DAS
Western Digital had announced new products in the WD_BLACK lineup back in May 2022 to augment their offerings in the gaming market. The WD_BLACK P40 Game Drive SSD was part of the set, and became widely available last quarter. Western Digital has positioned the portable drive (PSSD) as a mid-range alternative to the premium WD_BLACK P50 Game Drive SSD. Sporting a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) interface, the drive launched at a much lower price point compared to the P50 despite the addition of RGB lighting to the case. What corners has Western Digital cut in this mid-range offering, and what do gamers have to lose in going with the P40 over competing PSSDs? This review provides some answers.
SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD v2 and WD My Passport SSD (2020) Review
External bus-powered storage devices have grown both in storage capacity as well as speeds over the last decade. Thanks to rapid advancements in flash technology (including the advent of...
7 by Ganesh T S on 9/30/2020Western Digital Unveils USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD v2
The SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD released in 2019 has been one of the top performers in the external flash storage market segment. Putting a high-end WD Black SN750-class...
14 by Ganesh T S on 9/30/2020ADATA External and HP Portable SSDs Review: Featuring the ADATA SE800 and HP P700
Portable flash-based storage solutions are one of the growing segments in the direct-attached storage market. The emergence of 3D NAND with TLC and QLC has brought down the cost...
13 by Ganesh T S on 9/24/2020Toshiba Updates Canvio Portable Storage Lineup with Flex and Gaming HDDs
Hard disk drives still rule the roost when dealing with bus-powered portable storage devices that are economical on a $/Gb basis, particularly at higher capacity points. Seagate and Western...
12 by Ganesh T S on 8/31/2020Crucial Launches X6 Portable SSD, Updates X8 with 2TB Model: QLC Drives for the Budget-Conscious
Crucial introduced their first bus-powered direct-attached storage product last year - the X8 Portable SSD. The product put their P1 NVMe SSD behind an ASMedia bridge to offer read...
8 by Ganesh T S on 8/25/2020Western Digital's USB 3.1 Gen 2 WD My Passport SSD Gets an NVMe Refresh
Western Digital's lineup of direct-attached storage (DAS) products targets a range of markets and form-factors. After the acquisition of HGST / G-Technology and SanDisk, the company now offers similar...
20 by Ganesh T S on 8/20/2020OWC Refreshes Mercury Elite Pro DAS: Up to 16 TB over USB 3.2
OWC has announced a new version of its Mercury Elite Pro DAS, the company's entry-level external storage box. The refreshed DAS can house one 3.5-inch hard drive, allowing it...
12 by Anton Shilov on 3/25/2020TerraMaster D5 Thunderbolt 3: A ‘Mega DAS’ with 5 Bays for 80 TB
TerraMaster this week introduced its first DAS featuring a Thunderbolt 3 interface. The D5 Thunderbolt 3 DAS with five bays is aimed at professionals who need a vast storage...
14 by Anton Shilov on 3/20/2020USB 3.2 Gen 2 Portable SSDs Roundup - Featuring the Samsung T7 Touch and the SanDisk Extreme Pro
External bus-powered storage devices have grown in storage capacity as well as speeds over the last decade. Palm-sized flash-based storage devices with a Thunderbolt 3 interface are capable of...
38 by Ganesh T S on 1/23/2020TerraMaster Reveals TD2 Thunderbolt 3 DAS: 2 Bays For 32 TB
TerraMaster has unveiled a new entry-level Thunderbolt 3 DAS, the aptly named TD2 Thunderbolt 3, which is aimed at video professionals who need a relatively small storage device that...
11 by Anton Shilov on 1/22/2020Samsung Launches Portable SSD T7 Touch with Fingerprint Security
Samsung's mass-market external drive, the Portable SSD T-series, was last updated in August 2017 with the introduction of the T5 with 64-layer V-NAND. The Portable SSD T5 came with...
8 by Ganesh T S on 1/8/2020Seagate Expands External Flash Storage Lineup with FireCuda Gaming SSD and BarraCuda Fast SSD
Late last year, Seagate had launched the FireCuda Gaming Dock, a 4TB external hard drive / Thunderbolt 3 dock with a Titan Ridge controller. It stood out in the...
13 by Ganesh T S on 1/6/2020OWC Launches ThunderBay 4 Mini DAS: 4 SATA Bays With SoftRAID, Up to 1.5 GB/s
OWC has introduced a new small form factor high performance, high redundancy DAS for the professional market. The ThunderBay 4 Mini incorporates 4 2.5-inch storage bays, allowing it to...
29 by Anton Shilov on 12/16/2019WD My Passport 5TB DAS Review: Compact and Consistent Capacity Champ Gets SMR Right
Cost-conscious consumers with bulk storage requirements need to rely on hard drives. On the portable front, HDD vendors have been using 2.5" drives in external bus-powered enclosures to serve...
27 by Ganesh T S on 10/3/2019CRU ioSafe Solo Hawk Rugged SSD Review
ioSafe's disaster-resistant solutions cater to an important niche in the storage market. In mid-2018, the company was acquired by CRU. The Solo Hawk Rugged SSD is one of the...
19 by Ganesh T S on 9/4/2019ADATA’s HM800 DAS: Up to 8 TB, Up to 250 MB/s, Smart TV Recording
ADATA has introduced a new external hard drive that combines high capacities, high performance, as well as advanced functionality. The ADATA HM800 DAS supports Smart TV recording capability, one-touch...
12 by Anton Shilov on 6/28/2019Seagate Backup Plus Portable 5TB & Backup Plus Slim 2TB Review: SMR for the Consumer Market
Hard drives continue to remain the storage media of choice for cost-conscious consumers with bulk storage requirements. HDD vendors have typically used their 2.5" drives for bus-powered high-capacity models...
65 by Ganesh T S on 6/18/2019LaCie d2 Professional 10TB Direct-Attached Storage Capsule Review
Seagate has a number of direct-attached storage (DAS) products for content creators under the LaCie brand. The LaCie d2 Professional, introduced last year, is an external hard drive with...
14 by Ganesh T S on 4/29/2019LaCie Portable SSD and WD My Passport SSD Capsule Review: 2TB SATA SSDs Behind a USB Bridge
The emergence of 3D TLC flash has enabled a new class of budget-friendly bus-powered external SSDs. Flash memory has also seen a recent drop in prices, and this has...
5 by Ganesh T S on 4/19/2019Quick Look: Using WD's Black SN750 SSD as a Thunderbolt 3 External Drive
External SSDs with a Thunderbolt 3 interface are still the only option for users looking to get high-end performance in a bus-powered portable device. These SSDs have become possible...
10 by Ganesh T S on 1/18/2019