SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD 1TB up to 550MB/s read Solid State Drive

Product Information

This is not SanDisk's top-of-the-range portable SSD - that honour currently goes to the Extreme Pro Portable SSD V2 (above), but this cheaper non-Pro version is still very fast, and appreciable cheaper too. But with square corners and an antiquated, two-tone design, the drive isn’t a looker. And it finished near the bottom of all of our performance tests.

Get fast NVMe™ solid state performance featuring 1050MB/s 2 read and 1000MB/s 2 write speeds in a portable, high-capacity drive that’s perfect for creating amazing content or capturing incredible footage. From SanDisk, the brand professional photographers worldwide trust to handle their best shots and footage. With up to 2TB 6of high-speed storage for high-res photos, videos and sound files, the SanDisk Extreme® Portable SSD is perfect for all your creative pursuits.Inside the toughened shell is a fast SSD which SanDisk claims can transfer data at up to 560MB/s - impressive stuff. The drive connects via an up-to-date USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C connection, though a Type-A converter is included to maintain compatibility with older computers. We hooked up each external hard drive to a current-generation Dell XPS 17 laptop, using the best connection interface available to that drive, always in the same port, to minimize performance differentials. The WD My Passport SSD with USB 3.2 doesn’t look like its travel-enabling namesake, the My Passport Go, but it’s all ready to go places. It’s small (3.9x 2.2x 0.4 inches) and attractive, with its shiny ridged surface and choice of five snazzy colors (blue, gold, gray, red, and silver).

So it'd better have plenty of performance to compensate. Thankfully, with NVMe SSD technology and a Thunderbolt 3 connection promising a theoretical 40Gbps bandwidth (that's 4x faster than USB 3.1 Gen 2), the Envoy Pro EX has all the right ingredients for winning performance.The drive has a rated maximum data transfer rate of 10Gbps, but in reality, it never reaches that because of the inherent limitations of the physical port. What's more, the drive is also well-made and durable - it's designed to survive being dunked in water or being dropped from 2m - which gives you confidence that your files will be kept safe. Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: The Extreme Portable SSD comes pre-formatted as an exFAT device which means that it can work on Windows and Mac out of the box. Reformattingit to NTFS will limit compatibility to Windows but will enable TRIM which will improve the longevity of the drive. Lexar is a brand usually associated with top-notch memory cards and card readers, but it also offers several portable SSDs. The SL200 is its latest offering, and measures an easily portable 86 x 60 x 9.5mm. Build quality feels reassuringly solid, and the matte silver finish looks the part next to most modern laptops.

No matter what you want from the best external hard drive, the SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD delivers it. The ADATA SE730H is another competitor that perhaps deserves more recognition. It is smaller than the SanDisk Extreme Portable, slight cheaper, and sports an IP68 rating making it far more resilient. Like the Extreme, it has a Type-C connector, a three-year warranty and uses 3D NAND Flash technology – but it is slightly slower and comes from a lesser-known brand. This is WD's latest version of its popular MyPassport SSD, not to be confused with the previous incarnation which is still on sale. The new version has a smoother, more rounded design, but while it looks different, it still goes by the exact same My Passport SSD name, just for that little extra confusion. The standout feature of this SSD is its ruggedized design that protects the drive against a 3-metre drop and 1000lb of crushing force, plus the exterior is IP67 rated to resist dust and moisture. Despite this extra exterior protection, the drive's 95mm x 50mm x 14.5mm dimensions are only marginally more bulky than the non-ruggedized WD My Passport SSD.

Good things come in small and rugged packages

For capacity, traditional hard drives (HDDs) offer a lot more options, but SSDs are generally able to house the same amount of storage in a smaller amount of space. Good things come in small sizes! The SanDisk Extreme® Portable SSD delivers high-performance and capacity in a drive that’s smaller than a smartphone. Do you care more about speed, capacity, or price? If it’s the first, SSDs store data in flash memory rather than on spinning platters the way traditional hard drives do and thus operate a whole lot faster. The interface can also make a difference; Thunderbolt 3 will be a lot faster than USB, for example. Neither the name of the University of California, Berkeley nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

We devote hundreds of hours of rigorous testing to help make sure your drive is worthy of your best work — and so you know your precious files are in good hands. If a drive’s looks matter to you, you’ll definitely have choices. Manufacturers these days frequently market portable drives as fashion accessories, selling them in various sizes, shapes, and colors. How we test external hard drives With high-performance transfers with up to 550MB/s read speeds 7, the SanDisk Extreme® Portable SSD lets you offload files in a snap.There’s not much competition in this price range. The Samsung T5, which costs marginally less and is far more portable, is the only rival that is widely available. It is not IP-rated, though, and its metallic surface is likely to get scratched easily. When used with a USB Type-C cable, the SanDisk Extreme rises above the competition with some stellar numbers. The design and form factor are spot on and while we have one reservation regarding the bundled cable, you can’t go wrong at this price. Up to three-meter drop protection and IP65 water and dust resistance 5 mean this durable drive can take a beating. Get extra peace of mind with a 5-year limited warranty 3 and a durable silicon shell that offers a premium feel and added protection to the drive’s exterior. The drive is a shade expensive, and the integrated carrying loop is too big to easily fit on a standard keychain.Otherwise, this is an excellent storage device that's ideal for heavy everyday use.