How warm or hot do these things get? Yes, an SSD doesn't produce that much heat, but after one hour of use, those Wh add up if the heat cannot be vented or radiated out. Especially as NVMe drives tend to run hotter than SATA SSDs.
It's a shame they didn't go Thunderbolt 3. The Samsung X5 is an external NVMe with Thunderbolt 3 and gets 2800 MB/s reads and 2300 MB/s write. This just seems like a waste putting in an NVMe and limiting it to only 10 Gbps when it can do over twice that.
NVMe (or AHCI, but there are no current controllers supporting that) is the only way to saturate a USB 3.1 Gen 2 link. Thunderbolt 3 is not as widespread as USB Type-C. So, it makes sense that this lineup stays with USB Type-C. WD has other product lines supporting Thunderbolt.
That's the fault of the notebook manufacturers. There's no excuse for a machine that costs $1200+ not to have at least one of its USB-C ports be Thunderbolt 3 (you do know USB-C is just a physical connector, right?).
The SanDisk Extreme Pro 1TB version reached around 60C after continuous writes of up to 90% of the disk capacity. I am expecting the My Passport SSD to behave a bit better, but can't say for sure without a sample in hand.
Have to love how USB-C in and of itself seems to be a premium feature for some manufacturers. Want entry level storage, but with a modern, durable interface? Tough luck!
These SSDs look decent enough though. Just hope real world prices turn out okay.
Just a guess, but I assume that at scale, Type C hardware is still significantly more expensive than Type A. Type A has been around since... 1996? The scale at which those connectors are produced globally has got to be difficult to displace all at once and most people don't need Type C or know it exists. It's gonna be "premium" for a while I think considering most peripherals are Type A.
For devices like this, type C is replacing micro-B 3.0, not type A. Which is not only a much newer connector than type-A, but also one of the worst connectors ever designed. It's like it's made to break! Much too flat and wide. Type-C is undoubtedly still more expensive, but honestly, that extra $1 on the BOM and slightly more complex PCB really shouldn't result in a $30-50 premium.
Not at all sure that USB-C is "durable". I haven't had any connectors fail outright but frequently they don't always seem well attached to their circuit boards. There is something undocumented and rotten about USB 3.0, you might think you can plug a device into a hub and plug the hub into a hub and plug that into your computer, and you can, but if it gets any more complex than that, it gets hairy in practice and looking at the standard docs it is not clear exactly what it is promising, if anything.
Is that really something you would expect, at least while still maintaining high speed data transfer? Remember, even USB 2.0 only worked up to cable lengths of 5m, with anything above 3m frequently being problematic for things like printers. The shorter cable runs of higher speed interfaces is an issue, definitely, but it's also an unavoidable consequence of more complex signalling. And one shouldn't confuse a hub for a signal redriver.
As for type-C connectors not being well connected to their PCBs... is that the fault of the connector design or the OEM? I've had quite a few micro-B connectors break off the PCB, which is what type-C mainly replaces, and type-C being slightly bigger and having more solder points ought to make it attach better IMO.
Just buy a USB 3.1 gen 2 enclosure for $25 and an m.2 nvme SSD now, and save yourself some money. I just got an HP EX950 1TB NVMe for $125, and that's one of the fastest consumer drives on the market (new firmware has it beating the Adata SX8200 pro and 970 EVO), you could easily buy an Intel 665p 1TB for about $100 which will still easily saturate the USB 3.1 gen 2 connection, all for about $125 with enclosure included
This reminds me that I've yet to see a definitive answer from Microsoft whether 10Gb mode will be supported by the USB ports on the Xbox Series X. It would be a big improvement for Xbox One and older games without taking up space on the internal SSD.
I'm also interested in finding out an answer to that question given the size of modern games and the high odds we are going to see an increase in storage demand with the next console generation.
Where is the link where this product is sold ? Why the heck is it so expensive ? who need an extreme nvme inside this 1GB/s enclosure , the extreme nvme only gives more performance in the range of 3-4 GB/s in the pcie interface .
I don't understand why people buy these when you can buy your own 1TB m.2 nvme drive for about $100-$125 (Intel 665p floats around $100, I bought an HP EX950 1TB for $125 and it's one of the fastest TLC drives on the market), then just buy a USB 3.1 GEN 2 enclosure for $25.one that's more durable, better looking and smaller than these, remove one screw, if at all, and boom, you have your own external SSD for about $50-$75 cheaper
Buying for work. I've built many computers at home, but if I'm buying for work, they don't pay me to fiddle about with that shit. It's all in one or nothing for work. Also easier to explain / return when something goes wrong.
Plus it becomes company property and may be passed to another colleague for use later. I don't want them thinking I built something weird - colleagues my boss and the company will then regard it my fault when it breaks / behaves normally but they think its broken.
