Samsung Announces NVMe-Based 'X5' Portable SSD With Read Speeds up to 2800MB/s

[MacRumors]

Samsung today announced the launch of its newest portable solid state drive, the SSD X5. The X5, which uses Thunderbolt 3 technology, is the company's first NVMe-based portable solid state drive for super fast transfer speeds in a form factor that's compact and durable.

Samsung says the X5 offers read speeds of up to 2800MB/s, which is 5.2 times faster than SATA interface portable SSDs and up to 25.5 times faster than external hard drives.

It also features a maximum write speed of 2300MB/s, allowing for a 20GB 4K video to be transferred in approximately 12 seconds. It uses Samsung's Portable SSD Software, which includes AES 256-bit hardware data encryption, optional password protection, and configurable security settings.

"As a leader in high-performance and reliable storage solutions, we are thrilled to continue to advance the external SSD market with the introduction of our first Thunderbolt 3 portable SSD," said Dr. Mike Mang, vice president of Brand Product Marketing, Memory Business at Samsung Electronics. "The X5 is yet another testament to Samsung's commitment to providing innovative portable storage solutions that enable faster transfer of large data files, saving users' valuable time."

Design wise, the X5 includes an all-metal body with a glossy finish and a non-slip mat at the bottom. It uses a shock-resistant internal frame that Samsung says can withstand drops of up to two meters. Inside, Dynamic Thermal Guard technology and a heat sink protect the X5 from overheating.

Samsung's new X5 works with all Macs and PCs that have Thunderbolt 3 ports, which for the Mac lineup, includes 2016 and later MacBook Pro models, 2017 iMac models, and the iMac Pro.

The X5 will be available for purchase starting on September 3. The 500GB model will be priced at $400, the 1TB model will be priced at $700, and a 2TB model will be available for $1,400. Additional information is available on Samsung's website.

Article Link: Samsung Announces NVMe-Based 'X5' Portable SSD With Read Speeds up to 2800MB/s

 

[826317]

When I saw MKBHD's tech backpack video I searched on Google for the Samsung X5 and couldn't find anything... so it turned out he got it prerelease.

 

[-BigMac-]

When I saw MKBHD's tech backpack video I searched on Google for the Samsung X5 and couldn't find anything... so it turned out he got it prerelease.

Exactly my thoughts. Didnt he mention he’s had it for a bit now too? Jealous.

 

[StellarVixen]

Just as I was Googling to see if these things actually exist.

 

[zorinlynx]

Will this fall back to USB 3.0 when connected to a regular USB port?

If so, this will be an amazing tool for moving lots of data quickly between different platforms.

 

[ignatius345]

So, if you have Thunderbolt 3, this would be fast enough to use as a startup drive?

 

[coolbreeze2]

I know this is new advanced technology and therefore costly but the price is very very very high. I paid $449 for a Glyph 6 TB Thunderbolt RAID external drive. I know my Glyph isn't very portable but to pay $1400 for just 2TB for the new Samsung is a bank account killer!

 

[pika2000]

Does anybody feel that the prices of these SSDs are not going down as fast as one would expect? (Compared to the days of regular hard drives)

 

[upandown]

You can make one of these for half the cost. Amazon is selling the Samsung 970 Evo 1tb NVMe PCIe for $330. Grab a small external case and you're good to go. Sequential read/write speeds of 3,500/2,500 MB/s.
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Does anybody feel that the prices of these SSDs are not going down as fast as one would expect? (Compared to the days of regular hard drives)

They absolutely are going down. You can typically grab a 1tb SSD for around $200.

However there's a different type of technology NVMe PCIe, as found in the newer macbooks with read and write speeds of over 2000MB/S which warrant a higher price. Of course they will come down one day too but it's much newer than SSD.

 

[PickUrPoison]

I know this is new advanced technology and therefore costly but the price is very very very high. I paid $449 for a Glyph 6 TB Thunderbolt RAID external drive. I know my Glyph isn't very portable but to pay $1400 for just 2TB for the new Samsung is a bank account killer!

Well SSDs are a lot more expensive than HDDs. A lot faster too, and more reliable.

 

[liberte1776]

I know this is new advanced technology and therefore costly but the price is very very very high. I paid $449 for a Glyph 6 TB Thunderbolt RAID external drive. I know my Glyph isn't very portable but to pay $1400 for just 2TB for the new Samsung is a bank account killer!

Pay to play fast! Similar to Apple’s top SSD, also made by Samsung!:

https://beetstech.com/product/solid-state-drive-2tb-sspolaris

Read!:

https://beetstech.com/blog/apple-proprietary-ssd-ultimate-guide-to-specs-and-upgrades

 

[macduke]

If money were no object I would have a pile of these, lol. For now my 2TB Samsung T5 will have to do. I bought it early this year for around $650. It's pretty great for storing the last several year's worth of RAW files for my Lightroom catalog and you barely notice it in a bag. I'm just worried about losing it someday because it's so small. The speed is plenty fast for 4K footage and 42MP RAW files. My UHS-II SD cards only dump at 300MB/s anyway. I could definitely see myself picking up one of these X5's in a few years once they come down in price.

