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On our Test Bench this morning is the Samsung Portable SSD (PSSD) T5 EVO and it is a rather unique device. There is no doubt whatsoever that, at only 3 3/4″ x 1 1/2″ x 5/8″ and weighing 3.5oz, this is the most compact 8TB on the market, but also, this PSSD attains speeds of 460MB/s read and write which is something we haven’t seen in…years quite frankly. It is an unexpected release at a time when the industry has moved forward at record pace to achieve storage performance benchmarks that now reach 14GB/s or portable SSD speeds that typically reach 2GB/s, as we have recently shown in our review of the Samsung T9 PSSD.
Don’t get me wrong. I can see Samsung’s vision with the T5 EVO PSSD and it’s great to see such a compact device with 8TB capacity, but marketing it at such a low performance point speaks to a consumer product for the most part. We would never have thought Samsung would have believed 8TB to be an effective marketing point for the consumer.
There is another clue here as well. The Samsung Portable SSD T5 comes with a Type-C to Type-C USB cable but no adapter or additional cable for a USB Type-A device… which kind of takes it out of the direction of most consumers that would still accept ‘SATA III” type transfer speeds. Sure one can buy a Type-A to Type-C adapter online; we just think Samsung could have hit a much larger audience with a Type-A adapter or additional cable.
The Samsung T5 EVO Portable SSD is a USB 3.2 Gen 1 storage device that is available in 2, 4 and 8TB. It adds to the T7 Shield geared for adventurers, the T9 for professionals, but for the fact that its performance is lower with a maximum read and write speed of 460MB/s. Inside, there is the Samsung S4LR069 Metis controller, an ASMedia ASM235CM bridge chip along with Samsung’s 176-layer QLC V-NAND memory. The T5 EVO also has AES 256-bit hardware encryption and the SSD includes Samsung security hardware which pops up as soon as the device is plugged in.
The Samsung T5 EVO PSSD is constructed of a metal frame and covered with a rubberized exterior and has a handle at one end where one can attach it to baggage or luggage. Packaging consists of the T5 EVO, Type-C to Type-C cable and a User/Warranty manual. This device comes with a 3-year limited warranty.
Taking a quick look at Crystal DiskMark, we can see that performance is right in the area of specifications, however, the low random 4Ks might give us concern in the time it would take to transfer very small 4K operating system files. Mind you this device is not intended for such.
For those unfamiliar with the Samsung Magician, this is another free tool from Samsung and is perhaps the most complete SSD toolkit available on the market today.
Last but not least… pricing. MSRP for the Samsung Portable SSD T5 has been listed as $189(2TB), $349(4TB) and 649.99 for the 8TB version we are reviewing today. I can’t help but thinking that Samsung needs to rethink their pricing strategy here, especially when I can get the 4TB T7 or T9 at more than a $100 cheaper than the 4TB T5 EVO and they are much faster, granted not quite as compact. But they do come with Type-A cables for mass compatibility. As for the 8TB T5 EVO, there are larger 8TB competitors at a better price, but none that we might recommend. Samsung does have the market cornered on high capacity ultra compact portable SSDs with the T5 EVO.
PROS
- It is compact.
- It reaches 8TB in capacity.
- It is a solid build.
CONS
- Pricing, pricing, pricing.
- Speeds only reach 460MB/s.
- There is no Type-A adapter/cable included.
- 3-Year vice 5-year Warranty as has become the norm (T9).