is also fairly heavy, weighing roughly 200 grams, which is two to three times heavier than many portable SSDs.
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G-Technology’s ArmorLock uses a Bluetooth low energy module by Raytac that’s based on a Nordic nRF52840 SoC solution that allows communication between your drive and the app. When plugged in, the ArmorLock Encrypted NVMe SSD’s LED indicator light will show it is locked until you unlock the device with the app.
The ArmorLock uses 256-bit AES-XTS hardware encryption, which provides stronger data protection by taking advantage of two AES keys instead of just one, and NIST P-256 elliptic curve-based key management to eliminate side-channel attacks, ensuring data stored on the devices remains secure.
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An ASMedia ASM2362 USB 3.2 Gen 2 10 GBps to PCIe 3.0 x2 bridge chip manages host-to-SSD communication. G-Technology outfitted the ArmorLock with WD SN730 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe 1.3-compliant SSD. This SSD is similar to the SN750 but comes as a client solution that uses BiCS4 96-Layer TLC flash. It features a multi-core, DRAM-based architecture and offers plenty of speed to saturate the bridge chip’s capability.
Lexar has made a name for itself in the portable storage market—they are very well known for their SD cards and USB sticks, so it’s natural for them to expand into other areas of flash storage, like consumer SSDs. Lexar was founded as a subsidiary of Micron, but was sold to Longsys in 2017 and has been operating quite independently since.
Lexar announced the NM620 SSD last month, on March 11th. It is based on the combination of a Lexar DM620 flash controller and Micron 3D TLC flash. A DRAM chip is not available, due to the drive being designed for entry-level, light workloads. Lexar building their own flash controller “DM620” made big waves in the industry. Everybody wondered whether it is based on some existing IP, or if Lexar’s parent company Longsys could become a major player in the SSD flash controller market soon. As always—competition is good, because it drives innovation and brings down pricing for us customers. For the case of the Lexar NM620, it looks like the controller is a rebranded Innogrit IG5216 “Shasta+” controller, possibly with custom firmware. The Lexar DM620 controller has support for NVMe 1.4, over four channels.
The Lexar NM620 is available in capacities of 256 GB ($45), 512 GB ($90) and 1 TB ($160). Endurance for these models is set at 125 TBW, 250 TBW and 500 TBW respectively. Lexar includes a five-year warranty with the NM620.
Specifications: Lexar NM620 1 TB
Brand:
Lexar
Model:
LNM620X001T
Capacity:
1024 GB (953 GB usable) No additional overprovisioning
Controller:
Lexar DM620 / Rebranded Innogrit IG5216
Flash:
Micron 64-Layer 3D TLC NW964 / MT29F1T08EMCAGJ4-5M:A
João Silva 2 days ago Featured Tech News, SSD Drives
Samsung is back with another PCIe 4 SSD – the PM9A1. The latest SSD is aimed at OEMs, but Samsung’s specifications suggest that it should offer very similar performance to the pre-existing 980 Pro SSD.
Similar to the 980 Pro, the Samsung PM9A1 uses the Elpis controller, DRAM cache, and V6 NAND memory (3D TLC). Available with up to 2TB of storage, it performs at about the same level as the 980 Pro, reaching speeds of 7,000MB/s in sequential reads and up to 5,200 MB/s in sequential writes. The rated 1,000,000 random 4K read IOPS are the same as the 980 Pro, but rated random 4K write IOPS are slightly inferior, set at 850,000 IOPS.
The PM9A1 SSD does not seem to come with a heat spreader, which is reasonable considering it has been designed to be used by OEMs. However, it features thermal control technology to prevent overheating and increase the drive’s lifespan.
Samsung’s new client SSD has been qualified by HP for its Z series of workstations, desktops, and laptops, and is already being shipped in these devices. Other OEMs should follow in early Q2. It’s unclear if these SSD drives will ever release to the DIY market, but given the fact that the similar 980 Pro SSD is widely available, this seems unlikely.
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KitGuru says: If the Samsung PM9A1 were to hit the DIY market, it would probably be cheaper than the 980 Pro. Would you consider Samsung’s PM9A1 SSD if it was available at the usual retailers?
