Why I Stopped Recommending Pre-built Ssds For Windows Pcs - And What To Buy Instead

Ugreen M.2 NVMe Enclosure

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Ugreen's M.2 NVMe Enclosure is connected waste connected Amazon for $75.
• It's an easy to usage enclosure that doesn't trust connected infinitesimal fasteners, and features USB4 speeds of up to 40Gbps.
• If you request a instrumentality that supports up to 80Gbps, you'll want to upgrade.

For a constricted time, nan Ugreen M.2. NVMe SSD enclosure is conscionable $75 connected Amazon, a $35 discount.

External retention drives person go a portion of my life nowadays, truthful overmuch truthful that I ever person a fewer successful my laptop bag. But lately I've moved distant from pre-built outer SSDs and alternatively bargain enclosures and M.2 drives separately. This lets maine person nan operation of performance, capacity, and costs that suits my needs.

Also: The champion M.2 SSDs you tin buy

As such, I've been testing a batch of enclosures pinch different strengths. Some put portability astatine nan apical of nan list, while others, specified arsenic nan Ugreen 40Gbps USB4 M.2 NVMe SSD enclosure, make capacity a priority. 

There are 3 things that guidelines retired astir this Ugreen enclosure that person made it a patient favourite for maine -- successful fact, I now person astir 5 of them!

First, it's easy to fresh M.2 drives. There's 1 sensibly-sized screw holding nan enclosure together, and different fastener holding nan thrust successful spot that's arsenic sensible. There's nary having to messiness astir pinch mini fasteners, and my aging fingers and eyes admit that.

The fasteners are sensibly sized!

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Next up, it's fast, allowing for up to 40Gbps/3,700 MB/s information transportation rates. These evidently dangle connected nan M.2 thrust you're using, but if you want speed, get a accelerated thrust and you're bully to go. It supports drives up to 4TB successful a scope of shape factors: 2230, 2242, 2260, and 2280.

The enclosure is built to judge a scope of M.2 drives.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

The enclosure is besides well-made. It's coagulated and machined from aluminum to dissipate discarded heat. A built-in instrumentality that kicks successful erstwhile nan soul temperatures deed 40°C helps nan enclosure support things cool. 

Also: I tried utilizing nan world's thinnest SSD enclosure - it made a large effect connected my workflow

The kit besides comes pinch a silicone support to protect nan enclosure from bumps and scratches.

You tin take nan thrust to suit your needs.

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The enclosure is powered by nan fantabulous ASMedia ASM2426PD chip, which supports USB4/Thunderbolt Gen3 x2, and PCI Express Gen4, and has S.M.A.R.T thrust monitoring support. 

ZDNET's buying advice

All successful all, nan Ugreen 40Gbps USB4 M.2 NVMe SSD enclosure is an unthinkable enclosure, and it's connected waste for $75.99. Measuring only 4.72 x 1.89 x 0.75 inches and weighing only 7 ounces, it's a very portable package.

If 40Gbps velocity and 4TB of capacity aren't capable for you, drawback nan Ugreen 80Gbps M.2 NVMe SSD enclosure. Externally, this enclosure looks nan same, but it supports a theoretical 7,000MB/s and M.2 2280 drives up to 8TB. 

The downside is that this enclosure is simply a batch much costly (normally priced astatine $299, but Amazon Prime members tin get it for only $209).