Samsung Portable SSD X5, 1TB, Thunderbolt 3 / USB-C 3.1

Samsung liefert dank Thunderbolt-3-Anschluss mit der X5 eine besonders schnelle SSD im Vergleich zu den vorangegangenen SATA-Varianten. Der neue Anschluss verringert aber die Zahl der unterstützten Geräte erheblich. Für Nutzer, die häufiger beträchtliche Datenmengen übertragen, ist eine Thunderbolt-SSD sicherlich ein Segen. Dem Großteil genügt die Geschwindigkeit der Vorgänger aber höchstwahrscheinlich auch, zumal sie vielfältiger eingesetzt werden können.

Samsung’s latest external drive, the X5, is one of their fastest external products to date. It is an NVMe SSD which connects over the Thunderbolt 3 interface. Samsung’s X5 drive comes in three capacities, 500GB, 1TB (the one that Samsung kindly supplied for review) and the flagship 2TB model. Although the Samsung spec sheet doesn’t state which model of NVMe SSD is inside the X5, the fact that the drive supports the NVMe 1.3 standard and uses 3D TLC V-NAND makes it a variation of Samsung’s SSD970 EVO drive.

If you need the fastest external hard drive possible, and have Thunderbolt 3 support, then the Samsung SSD X5 offers exceptionally fast read and write speeds. However, this comes at a high price, both in the cost of the drive and the cost of the PC or laptop needed to use it. If you already have the right laptop or PC, then you're already going to be wanting to do things quickly, and the Samsung SSD X5 certainly helps with this.

The Samsung Portable SSD X5 is rather pricey, but the impressive performance will speed up your workflow. Full AES 256-bit hardware-based encryption provides a nice layer of additional security for the professional crowd, but the three-year warranty is lacking.