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Team Group is a well-known Taiwanese hardware manufacturer with a long history of catering to the needs of enthusiasts and gamers from all over the globe. Their lineup includes DRAM memory and solid-state drives, and they also offer various memory cards and USB thumb drives.
Today, we are reviewing the Team Group T-Create Expert SSD, which is rated for an astonishing 12,000 TBW in the reviewed 2 TB version. Yeah, you read that right, twelve-thousand terabytes, or 12 Petabytes. On top of that, Team Group offers a 12 year warranty for the drive—an industry first, too. Please note that “T-Create” is a group of products, not the name of this product. There’s also a T-Create “Classic”, this review covers the T-Create “Expert”.
Under the hood, the T-Create Expert uses a Silicon Motion SM2262ENG controller paired with 64-layer 3D TLC flash from Micron. Yup, that’s right—standard flash that has been on the market for a long time, no secret sauce here. I can imagine that Team Group is using some firmware tweaks to improve endurance, but so far, I haven’t seen anything that would support the super high TBW claim. As expected, DRAM is present, too, two chips are installed to provide 2 GB of storage for the mapping tables of the SSD.
The Team Group T-Create Expert comes in capacities of 1 TB ($400) and 2 TB ($800). Endurance for these models is set to 6000 TBW and 12000 TBW respectively. As mentioned before, Team Group includes a twelve-year warranty with the T-Create Expert.
Specifications: Team Group T-Create Expert SSD
Brand:
Team Group
Model:
TM8FPF002T0C711
Capacity:
2048 GB (1907 GB usable) No additional overprovisioning
Patriot’s Viper VP4300 is a high-end PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD with all the features and performance you could want from an enthusiast-grade SSD, but you’ll pay a premium for the privilege.
For
+ Included heatsink and graphene label
+ Appealing aesthetics
+ AES 256-bit hardware encryption
+ Large hybrid SLC cache
+ High endurance
+ 5-year warranty
Against
– Pricing
– Lacks software package
– High idle power consumption
Features and Specifications
Patriot’s Viper VP4300 pumps out fast sequential speeds of up to 7.4 / 6.8 GBps read/write and features wicked good looks, making it a top contender for our best SSDs list. Whether you’re loading up the latest Call of Duty update or scrubbing 4K or 8K content, Patriot’s Viper VP4300 delivers responsive performance. And with two optional cooling solutions included, it will keep cool and look cool during the most strenuous tasks you can throw its way.
When PCIe 4.0 SSDs first hit the market, they all had one formula in common — they came powered by a Phison E16 SSD controller that was merely a repurposed PCIe 3.0 design modified to work with the PCIe 4.0 interface, and then paired with BiCS4 flash. This pairing improved the end-user experience, but it lacked the oomph we now see from new clean-sheet controller designs that leverage the speedy PCIe 4.0 interface, like the Phison E18 and the controllers with the latest Samsung and WD SSDs.
Patriot’s Viper VP4300 now joins the list of new drives with completely new controllers. This SSD slithers its way onto our test bench with a new Rainer controller designed by InnoGrit. This new PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD controller comes paired with a healthy helping of Micron’s 96-Layer TLC flash to serve up fast performance.
The Viper VP4300 also comes with many of the features we expect from a high-end NVMe SSD, and even some we don’t. Patriot even throws in two cooling solutions – a sleek-looking 4mm thick aluminum heatsink and an ultra-thin graphene label for tighter-tolerance installations, like in notebooks. Add in the VP4300’s high endurance ratings, which even outstrip the Samsung 980 Pro and WD Black SN850, and it appears to be a very competitive drive. Let’s put it to the test.
