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. CrystalDiskMark gets things off to a good start with stunning peak sequential read/write speeds of 1440/726MB/s respectively, though this is some way short of OWC's claim of "up to 2800MB/s". Real world file transfers will always be slower than a synthetic benchmark test, but we still recorded a hugely impressive 995MB/s peak read speed when shifting one massive video file, though this figure did drop as the transfer progressed, leaving the final averaged video read speed at a more modest - though still very rapid - 645MB/s. An average 612MB/s read speed moving multiple image files is also superb, though write speeds take a significant performance hit, with an average 481MB/s when writing video and just 278MB/s when writing multiple images. That image write rate did peak at a healthier 413MB/s during the transfer, but the drive couldn't sustain this speed, hence the slower average figure.

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. 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. 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. Designed to work with both Windows and Mac, the SanDisk Extreme® Portable SSD is equipped with a USB 3.1 Type-C connector and also includes a USB Type-C to Type-C cable and a Type-C to Type-A adapter, meaning it will work with the PCs and Macs of today, tomorrow and yesterday.

With the aid of Transcend's bundled Elite software, the drive can be formatted for Windows or Mac, or you can connect it directly to an Android mobile device that supports USB On-The-Go. USB Type-C to Type-C, along with a Type-C to Type A cable are included to allow connection to desktop, laptop or phone.

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. 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.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. Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met: 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. 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.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. Conventional hard disk drives use sensitive moving parts, but not SSDs, making them much less vulnerable to drops. With high-performance transfers with up to 550MB/s read speeds 7, the SanDisk Extreme® Portable SSD lets you offload files in a snap. 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. LaCie, Seagate, Glyph, WD, Lexar and G-Technology also have similar rugged and high capacity external SSDs, but none of them have a unique selling point that would make them stand out against the T5, the SE730H or the SanDisk.