 

[mtneer]

More than the physics of the drive, I would be more worried about the connector port on this device. TB3 is a much more slender hole and thus subject to greater concentration of mechanical stress/ fatigue over time.

 

[ignatius345]

Does anybody feel that the prices of these SSDs are not going down as fast as one would expect? (Compared to the days of regular hard drives)

Yep. Still way too expensive for many uses. I hate to imagine what it would cost me to upgrade my 3TB media drive and 5TB Time Machine drive to SSD -- not to mention the portable drives I use for offsite backup. And really, all I'd really get is faster backups and I guess an end to those little blips in iTunes when my external is spinning up. Startup and system drives are a different story, of course -- but for a lot of uses HDD is still just fine and much more cost efficient.

 

[upandown]

You can make one of these for half the cost. Amazon is selling the Samsung 970 Evo 1tb NVMe PCIe for $330. Grab a small external case and you're good to go. Sequential read/write speeds of 3,500/2,500 MB/s.

 

[PickUrPoison]

Will this fall back to USB 3.0 when connected to a regular USB port?

If so, this will be an amazing tool for moving lots of data quickly between different platforms.

No it requires Thunderbolt 3. It will not even work on a USB-C port that only supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10Gbps), it must also support TB3 (40Gbps).

For USB only Samsung offers the T3/T5, it supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 at around 500 MB/s and is also backwards compatible with USB 3.0/2.0. (USB 2.0 would greatly hinder performance, maybe 50 MB/s.)

 

[DeepIn2U]

Just as I was Googling to see if these things actually exist.

This isn’t the first TB3 enclosure on the market using NMVE v3 or as an enclosure to a pulled NMVE on the market. newEgg has about 3 on their site of the latter type.

 

[clystron]

You can make one of these for half the cost. Amazon is selling the Samsung 970 Evo 1tb NVMe PCIe for $330. Grab a small external case and you're good to go. Sequential read/write speeds of 3,500/2,500 MB/s.

There are not that many small external NVMe cases on the market yet (TB3 or USB), most are SATA and their reviews are full of people who tried to stick am NVMe m2 stick in it only to realize that it does not fit.....

 

[J53119]

You can make one of these for half the cost. Amazon is selling the Samsung 970 Evo 1tb NVMe PCIe for $330. Grab a small external case and you're good to go. Sequential read/write speeds of 3,500/2,500 MB/s.

Um no, you can't just toss this into a cheap case. This is a NVMe based hard drive plugged into a Thunderbolt enclosure.

 

[travis64]

Would this work on xbox 1 x

 

[zorinlynx]

No it requires Thunderbolt 3. It will not even work on a USB-C port that only supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10Gbps), it must also support TB3 (40Gbps).

For USB only Samsung offers the T3/T5, it supports USB 3.1 Gen 2 at around 500 MB/s and is also backwards compatible with USB 3.0/2.0. (USB 2.0 would greatly hinder performance, maybe 50 MB/s.)

That's a shame; it really limits what you can plug this into. Supporting USB 3.0/3.1 probably wouldn't have required that much additional silicon and would have been worth it to make it a truly universal device.

 

[Sevanw]

Nonstop innovation at Samsung. Displays, memory, storage, CPUs, image sensors, etc... Not another company with such premium status. Credit where credit is due. Bravo.

 

[Biggey]

You can make one of these for half the cost. Amazon is selling the Samsung 970 Evo 1tb NVMe PCIe for $330. Grab a small external case and you're good to go. Sequential read/write speeds of 3,500/2,500 MB/s.
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They absolutely are going down. You can typically grab a 1tb SSD for around $200.

However there's a different type of technology NVMe PCIe, as found in the newer macbooks with read and write speeds of over 2000MB/S which warrant a higher price. Of course they will come down one day too but it's much newer than SSD.

The problem is finding a mobile, bus-powered Thunderbolt 3 NVMe enclosure. I’ve only ever found one and it’s not that portable and fairly expensive making most pre-packaged ones still fairly competitive in comparison.

 

[upandown]

Um no, you can't just toss this into a cheap case. This is a NVMe based hard drive plugged into a Thunderbolt enclosure.

"Um no"
[doublepost=1535471558][/doublepost]

There are not that many small external NVMe cases on the market yet (TB3 or USB), most are SATA and their reviews are full of people who tried to stick am NVMe m2 stick in it only to realize that it does not fit.....

That's too bad. I was getting ready to do it but I'll have to wait. I hadn't read the reviews of the cases yet. I imagine it won't be too long until a company realizes they can make some money on this.

 

[clystron]

That's too bad. I was getting ready to do it but I'll have to wait. I hadn't read the reviews of the cases yet. I imagine it won't be too long until a company realizes they can make some money on this.

JMS583 based stuff is becoming available here in Europe, thats USB3.1 though so it wont achive the same speeds as the X5.

I am waiting for a USB/NVME case myself.