Specifications
Product
Viper VP4300 1TB
Viper VP4300 2TB
Pricing
$ 254.99
$ 499.99
Capacity (User / Raw)
1024GB / 1024GB
2048GB / 2048GB
Form Factor
M.2 2280
M.2 2280
Interface / Protocol
PCIe 4.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4
PCIe 4.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4
Controller
InnoGrit IG5236
InnoGrit IG5236
DRAM
DDR4
DDR4
Memory
Micron 96L TLC
Micron 96L TLC
Sequential Read
7,400 MBps
7,400 MBps
Sequential Write
6,800 MBps
6,800 MBps
Random Read
800,000 IOPS
800,000 IOPS
Random Write
800,000 IOPS
800,000 IOPS
Security
AES 256-bit encryption
AES 256-bit encryption
Endurance (TBW)
1,000 TB
2,000 TB
Part Number
VP4300-1TBM28H
VP4300-2TBM28H
Warranty
5-Years
5-Years
Patriot’s Viper VP4300 comes in just two capacities of 1TB and 2TB. Each is rated to deliver speeds of up to 7.4 / 6.8 GBps of sequential read/write throughput and sustain up to 800,000 random read/write IOPS. Priced at $255 for the 1TB model and $500 for the 2TB, the Viper VP4300 launches with high pricing that exceeds both the WD Black SN850 and Samsung 980 Pro.
The Viper VP4300 carries very robust endurance ratings, though. The 1TB model is rated to endure up to 1,000 TB of writes within its five-year warranty period, while the 2TB is rated for up to 2,000 TB. The VP4300 has very little factory overprovisioning, roughly 7% of the SSD’s capacity is dedicated to the task, and it uses InnoGrit’s Proprietary 4K LDPC ECC along with end-to-end data path protection to ensure reliable performance within the lifespan of the product.
A Closer Look
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Patriot’s Viper VP4300 comes in an M.2 2280 double-sided form factor and includes two optional thermal solutions (“heatshield options,” as they refer to them) to choose from. You can either install the slim yet aggressive-looking aluminum heatsink that measures roughly 72 x 22 x 4 mm, or you can use the very thin graphene sticker for installation into tighter spaces, like notebooks.
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Like the Samsung 980 Pro and WD Black SN850, the Viper VP4300 leverages a high-end PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD controller and NAND flash to match. Codenamed Rainer, InnoGrit’s IG5236 is a multi-core NVMe 1.4-compliant SSD controller with a DRAM-based architecture.
Two 8Gb SK hynix DDR4 DRAM chips are present on the PCB, one on each side, that accelerate FTL accesses to ensure responsive performance. The controller is fabbed on TSMC’s 12nm FinFET process and uses multiple consumer-oriented power management techniques to maintain its cool and perform efficiently, too.
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Patriot paired the controller with Crucial’s fast 512Gb 96-Layer TLC flash. The controller interfaces with this flash over eight NAND channels at speeds of up to 1,200 MTps, and there are 32 NAND dies spread among the four NAND packages. The flash has a quad-plane architecture for a high level of parallelism per die, and it’s also quite robust and efficient thanks to the unique application of CuA (circuitry under array) design and tile groups.
Adata’s XPG Gammix S70 is fast and features almost everything you could want from a high-end PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD, but the heatsink is a bit restrictive and not quite as refined as our current best picks.
For
+ Very fast sequential performance
+ High endurance
+ AES 256-bit hardware encryption
+ Black PCB + Heatsink
+ 5-year warranty
Against
– It may be physically incompatible with some motherboards
– High idle power consumption on the desktop
– Slow write speeds after the SLC cache fills
– Pricey
Features and Specifications
Dishing out blisteringly fast sequential speeds of up to 7.4 / 6.4 GBps, Gammix S70 touts some of the fastest performance ratings that we have seen from an NVMe SSD. Yet, it isn’t produced by Samsung or WD, and surprisingly, it isn’t even powered by a Phison controller. Instead, Adata’s XPG Gammix S70 uses a high-end NVMe SSD controller from InnoGrit, a much smaller fabless IC design company.
InnoGrit isn’t a big name when most think of flash controllers, at least not compared to Phison, Silicon Motion, and Marvell. However, the company is far from inexperienced in controller architecture design and engineering. In fact, its co-founders have years of experience in the industry and have created a compelling product line of SSD controllers since opening in 2016.
Thanks to InnoGrit’s IG5236, a robust PCIe 4.0 eight-channel NVMe SSD controller, the company secured a contract with Adata to create the XPG Gammix S70. With this beast of a controller at its core, the S70 could potentially be the fastest SSD on the market. But it faces tough competition from Samsung, WD, and other competitors that pack Phison’s competing E18 SSD controller, like the Corsair MP600 Pro and Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus, to name a few.
