Samsung T9 Portable SSD review: Serious external SSD speed

In case you’re in search of a single exterior SSD that may ship big capability, blazing-fast pace, pocketable portability, and rugged peace of thoughts, the Samsung T9 is the drive that must be prime of your want record. Its ultra-fast USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 speeds imply its efficiency is excellent, plus it’s gentle, compact, and rubber-coated for dependable on-the-go use.

These credentials instantly place the Samsung T9 among the many best external SSD units round. Nonetheless, for these simply in search of a drive for normal transportable storage of docs, music, movies, and app installers, the additional pace right here is considerably overkill. Whilst a drive from which you’ll load your Steam or Epic video games libraries, the additional pace right here isn’t going to make an evening and day distinction in comparison with extra reasonably priced choices.

Specs

Design and options

The Samsung T9 is offered in three completely different capacities of 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB and is available in a type issue that shall be acquainted to anybody who’s purchased an exterior SSD in any respect lately. Certainly, this T9 drive has the merest tweak to the design of the Samsung T7 Defend, which is the previous-gen model of this drive.

To that finish, it measures simply 88 x 60 x 14mm and options only a single USB port on one finish, alongside which is a single LED to point when the drive is energetic. The drive additionally comes with two 45cm cables, considered one of which is USB-C to USB-C and the opposite is USB-A to USB-C. It’s a easy setup, with not one of the intelligent cable stowage choices of some alternate options, so that you’ll all the time have to ensure you deliver a cable.

The inherent ruggedness of SSD NAND storage means any exterior SSD drive is far more knock-resistant than a tough drive, however the compact dimensions, gentle weight of simply 122g, and a thick coating of rubber on this drive make it notably robust. The rubber is a number of millimeters thick and barely extends past the ends of the drive, so it offers a great deal of safety, and  Samsung charges it as having the ability to stand drops from a top of as much as three meters (10ft).

One characteristic you don’t get right here, although, is any official IP-rated water resistance or mud resistance. The drive will definitely survive most spills and splashes, however its open USB port isn’t rated to cease water ingress and is susceptible to mud too.

Contained in the drive is Samsung’s personal NAND flash storage, with the internals of the drive very a lot not accessible for future consumer upgrades, because of the rubber outdoors being fused with the case of the drive. As such, no matter capability you purchase now’s what you’ll all the time have.

The 4TB model of the Samsung T9 we’re testing is rated to 2,000MB/s sequential learn and write speeds, with Samsung not making any claims concerning the random learn and write pace of the drive. Go for the 2TB drive and the sequential write pace drops barely to 1,950MB/s however the learn pace stays at 2,000MB/s. Those self same pace figures apply in the event you select the 1TB model too.

Crucially, whereas these are the height speeds the drive can handle, it could possibly solely ship these in case your USB ports and cables are as much as it. You’ll have to ensure you’re utilizing the included cables with the drive, or cables that you recognize are rated for USB 3.2 Gen 2×2  (20Gbps) speeds. Likewise, you’ll want the ports in your laptop computer or PC to be rated to this degree – they’ll usually have slightly “20” written subsequent to them in the event that they assist these speeds. Plug this drive right into a USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps port, and the pace will drop.

For a sign of the comparatively trendy and uncommon nature of those ports, throughout my older Intel eleventh gen take a look at PC, my primary work PC primarily based on an AMD AM4 chipset, and a more moderen AMD AM5 motherboard, solely the brand new AM5 board had a port capable of attain 20Gbps. What’s extra, that board solely had one out of its eight rear USB ports rated to this pace. All of the others are 10Gbps ports or slower. So, you’ll want to double-check earlier than taking the plunge on shopping for a drive this quick.

The bundle contains Samsung’s Transportable SSD software program, which you’ll entry if you first plug within the drive – it can simply seem as a brand new drive, identical to any SD card or USB thumb drive. The drive comes formatted initially in exFAT format however might be modified to no matter file system you want.

Samsung’s software program solely has two capabilities – it allows you to change the title of the drive or allow its {hardware} encryption – so it’s pleasingly simple to make use of. In case you plug the drive into a pc with out the software program, the drive’s read-only unencrypted portion is proven, and this accommodates the software program so that you can set up on that system. Variations of the software program can be found for Home windows, Mac, and Android, though most Mac customers will possible select to make use of File Vault encryption slightly than Samsung’s software program.

