Samsung T9 Portable SSD review: Serious external SSD speed

For those who’re looking for 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 needs to be prime of your want listing. Its ultra-fast USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 speeds imply its efficiency is great, plus it’s mild, compact, and rubber-coated for dependable on-the-go use.

These credentials instantly place the Samsung T9 among the many greatest exterior SSD gadgets round. Nonetheless, for these simply looking for a drive for basic transportable storage of docs, music, movies, and app installers, the additional pace right here is considerably overkill. Whilst a drive from which you’ll be able to 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 inexpensive choices.

Specs

Design and options

The Samsung T9 is out there 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 lively. The drive additionally comes with two 45cm cables, one among 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 at all times have to be sure to convey 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, mild 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 supplies a great deal of safety, and  Samsung charges it as with the ability to stand drops from a peak of as much as three meters (10ft).

One function 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 weak 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 person upgrades, due to the rubber outdoors being fused with the case of the drive. As such, no matter capability you purchase now could be what you’ll at all times 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 should you select the 1TB model too.

Crucially, whereas these are the height speeds the drive can handle, it will probably solely ship these in case your USB ports and cables are as much as it. You’ll have to be sure to’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 typically have a little bit “20” written subsequent to them in the event that they help 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 fashionable and uncommon nature of those ports, throughout my older Intel eleventh gen check PC, my essential 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, make sure you double-check earlier than taking the plunge on shopping for a drive this quick.

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

Samsung’s software program solely has two capabilities – it helps you to change the identify of the drive or allow its {hardware} encryption – so it’s pleasingly straightforward to make use of. For those who 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 probably select to make use of File Vault encryption relatively 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 wanting 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 affect 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 players? Are you able to safely set up your Steam video games on this drive and have them run easily?

To check this state of affairs, 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 instances 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 median of 41.9 seconds, which compares to a median of 42.9s with the Samsung T9.

Which 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 instances with a contemporary, quick, inside 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 worth of $134.99 for the 1TB model of this drive, the Samsung T9 is among the many pricier choices for a conveyable SSD. For comparability, the additionally ruggedized Samsung T7 Defend is out there 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.

Options

Samsung T7 Defend

For those who like the thought of the rubber safety offered by the Samsung T9 and nonetheless need a decently quick exterior SSD that’s nonetheless very best as a recreation boot drive, the Samsung T7 Defend suits 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 a little bit bit extra of a saving at any given capability, we advocate choosing the Samsung T7. This drive may also 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 a lot robust sufficient for most individuals’s wants, although.

Verdict

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

Nonetheless, its further pace over different drives doesn’t affect recreation loading instances, so should you’re simply after a drive for offloading your Steam recreation library, a slower drive will do the identical job and prevent cash. For those who’re usually transferring round huge recordsdata, although, the additional pace right here will are available helpful, in case your PC/laptop computer has a port that’s quick sufficient.

For those who’ve determined an inside SSD improve is a greater possibility for you, however you’re undecided easy methods to make that change, try our easy methods to set up an M.2 SSD information, for a step-by-step walkthrough of easy methods to do it. Additionally see our greatest SSD for gaming listing for our prime suggestions for inside SSDs.