Specifications
Product
Gammix S70 1TB
Gammix S70 2TB
Pricing
$199.99
$399.99
Capacity (User / Raw)
1024GB / 1024GB
2048GB / 2048GB
Form Factor
M.2 2280
M.2 2280
Interface / Protocol
PCIe 4.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4
PCIe 4.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4
Controller
InnoGrit IG5236
InnoGrit IG5236
DRAM
DDR4
DDR4
Memory
Micron 96L TLC
Micron 96L TLC
Sequential Read
7,400 MBps
7,400 MBps
Sequential Write
5,500 MBps
6,400 MBps
Random Read
350,000 IOPS
650,000 IOPS
Random Write
720,000 IOPS
740,000 IOPS
Security
AES 256-bit encryption
AES 256-bit encryption
Endurance (TBW)
740 TB
1,480 TB
Part Number
AGAMMIXS70-1T-C
AGAMMIXS70-2T-C
Warranty
5-Years
5-Years
Adata’s XPG Gammix S70 is available in capacities of 1TB and 2TB, priced at $200 and $400, respectively. The S70 is rated to deliver sequential performance of up to 7.4 / 6.4 GBps and to sustain upwards of up to 650,000 / 740,000 random read/write IOPS with the 2TB model. Like most modern SSDs, the S70 uses SLC caching to absorb the majority of inbound write requests, and in this case, the cache measures one-third of the available capacity.
The controller implements InnoGrit’s proprietary 4K LDPC ECC, end-to-end data protection, and even a RAID engine to ensure reliability and data integrity. As a result, the S70 can endure up to 1,480 TB of data writes within its five-year warranty. Additionally, the S70 supports AES 256-bit hardware-accelerated encryption for those who need both speed and data security too.
Adata has also said this drive will feature a fixed build of materials, so the components, like the NAND and SSD controller, will remain the same throughout the life of the product.
A Closer Look
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Adata’s XPG Gammix S70 comes in an M.2 2280 double-sided form factor and is equipped with a very large aluminum heatsink to keep “cool in the heat of battle,” as the company’s marketing department says. Adata claims that the heatsink reduces the SSD’s temperatures by up to 30%. While potentially effective, with the heatsink measuring 24.3 x 70 x 15 mm, its tall and wide footprint may lead to compatibility issues, as was the case with our Asus ROG X570 Crosshair VIII Hero (WiFi).
The S70’s heatsink prevents the SSD from fitting into the motherboard’s secondary M.2 slot and also prevents the PCIe slot latch below it from locking to secure your add-in card (like a GPU) when placed in the first M.2 slot. Furthermore, if placed in an M.2 slot under a PCI slot, the S70’s thick heatsink may also prevent AICs from slotting completely into the PCIe slot.
Making matters worse, the base of the heatsink is held onto the PCB with a very strong adhesive. If you were planning to remove the heatsink for better compatibility, the adhesive might cause you to damage the PCB by cracking it in half. We don’t recommend doing so.
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Unlike Adata’s XPG Gammix S50 Lite, the S70 comes with a much faster NVMe SSD controller. The InnoGrit IG5236, dubbed Rainier, is a capable multi-core PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe 1.4-compliant SSD controller that’s fabbed on TSMC’s 16/12nm FinFET process, which is important to help control power consumption when achieving multi-GB performance figures. It also features client-oriented power management schemes, and Adata claims it consumes as low as 2mW in the L1.2 sleep state.
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To achieve its fast performance, the S70 leverages a DRAM-based architecture. The controller interfaces with two SK hynix DDR4-3200 DRAM ICs for FTL table mapping and Micron’s 96-layer TLC flash at NV-DDR3 speeds of up to 1,200 MTps spread over eight flash channels. Our 2TB sample contains 32 dies in total — each die has a four-plane architecture that responds very fast to random requests.
Micon’s flash architecture places the periphery circuitry under the flash cell arrays, differing from Samsung’s V6 V-NAND and WD’s BiCS4 to enable high array efficiency and bit density. The CuA architecture also enables redundancies while splitting the page into multiple tiles and groups, enabling fast and efficient random read performance.
Neo Forza is a relatively young manufacturer of DRAM memory modules and flash memory products. The Taiwanese company was founded in 2018 as enthusiast-focused brand of Goldkey, a well-established producer of computer hardware which has focused on OEM manufacturing until recently.