Efficiency

Samsung’s claims for the pace of this 4TB drive have been largely matched in our checks. Utilizing the CrystalDiskMark benchmarking software program, the drive registered a sequential learn pace of two,030MB/s however fell barely in need of its claimed write pace, managing just one,868MB/s. That’s nonetheless blazing quick for an exterior SSD, although – it’s twice the pace you’ll get from Samsung’s subsequent tier of drive, the Samsung T7 – so it’s shut sufficient to not trigger concern.

We additionally examined if the drive’s {hardware} encryption has an impression on efficiency and located that the drive’s tempo dropped tempo each so barely, hitting a 2,029MB/s learn and 1,822MB/s write pace, however these figures are so shut as to be thought-about the identical. Furthermore, the drive continues to be quick sufficient to put in writing a 2GB file to itself or learn it again to your system in simply over one second. Meaning you may fling 100GB recreation installs to and from the drive in only a minute or so.

So, it’s clear this drive actually is lightning quick for file transfers, however does it have a bonus for avid gamers? Are you able to safely set up your Steam video games on this drive and have them run easily?

To check this situation, we transferred an set up of Apex Legends from our native SSD to this SSD – a course of that solely took a minute or two – after which in contrast recreation boot occasions utilizing the inner SSD and this exterior drive. With the inner SSD – a 4TB WD Black SN850X with a rated learn pace of seven,300MB/s – the sport loaded in a mean of 41.9 seconds, which compares to a mean of 42.9s with the Samsung T9.

That will counsel a transparent if small benefit for the inner drive. Nonetheless, I additionally plugged the T9 right into a slower 10Gbps USB port and the sport load time common hit 42.0 seconds, regardless of a transparent drop within the drive’s pace (see the CrystalDiskMark run above). In different phrases, whereas there could be a really slight benefit in recreation load and degree loading occasions with a contemporary, quick, inner SSD, exterior drives are nonetheless completely usable, and also you don’t even want the very quickest SSD for it to be a dependable exterior recreation drive.

Worth

With a beginning value of $134.99 for the 1TB model of this drive, the Samsung T9 is among the many pricier choices for a transportable SSD. For comparability, the additionally ruggedized Samsung T7 Defend is offered for $99.99, as is the non-ruggedized model of that drive. In the meantime, many slower drives can be found for much less too, such because the 800MB/s SanDisk Transportable SSD for $84.99. As such, you’re undoubtedly paying a premium for the additional pace of this drive.

Alternate options

Samsung T7 Defend

In case you like the concept of the rubber safety supplied by the Samsung T9 and nonetheless desire a decently quick exterior SSD that’s nonetheless ultimate as a recreation boot drive, the Samsung T7 Defend matches the invoice. It’s solely rated to a prime pace of 1,050MB/s however that’s nonetheless very quick and gained’t maintain again your recreation loading. Crucially, for any given capability, it’s significantly cheaper than the T9.

Samsung T7

For slightly bit extra of a saving at any given capability, we advocate choosing the Samsung T7. This drive also can hit as much as 1,050MB/s however it does away with the rubberized exterior for a barely much less drop-protected drive. It’s nonetheless lots robust sufficient for most individuals’s wants, although.

Verdict

The Samsung T9 is an amazingly quick, compact, and hard exterior SSD that’s ultimate for anybody needing an enormous capability drive that may stand as much as life on the highway, whereas additionally delivering all of the pace a professional content material creator or gamer may need.

Nonetheless, its additional pace over different drives doesn’t impression recreation loading occasions, so in the event you’re simply after a drive for offloading your Steam recreation library, a slower drive will do the identical job and prevent cash. In case you’re frequently transferring round large recordsdata, although, the additional pace right here will are available helpful, in case your PC/laptop computer has a port that’s quick sufficient.

In case you’ve determined an inner SSD improve is a greater possibility for you, however you’re undecided tips on how to make that change, take a look at our information on the best SSD for gaming, in addition to our tutorial on how to install an M.2 SSD, for a step-by-step walkthrough of tips on how to do it.