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0 There is a saying, all good things come in small packages. Then, this runs true with the OWC Envoy Pro Elektron. Other World Computing Inc. (OWC) has a reputation for delivering well-built and well-designed hardware for Apple products. But with the evolution of USB and the wider supporting USB Type-C technology in the PC world, OWC’s accessories are becoming increasingly popular.
An Ideal Companion For Gaming, Travelling, and Field Work!
Having recently ventured into custom-built PCs, I have been on the lookout for various kinds of storage options. Firstly, I have explored my options in portable drives, particularly with having a laptop also. Then I discovered the OWC had launched a new portable SSD called, Envoy Pro Elektron, a tiny but yet solid-built solid-state drive that connects with USB-Type C. We take a closer look at this SSD and find out if it is worth the purchase!
Design
The form factor of the Envoy Pro Elektron is compact, minimalist, and rugged.
Underneath the SSD is heavily beveled on three sides with two rubber pads along the bottom to prevent any unwanted sliding, and they’re surprisingly good!
On one side of the SSD is a Type-C port labelled with USB 3.2 10 GBPS so you don’t accidentally connect the wrong port in there, and the other a status light.
The look is awesome, I like that is not too in your face like some portable SSDs can be and it looks clean on your desk. It is a little heavy but I like it.
The Envoy Pro Elektron is IP67 rated, meaning you can go swimming with this thing to a depth of 3 metres for 30 minutes and it will still keep performing. And is well protected from dust. What is well worth noting, OWC offers a three-year limited warranty for those drives that can’t handle user abuse within these parameters.
Included in the box is a 20 cm long USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable with a handy converter attached to the cable that allows it to be used with a USB-A port, very handy.
Performance
Under the hood, the Envoy Pro Elektron uses the Asmedia ASM-2362 chipset that creates a bridge between USB 3.2 and the Aura P13 NVMe M.2 2242 SSD NAND module.
In theory, you can replace this module, however, getting this thing open may require a bit of hard work, plus, you may lose your warranty in the process.
A common issue with this, and numerous other high-performance NVMe-based drives, is without the right port connector much of the speed this is packing is nulled. Without a 10GB/s USB 3.2 (or 3.1 Gen 2), the drive will connect at only 5GB/s. This reduction reduces the read and write speed to a maximum of 500mb/s, and will not achieve the hyped about 1,000MB/s.
Anyway, aside from this, I threw a couple of games onto the drive about 458GB worth of transfers and transferred 46GB worth of photos from my Google Drive account. The drive didn’t struggle, it took me 5 minutes and 48 seconds to read and write a 46GB file of files and folders. That’s a little over 500MBps. It also managed this when writing the 458GB game file also. Superb stuff and if not the best performance I’ve seen on a portable SSD.
Final Thoughts
I love this. The design, high-end engineering, and the spotless finish. It’s robust, super portable, and has really strong performance. OWC have done their best on this piece of kit and I will be using this for a long time.
The problem with this though is solely on the price. At $249.00 or £222.62 on Amazon in the UK, it does make some hole in your bank account. But you may say the beautiful quality in design is worth getting but there are other products on the market that can be set alongside this. The Crucial XE 1 TB is two-thirds the cost and has the same capacity, and nearly as robust as the Envoy Pro Elektron.
The only difference that the Envoy Pro Elektron has over the XE, other than its design, is an IP67 rating. And then, how often does your equipment get wet might be a decision some consumers make, but not all users will consider this to be a must-have requirement.
If you are happy to spend over £200.00+ on the Envoy Pro Elektron, then get it. You will not be let down and is a gorgeous piece of equipment.
I give this, a Thumb Culture Gold Award!
Disclaimer: A sample was received in order to write this review.
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