Today’s review covers the Neo Forza eSports M.2 NVMe SSD, which is also known as NFP075. “eSports” is not a range of products, but the name of this specific drive. A future Gen 4 drive would be called “Esports4x4”, according to Neo Forza. Under the hood, the NFP075 is powered by a Phison PS5012-E12S controller paired with 3D TLC NAND from Chinese state-backed flash memory maker Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC)—the first YMTC flash I’ve ever reviewed! A DRAM chip from Kingston is included, too. PCI-Express 3.0 x4 is used as the host interface.
The Neo Forza eSports is available in capacities of 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB. Endurance for these models is set at 420 TBW, 890 TBW, 1350 TBW, and 1550 TBW respectively. Neo Forza provides a three-year warranty for the eSports SSD.
Specifications: Neo Forza eSports NFP075 1 TB
Brand:
Neo Forza
Model:
NFP075PCI1T-3400200
Capacity:
1024 GB (953 GB usable) No additional overprovisioning
Team Group is a well-known Taiwanese hardware manufacturer with a long history of catering to the needs of enthusiasts and gamers from all over the globe. Their lineup includes DRAM memory and solid-state drives, and they also offer various memory cards and USB thumb drives.
Today’s review covers the Team Group T-Force Cardea IOPS, which is powered by a Phison PS5012-E12S controller paired with 3D TLC NAND from Toshiba and DRAM from Kingston. PCI-Express 3.0 x4 is used as the host interface. The highlight of the Cardea IOPS is that it can operate in three cooling configurations: no heatsink (the default), a thin graphene heatspreader, or a large metal heatsink—the choice is yours.
The Team Group Cardea IOPS is only available in a 1 TB configuration with an endurance of 1665 TBW. Team Group provides a five-year warranty for the Cardea IOPS.
Specifications: Team Group T-Force Cardea IOPS 1 TB
Brand:
Team Group
Model:
TM8FPI001T0C322
Capacity:
1024 GB (953 GB usable) No additional overprovisioning
Any portable drive will let you store, backup, and transport files. But getting the best external hard drive or best portable SSD for your needs is important. An external hard drive or SSD is a do-it-all storage device. It’s a pocket-friendly gadget that lets you carry huge files (or lots of small ones) between PCs and Android devices, back up essential data, offload footage from your DSLR or drone while on the go and more.
But with dozens of models available, how do you know which is the right external drive to buy? And should you opt for a faster, more rugged (and more expensive) external SSD instead of a hard drive made up of fragile moving parts? To help you pick the best portable external drive for your needs, we thoroughly test and review key drives and publish our list of specific recommendations on this page.
If you’re headed back to school soon (whether virtually or in person), you may need a roomy external drive to tote around large files. You may already know how much you’re willing to spend on a storage drive and how much space you need. But there are still things to think about, like how rugged your drive needs to be or what connections will be available in places where you’ll want to use your drive.
If you’re curious about the kinds of speed and features that will be available with future external drives, check out our stories on USB 3.2 and Everything We Know So Far about USB 4.0.
When shopping for an external drive or SSD, consider the following:
Portable Hard Drive or SSD? Drives that have spinning storage platters inside are very affordable, with 1TB models often selling for under $50 (£40). But they’re also much slower and more fragile than solid-state drives. If you don’t need terabytes of storage and you often travel with your drive, a portable SSD is worth paying extra for. A portable SSD will also be much faster at reading and writing lots of data. But if you need cavernous amounts of external storage, a hard drive is a better option for most, as multi-terabyte external SSDs sell for several hundred dollars, but 4TB portable hard drives can sell for under $100 (£90).
Don’t Use a Portable Hard Drive as Your Only Backup. Portable hard drives are made up of spinning glass or metal platters, making them a poor choice as a primary backup of your data–especially if you carry them around. Portable SSDs are better here, but you should still keep your irreplacable data backed up on a desktop drive and / or on a cloud service. Because hardware failure is always possible, and portable drives are often small enough to lose or leave behind by accident.
