SanDisk Extreme PRO USB 4 Portable SSD Review

There is a simple rule with flash technology, more commonly known as SSD storage; everything must go faster. It has always been the same in the progression of PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express), USB (Universal Serial Bus) or ThunderBolt.  Let’s keep it real simple.  PCIe speaks to your computers internal storage while USB and Thunderbolt speak to external storage.  Way back in the beginning of time (2007) the first SanDisk 32GB consumer SSD was released and it only bumped data trasfer speeds from 42MB/s to 53MB/s but the beauty of an SSD has to do with disk access speeds.  A typical hard drive might have disk access of 17ms way back then but and SSD was some 85 times faster at .2ms.  Ever wonder why your smartphone is so much faster than your old hard drive contained PC?  Exactly.  ‘Flash’ technology.  USB is no different.

On our Test Bench today is the latest rendition of the SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD with USB 4.  SanDisk’s last release saw the Extreme Pro Portable V2 running at USB 3.2 x 2 (20Gbps), or just about 2GB/s data transfer, while this new drive moves things up to 3.8GB/s, according to their listed specs on that package.  There is a catch though and you need to be aware that it can be a bit tricky. In order to achieve maximum speeds from this portable SSD, you need a system that is capable of USB4/5 or ThunderBolt 4/5 data transfer… and that system must move data at 40Gbps minimum.  The reason we mention this is because there are many motherboards and systems that claim USB4/Tbt4 but only run at 32Gbps (without advertising such), and this limits the maximum data transfer at just under 3100MB/s.

The SanDisk Extreme PRO USB 4 Portable SSD is available in capacities of 2/4TB and comes with 12″ USB4 Type-C to Type-C cable that that powers the device and transfers data, as it is USB-bus powered.  It is rather large as it measures 5.4″ long x 2.6″ wide x 3/8″ thick and weighs 5.4oz, and is comprised of a grey silicone soft rubber coating over an aluminum chassis that is inaccessible.  There is the familiar SanDisk Extreme Pro copper D-ring at one end and this SSD is IP65 rated which means it will sustain drops from 2m, or a drop into the water.  Don’t think this ever happens? Just ask the guy who dropped his Samsung ZFold into the toilet last week. No… Don’t ask.

The Sandisk Extreme PRO USB4 Portable SSD has listed specifications of 3800MB/s read and 3700MB/s write, supports hardware encryption and comes with a 5-year warranty.  It is compatible with the much more common USB-A but an adapter is not included.  One would have to purchase that.

A first hand impression of the SanDisk Extreme PRO USB4 Portable SSD is that the product remains to be as solid as all former renditions of this drive, but this version could only be described as big and heavy.  We reason that this size accomodates a larger 2280 form factor SSD which would allow for the 4TB release as well as a more effective passive cooling solution.  MSRP for this drive is listed at $279.99 US (2TB) and 429.99 (US). Check out Amazon Pricing.

Let’s get to some metrics.