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eastcoast_pete - Thursday, August 20, 2020 - link
How warm or hot do these things get? Yes, an SSD doesn't produce that much heat, but after one hour of use, those Wh add up if the heat cannot be vented or radiated out. Especially as NVMe drives tend to run hotter than SATA SSDs.Chaitanya - Thursday, August 20, 2020 - link
Like many external NVME SSDs, hopefully the case is made from metal which will help alleviate some of the heat buildup.quiksilvr - Thursday, August 20, 2020 - link
It's a shame they didn't go Thunderbolt 3. The Samsung X5 is an external NVMe with Thunderbolt 3 and gets 2800 MB/s reads and 2300 MB/s write. This just seems like a waste putting in an NVMe and limiting it to only 10 Gbps when it can do over twice that.Chaitanya - Thursday, August 20, 2020 - link
WD offers thunderbolt SSDs under their G-Technology G-Drive product stack(also their website has a teaser for new G-Drive SSD launching on 3rd Sept).ganeshts - Thursday, August 20, 2020 - link
NVMe (or AHCI, but there are no current controllers supporting that) is the only way to saturate a USB 3.1 Gen 2 link. Thunderbolt 3 is not as widespread as USB Type-C. So, it makes sense that this lineup stays with USB Type-C. WD has other product lines supporting Thunderbolt.Gen-An - Thursday, August 27, 2020 - link
That's the fault of the notebook manufacturers. There's no excuse for a machine that costs $1200+ not to have at least one of its USB-C ports be Thunderbolt 3 (you do know USB-C is just a physical connector, right?).ganeshts - Thursday, August 20, 2020 - link
The SanDisk Extreme Pro 1TB version reached around 60C after continuous writes of up to 90% of the disk capacity. I am expecting the My Passport SSD to behave a bit better, but can't say for sure without a sample in hand.eastcoast_pete - Thursday, August 20, 2020 - link
Thanks Ganesh! 60 C isn't that bad after some serious continued writing load.Valantar - Thursday, August 20, 2020 - link
Have to love how USB-C in and of itself seems to be a premium feature for some manufacturers. Want entry level storage, but with a modern, durable interface? Tough luck!These SSDs look decent enough though. Just hope real world prices turn out okay.
nathanddrews - Thursday, August 20, 2020 - link
Just a guess, but I assume that at scale, Type C hardware is still significantly more expensive than Type A. Type A has been around since... 1996? The scale at which those connectors are produced globally has got to be difficult to displace all at once and most people don't need Type C or know it exists. It's gonna be "premium" for a while I think considering most peripherals are Type A.Valantar - Friday, August 21, 2020 - link
For devices like this, type C is replacing micro-B 3.0, not type A. Which is not only a much newer connector than type-A, but also one of the worst connectors ever designed. It's like it's made to break! Much too flat and wide. Type-C is undoubtedly still more expensive, but honestly, that extra $1 on the BOM and slightly more complex PCB really shouldn't result in a $30-50 premium.PaulHoule - Friday, August 21, 2020 - link
Not at all sure that USB-C is "durable". I haven't had any connectors fail outright but frequently they don't always seem well attached to their circuit boards. There is something undocumented and rotten about USB 3.0, you might think you can plug a device into a hub and plug the hub into a hub and plug that into your computer, and you can, but if it gets any more complex than that, it gets hairy in practice and looking at the standard docs it is not clear exactly what it is promising, if anything.Valantar - Friday, August 21, 2020 - link
Is that really something you would expect, at least while still maintaining high speed data transfer? Remember, even USB 2.0 only worked up to cable lengths of 5m, with anything above 3m frequently being problematic for things like printers. The shorter cable runs of higher speed interfaces is an issue, definitely, but it's also an unavoidable consequence of more complex signalling. And one shouldn't confuse a hub for a signal redriver.Valantar - Friday, August 21, 2020 - link
As for type-C connectors not being well connected to their PCBs... is that the fault of the connector design or the OEM? I've had quite a few micro-B connectors break off the PCB, which is what type-C mainly replaces, and type-C being slightly bigger and having more solder points ought to make it attach better IMO.AnarchoPrimitiv - Saturday, August 22, 2020 - link
Just buy a USB 3.1 gen 2 enclosure for $25 and an m.2 nvme SSD now, and save yourself some money. I just got an HP EX950 1TB NVMe for $125, and that's one of the fastest consumer drives on the market (new firmware has it beating the Adata SX8200 pro and 970 EVO), you could easily buy an Intel 665p 1TB for about $100 which will still easily saturate the USB 3.1 gen 2 connection, all for about $125 with enclosure includedepobirs - Thursday, August 20, 2020 - link
This reminds me that I've yet to see a definitive answer from Microsoft whether 10Gb mode will be supported by the USB ports on the Xbox Series X. It would be a big improvement for Xbox One and older games without taking up space on the internal SSD.PeachNCream - Friday, August 21, 2020 - link
I'm also interested in finding out an answer to that question given the size of modern games and the high odds we are going to see an increase in storage demand with the next console generation.Johnathan - Friday, August 21, 2020 - link
Where is the link where this product is sold ?Why the heck is it so expensive ? who need an extreme nvme inside this 1GB/s enclosure , the extreme nvme only gives more performance in the range of 3-4 GB/s in the pcie interface .
AnarchoPrimitiv - Saturday, August 22, 2020 - link
I don't understand why people buy these when you can buy your own 1TB m.2 nvme drive for about $100-$125 (Intel 665p floats around $100, I bought an HP EX950 1TB for $125 and it's one of the fastest TLC drives on the market), then just buy a USB 3.1 GEN 2 enclosure for $25.one that's more durable, better looking and smaller than these, remove one screw, if at all, and boom, you have your own external SSD for about $50-$75 cheaperTomatotech - Tuesday, August 25, 2020 - link
Buying for work. I've built many computers at home, but if I'm buying for work, they don't pay me to fiddle about with that shit. It's all in one or nothing for work. Also easier to explain / return when something goes wrong.Plus it becomes company property and may be passed to another colleague for use later. I don't want them thinking I built something weird - colleagues my boss and the company will then regard it my fault when it breaks / behaves normally but they think its broken.