Best External Hard Drives and Portable SSDs You Can Buy Today
Capacities: 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Drive Type: SSD | Transfer Protocol: USB 3.2 Gen 2 | Sequential Reads: 1,000 MBps | Warranty: 5 Years
Competitive and consistent performance
AES 256-bit Full Disk Encryption
Weather-resistant
5-year warranty
Short cable for desktop use
SanDisk’s Extreme v2 is one of the best portable 10 GBps SSDs for content creators on the go. Powered by a fast NVMe SSD and sporting a USB 3.2 Gen 2 bridge chip, SanDisk’s Extreme v2 packs twice the performance of its predecessor and offers increased security with hardware-accelerated full disk encryption.
Not only does it respond quickly when reading your media files or documents, but even when taxed with large write transfers, it is one of the fastest-writing portable USB 10Gbps SSDs for the price. The Extreme v2’s design is similar to the Extreme Pro v2, but it is smaller and lighter. That said, the Extreme v2 lacks the rigid aluminum construction and power indicator light we see with the more expensive model. However, the Extreme v2 is fairly priced, IP55 water and dust resistant, available in capacities up to 4TB, and comes backed by a 5-year warranty.
Read: SanDisk Extreme v2 Portable SSD Review
WD My Passport (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
2. WD My Passport
The Best External Hard Drive
Capacities: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 5TB | Drive Type: HDD | Transfer Protocol: USB 3.2 Gen1 (USB 3.0) | Sequential Reads: 120MBps | Warranty: 3 Years
Competitively priced
AES 256-bit hardware encryption
Solid software suite
3-year warranty
Dated Micro USB connection
Slides around on your desk
If you’re on the hunt for a new external hard drive, WD’s My Passport is an excellent choice. With a solid track record, password protection, and capacities of up to 5TB, it’s prepared to store a lot — if not all — of your data and keep it safe.
As street prices have started to fall, it;s become a better value than ever. It looks good and comes backed by a plentiful 3-year warranty. To top things off, it boasts top-notch AES 256-bit hardware encryption password protection to keep your content secure from prying eyes.
Read: WD My Passport 5TB Review
For those looking to spend a little less on an portable hard drive, who also don’t need 5TB of storage, should also consider Seagate’s Backup Plus Ultra, which features a good software suite AES 256-bit encryption, and USB-A and USB-C support via an adapter.
SanDisk Extreme Pro v2 Portable SSD (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
3. SanDisk Extreme Pro v2
Best Professional-grade Portable USB 20 Gbps SSD
Capacities: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Drive Type: SSD | Transfer Protocols: USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 | Sequential Reads: 2,000 MBps | Warranty: 5 Years
Hardware-based AES 256-bit encryption and password protection
Responsive USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 performance
Weather-resistant rugged design
5-year warranty
Short cables for desktop use
Expensive
Built for the professional market and priced as such, SanDisk’s Extreme Pro v2 has a durable, secure design. When paired with the latest systems that fully support its USB 20 Gbps connection, it delivers very fast file transfer speeds that rival the Thunderbolt 3-based competition. The Extreme Pro v2 houses WD’s SN730E, a PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 NVMe SSD, and an ASMedia ASM2364 USB Gen 2×2 bridge chip.
All of this is protected by a rigid aluminum chassis that’s covered in an impact-absorbing silicone. The drive is even IP55 water and dust resistant. Not only is it fast and well-designed, but it is also secure, coming with AES 256-bit full-disk encryption and password protection for those who need to keep their data locked away from prying eyes.
Read:SanDisk Extreme Pro v2 Portable SSD Review
LaCie Rugged RAID Pro
4. LaCie Rugged RAID Pro
The Best Rugged Portable Hard Drive
Capacities: RAID0 | Drive Type: HDD | Transfer Protocols: Thunderbolt 3 , USB 3.1 Gen 1 | Sequential Reads: Depends on configuration | Warranty: 3 Years
Solid sequential performance
Rugged Build
Data recovery service free within the warranty period
Easy-to-use and effective software suite
Uses wall power for systems without TB3 / USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C
Expensive
While it is on the pricey side, LaCie’s Rugged RAID Pro isn’t too overpriced considering its market placement and the peace of mind of data redundancy. LaCie includes one month of all Adobe apps for free, a $79.49 (£61) value. More importantly, the drive comes with three years of free data recovery protection. That service can (at times) cost thousands of dollars.
