GEAR
MINI TESTS
SPECIFICATIONS Type: SSD hard drive Capacity: 8TB Interface:
USB-C 3.0/3.1/3.1 Gen 1 (5Gbps) Speed: 460MB/s read and write Encryption: 256-bit AES Systems supported: MacOS X, Windows and Android Drop resistance: Up to 2m/6.6ft Dimensions (wxhxd): 94x40.6x17.8mm/3.7x1.6x0.7in Weight: 102g/0.22lb without cable
SAMSUNG T5 EVO £539/$650 samsung.com/portable-ssd
is always limited by the connection used by the drive and computer. On our Apple Mac Studio with an M1 Ultra chip, 64GB of memory and Thunderbolt 4 inputs, the fastest we have ever tested is the Samsung T9, with times of seven seconds both ways. The T5 Evo is slower, at roughly 16 seconds both ways. That’s still incredibly fast and around 3.8 times faster than external HDDs, which is what you would normally be using if you needed 8TB capacity. The T5 Evo is certainly speedy enough to use as a library drive to edit 4K video from without any glitches. That’s more than fast enough for most users and blows any HDD out of the water. Indeed, you could always use it as a blazing-fast file storage device as it’s incredibly small and, with no moving parts, should last far longer than any HDD. It’s also far more rugged, thanks to its rubberised coating and 2m/6.6ft drop resistance. You certainly wouldn’t want to try that with any conventional hard drive. And, of course, the T5 Evo is small, light and portable. It can be easily fastened to a bag thanks to its metal
Samsung’s portable SSD drives have spoiled us in recent times, as they just seem to get faster with each iteration. So when the specs of the new T5 Evo revealed a maximum read and write speed of 460MB/s, it didn’t really set the pulse racing. After all, the new Samsung T9 we tested last issue boasts speeds of 2000MB/s, double that of the T7 range, thanks to its new USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 interface and TurboWrite buffer size up to 180GB. But the T5 is not the official flagship and is slower as it’s based on the older USB-C 3.0/3.1/3.1 Gen 1 interface. What it does provide is a huge capacity of 8TB at a reasonable price of £539/$650 at launch. There are only a handful of external SSDs offering 8TB, and you’ll struggle to find one cheaper from a well-trusted provider. You’d have to ask yourself how much you need the superfast speeds of the T7 and T9 range. As always, we conduct our own real-world benchmarks by moving a 50GB folder of video files onto the drive to see how long it takes to copy them, then we time how long it takes to transfer back to the computer. This
SUPERSIZE SAMSUNG The new T5 Evo
SSD offers a huge 8TB of fast storage
ring design, allowing a massive amount of data to be taken with you. It’s built to keep files safe with Samsung’s Dynamic Thermal Guard technology, which maintains optimal temperatures. The SSD supports Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256-bit hardware data encryption. The drive works with a good selection of operating systems and devices, such as MacOS, Windows and smartphones to name a few. It comes with Samsung Magician software, which provides a real- time drive health check, a genuine authentication feature, performance benchmark and firmware updates. The T5 Evo also comes in smaller capacities: £160/$190 for the 2TB and £295/$350 for the 4TB. But we reckon go for the big one if you can afford it. PRO MOVIEMAKER RATING: 9/10 Huge capacity and fast enough for most users Pros: Stylish, well-built and large storage capacity Cons: Not the fastest on the market
“The Samsung T5 Evo is small, light and portable – and easily fastens to a bag”
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