SK hynix Beetle X31 moveable SSD assessment — BIG factor in a small bundle — GAMINGTREND

I’ve by no means heard of SK hynix earlier than, however it appears about proper for the identify of a chip producer in South Korea. Much more, I didn’t know they made SSDs, of which I take advantage of loads. Then, the Beetle X31 caught my consideration, a bit SSD that any creator would like to have. After a while utilizing it, I can confidently say I’ll bear in mind the identify SK hynix, together with the Beetle X31.

Whenever you choose one up, a number of gadgets come within the field. The aforementioned X31 Beetle SSD, a silicon protector, and two brief USB-C cables to attach it. One is related to your machine through USB-A, and the opposite is USB-C. It’s all easy sufficient, and that’s all it must be. The one factor that was a bit off was my silicon protector; the slot the place you plug within the USB-C to the SSD was offset, forcing me to push it round with a view to join my cable.

Impressively, the 1tb Beetle X31 could be very small, and may nearly be misplaced fairly simply. The golden sheen makes up for that, making it a looker as a lot as improves its visibility. At solely 74x44mm in measurement and 53g in weight, the Beetle X31 will match proper within the palm of your hand, and even in my smaller ones it’s compact. This makes it straightforward to hold, which is a boon for a creator like myself, particularly with the bounds in place when carrying baggage. Positive, a daily SSD or HDD aren’t that a lot greater, however any gained area is appreciated when it’s a must to journey the nation with solely a backpack. It’s additionally cased in light-weight aluminum, permitting you to maintain your thoughts comfortable if it’s rattling round in your bag.

Working the numbers on the Beetle has been enjoyable as a result of I’m a numbers man, and these are improbable. I’ve two units for you, one utilizing the USB-A cable, and the opposite with the USB-C. Kudos to SK hynix for throwing each within the field. Let me begin off with this: thank goodness for a drive utilizing a USB-C connection reasonably than specialty cables or micro-USBs. USB-C is a lot sooner, and it reveals right here.

That stated, USB-A is at a transparent drawback. SK hynix advertises 1050MB/s learn pace and 1000mb/s of write pace, and at greatest USB-A can get nearly midway there. It’s actually higher than any of the HDDs we’ve lined right here; these punched above their 128mb cache. However, it’s nonetheless slower than what’s on the packaging. Even so, I ran a check transferring video information and located nice success – an nearly 3.5gb file transferred in ten seconds.

The second you turn over to USB-C, nonetheless, the promised land arrives. All the learn/write speeds under (captured through CrystalDiskMark and ATTO Disk Benchmark) match as much as the lofty efficiency acknowledged. It’s not simply in principle both, as my video file check once more measured up. The identical 3.5gb file moved to the Beetle in solely 5 seconds this time, proving USB-C is the way in which to go each methods. All of that is additionally a product of the buffer DRAM giving an added enhance.

Clearly that is nice for storage, however are you able to make the most of this drive to energy what you play? To check this, I put in Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered by Steam. It did take a second to order the area, however the set up was fairly fast and painless. Beginning the sport is analogous, given the pace of the drive. I barely knew I used to be utilizing it as a result of upon booting into my earlier sport save chilly, it solely took six seconds for me to reach in Manhattan. Faster nonetheless, quitting again to the primary menu and reloading took solely 4 seconds.

If it makes it sound much more spectacular, I used to be taking part in on the best settings. Sure, my RTX 3080 and i9 processor will do a variety of heavy lifting, however not encountering a ton of pop-in or loading was excellent. There was a single place the place frames dropped in a random second of swinging round, however nothing once more after that. I don’t want any extra proof right here, the Beetle is nice for avid gamers alongside creators.

Sadly, you possibly can solely use it for chilly storage on new video games or final technology video games on PS5 and Xbox Collection consoles. Even so, it might be very succesful at transferring your PS5 and Xbox Collection video games forwards and backwards rapidly, and more than likely enhance your loading speeds on final gen video games. That, with its small nature, permits you to match it simply behind the console, or in any crevice your TV stand or area has obtainable.

Standing by your product can also be a bonus, and SK hynix presents a 3-year safety have been your Beetle to fail. As with most, it’s a restricted guarantee; you possibly can’t go working it over along with your automotive and demanding a substitute, however something extending previous the same old 90 days we see on many merchandise is nice. Simply be sure you hold a maintain of your documentation (like receipt and certificates of authenticity), that’s one thing the web site mentions in nice element.

You should buy your individual SK hynix Beetle X31 moveable SSD in 512MB or 1TB measurement right here.

Until in any other case acknowledged, the product on this article was supplied for assessment functions.