If you are a creative professional in the market for an external HDD, be sure to check this drive out. There aren’t many competitors: Most other HDD solutions are much larger, and flash-based SSDs don’t yet offer similarly-priced capacity, nor the same value-adds. The LaCie Rugged RAID Pro 4TB has a unique blend of features and accessories that make it easy to use and quite the versatile travel companion.
Read: Lacie Rugged RAID Pro Review
Samsung T7 Touch(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
5. Samsung T7 Touch
Most Conveniently Secure Portable SSD
Capacities: 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Drive Type: SSD | Transfer Protocol: USB 3.2 Gen 2 | Sequential Reads: 1,050 MBps | Warranty: 3 Years
AES 256-bit hardware encryption
Built-in fingerprint scanner
Attractive aesthetics
Available in capacities up to 2TB
18-inch USB-A and USB-C cables
3-year warranty
Small write cache
Samsung’s T7 Touch is an innovative portable SSD that blends USB 3.2 Gen 2 performance with convenient AES 256-bit hardware security that’s unlocked by the touch of your fingertip. The built-in fingerprint scanner is the most convenient way to unlock your data that we’ve seen yet. The design is elegant and to a higher standard than your ordinary run-of-the-mill portable drive. The aluminum construction is solid, and various color options are available to suit your unique taste.
Driven by an OEM variant of a Samsung 970 EVO and an Alpine Ridge Thunderbolt 3-to-PCIe bridge, Samsung’s X5 is the fastest Thunderbolt 3 portable SSD we’ve tested. Not only will it help speed up your workflow, but it also comes with an additional layer of AES 256-bit hardware-based encryption and password protection for those who need to meet compliance requirements. The three-year warranty is lacking for the professional crowd, and we wish the company offered more color options like those found with the company’s T5 and T7 portable SSDs.
Best High-Capacity/Budget Thunderbolt 3 External SSD
Capacities: 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB | Drive Type: SSD | Transfer Protocol: Thunderbolt 3; USB 3.2 | Sequential Reads: 2,700MBps | Warranty: 5 Years (if registered)
Highest-capacity TB3 portable SSD
USB and Thunderbolt 3 compatibility
Slow write speed after write cache fills
Lacks AES hardware encryption or IP rating
With QLC NAND, Sabrent’s Rocket XTRM-Q aims to undercut most of its TLC-based competition while still delivering the storage goods. Not only does it come in high capacities, but the Rocket XRTM-Q is also very fast, performing well on both Thunderbolt 3 and USB hosts.
The Rocket XTRM-Q is an excellent pick if you plan on using it with a multitude of devices and across platforms. At lower capacities, it’s surprisingly affordable, undercutting most other TB3 drives. And if you are in the market for something as high in density as Sabrent’s Rocket XTRM-Q, we must say that without much competition at the moment this is the drive for you.
While it is expensive at 8TB and the QLC NAND flash can be slow at times, competitive pricing, fast performance, and attractive, durable design prop Sabrent’s Rocket XTRM-Q up as one of the best portable SSDs available.
Also note that, if you have a spare drive, you can easily make your own portable drive. Dozens of 2.5-inch drive enclosures can be found online for between $10-$25 (£15-25) that will let you drop in an old drive easily, and turn it into an external hard drive or SSD.
And if you have an M.2 drive that you’ve swapped out of a laptop or upgraded away from in your desktop, we’ve recently looked at NVMe enclosures from MyDigitalSSD and Pluggable. If you have a SATA-based M.2 drive that you’d like to turn into a portable drive, Silverstone’s MS09 enclosure lets you do just that. And if you’re keen on building your own speedy external SSD but don’t have a drive handy to use, the recent WD Blue SN550 is a good candidate for that task. It’s only available in capacities up to 1TB, but it’s plenty speedy for external storage, and the more spacious model is already selling for as little as $115 at various online outlets.
Just make sure you get an enclosure that matches your drive, be that SATA or NVMe. And also keep in mind that DIY external drives usually aren’t sealed, so they’re not as likely to stand up to dust and dampness as well as external SSDs and portable hard drives that are designed to do so.
MORE: Best SSDs
MORE: How We Test HDDs And SSDs
MORE: All SSD Content
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