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0 Hard Drives, Storage, SSD, whatever you call them it’s something that often gets overlooked. Well the Samsung T9 Portable SSD has his the shelves, and we were sent a unit to check out prior to general release. So what did we find when putting the SSD to the test? Read on to find out
Storage Made Simple
Are you looking for the next upgrade to your setup? Are you in the market for a new SSD? Well hopefully this review might help you decide where your money should be spent.
Design
With it’s small form factor of a mere 88 x 60 x 14mm, the Samsung T9 Portable SSD packs a hell of a punch. With a rubberised exterior, along with a nice textured finish, the SSD is easy to grip hold of. Which is fortunate for those saving large amounts of files. This means that whilst it is drop resistant to up to 3m, you are not likely to have it slip from your fingers. Weighing in at a light as a dictionary 122g you really can pop this in your pocket and head off.
Aside from the textured finish, the only real design elements are the little activity light and the USB-C port. Other than that, Samsung has delivered a simplistically designed SSD that obviously lets its performance do the talking.
Compatibility
If you have anything with either a USB-A or C then you can plug this SSD in and away you go. As with the majority of storage devices on the market, this is plug and play. No additional software is needed, although pre-loaded is a nice little piece of software that will allow you to encrypt your device. After all, who doesn’t like a bit of extra security these days. The software installation comes in either Android, Mac or Windows varieties. Literally just sitting there for you ready to install!
Performance
Ok, so you made it this far and now you want to know some of the real draws for picking up the Samsung T9 Portable SSD? Well how does a read and write speed of 2,000 MB/s sound? Pretty quick right? Well with the right configuration of computer that is exactly what you can get. Utilising the PCIe NVMe interface you could be transferring data in no time. The T9 actually has twice the transfer speeds of its predecessor the T7.
In day to day usage, the T9 performs brilliantly, transferring files with ease. With no hint of a slow down its a great drive for video editing and working with large files. During the test for the review I just transferred a folder to it and whilst my computer doesn’t make use of the super fast speeds, it still moved files in no time at all!
One big thing I noticed during the testing was that the T9 never really got too warm as to make me worried about overheating. Samsung has designed the T9 with thermal interface materials including silicone and aluminium to help dissipate heat. This helps prevent performance drops or potential failure due to overheating.
As this was a review sample of the Samsung T9 Portable SSD, I didn’t really want to put the drop resistance to the test, you know just in case I dropped it from 3.1m and I had to contact the amazing PR. However, there are a couple of tests carried out to test the resistance. Both a tumbler test, and a drop test, with the former being a test that simulates the standard knocks and jolts with a random drop added in for good measure. Basically just trying to imitate real life as much as possible.
Final Thoughts
Overall this SSD does everything you need it to, with a great read and write speed regardless of your computer setup. Added toughness to prevent any accidental drops just adds to the appeal of this storage drive. With a few different storage options (1TB RRP £117.49, 2TB RRP £199.99, 4TB RRP £362.79) there is something for everyone.
The Samsung T9 Portable SSD receives the Thumb Culture Gold Award
Disclaimer: A sample was received in order to write this review.
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