A flexible approach to flip an inner drive into an exterior SSD

There are many nice exterior drives out there right this moment that work nice outdoors your pc. Whether or not that you must switch massive recordsdata between programs or just add additional storage to your pc, these storage gadgets may be extraordinarily useful. However there is a case to be made for utilizing the most effective inner SSDs as an exterior drive with an enclosure as a substitute. For one, inner drives are sometimes cheaper, making massive storage portions extra accessible. Plus, it is a good way to save cash when you have a spare SSD mendacity round.

Ugreen’s M.2 SSD enclosure is without doubt one of the extra polished choices you may discover on this class, because it seems fairly like the common devoted exterior drive as soon as you have set it up. The corporate touts that there are not any instruments required to put in an SSD in any respect, which is a pleasant bonus. Whereas the enclosure’s design and the mechanics for putting in a drive make it more durable to swap drives out and in rapidly, it is nonetheless an awesome possibility for individuals who wish to flip a single SSD into an exterior drive.

About this evaluation: Ugreen supplied an SSD enclosure for the needs of this evaluation, and it had no enter into its contents.

Pricing and availability

Ugreen’s M.2 SSD enclosure retails for $30 and may be discovered on Amazon or at Ugreen’s web site. We have additionally seen it for as little as $24 at Amazon. There are a couple of comparable SSD enclosures that Ugreen sells, however this model helps each SATA and NVMe M.2 drives. This enclosure additionally makes use of the USB 3.2 and Thunderbolt 3 connection requirements, which suggests drives can benefit from 10Gbps switch speeds.

What I like

The general design and construct is superb

M.2 SSDs are supposed to join along with your pc via a built-in M.2 slot, so exterior drive enclosures have to adapt that for a daily USB connection. Consequently, you may usually see clunky designs and builds. That is why I used to be pleasantly shocked by the appear and feel of the Ugreen M.2 SSD enclosure, as the vast majority of the product is made out of aluminum and rubber. The rubber cowl is not secured to the enclosure, so you’ll be able to take it off for those who do not prefer it, but it surely does add some shock safety in opposition to drops, which could possibly be helpful.

I used to be pleasantly shocked by the appear and feel of the Ugreen M.2 SSD enclosure, as the vast majority of the product is made out of aluminum and rubber.

There aren’t seen screw holes or a latch, both. In truth, the whole machine is an enclosed oval with no clear factors of entry. To get inside, you may have to push inward on the finish of the enclosure reverse to the USB-C port. A clip will launch, pushing out the internals of the enclosure sufficient so that you can pull it out.

General, it is a nice expertise, particularly if you are going to put a drive contained in the enclosure and overlook about it. Nevertheless, it is an over-engineered resolution that will not be best for swapping out drives usually, which I will clarify extra about later.

The enclosure maximizes the efficiency of most SSDs

One of many ache factors that you could be run into with inner drive enclosures is knowledge switch speeds. Irrespective of how briskly your SSD is, it will solely work in addition to your drive enclosure helps. That is one space the place the Ugreen M.2 SSD enclosure excels, supporting knowledge switch speeds as much as 10Gbps. The enclosure additionally has the flexibleness of supporting each SATA and NVMe interfaces, utilizing the USB 3.2 Gen 2 commonplace. I really like this design selection as a result of it may be onerous to inform what drives and M.2 slots assist NVMe, SATA, or each simply by them.

I really like this design selection as a result of it may be onerous to inform what drives and M.2 slots assist NVMe, SATA, or each simply by them.

I haven’t got the quickest M.2 SSD you should purchase, however I used a TEAMGROUP MS30 2TB SATA III drive to check how the Ugreen M.2 SSD enclosure performs in learn/write assessments. My SSD helps 6Gbps switch speeds and skim/write speeds of as much as 550/500MB/s, respectively. For testing, I used the AmorphousDiskMark sequential learn/write software, which is analogous to CrystalDiskMark. I additionally threw the identical SSD within the Satechi USB-C Slim Dock for comparability. Here is how the enclosure fared:

As you’ll be able to see, Ugreen’s M.2 SSD enclosure practically maxed out my drive’s specs. In comparison with the Satechi SSD enclosure, the Ugreen was both simply forward or simply behind it. It will not present up in these assessments because of the limitations of my on-hand SSD, but it surely’s necessary to notice that the Ugreen M.2 SSD enclosure will likely be slower with SATA drives. These SSDs can solely use 6Gbps speeds, reasonably than the total 10Gbps supplied with the USB 3.2 Gen 2 spec. Both method, the Ugreen enclosure is greater than quick sufficient for day by day file transfers.

What I do not like

There are a couple of areas the place Ugreen might’ve improved the design

Although I just like the Ugreen M.2 SSD enclosure’s design total, there are a couple of tweaks that may be good to see sooner or later. The removable rubber sleeve is a intelligent method so as to add safety, however it is going to put on out rapidly. Simply within the restricted time I spent with the enclosure, this sleeve received stretched out and would not sit fully flush on the aluminum. To repair this, Ugreen might both completely affix the rubber to the drive. Or, higher but, it may well preserve the detachable design however have the rubber cowl the drive higher.

Swapping out drives usually on this enclosure will get annoying quick

There are two important methods to make use of an enclosure. You should use it to completely flip an inner drive into an exterior one, putting in an SSD as soon as and for all, however it’s also possible to use it to swap drives out and in usually, studying knowledge with no need to put in drives into a pc. Ugreen’s M.2 SSD enclosure is a unbelievable possibility for the primary use case however not so for the second.

I would be anxious concerning the clip snapping off after repeatedly eradicating and inserting the enclosure’s internals.

You possibly can set up an SSD on this enclosure with no instruments, and the machine seems elegant as soon as it is all sealed up. Nevertheless, it isn’t the best to entry. Typically, it may be powerful to push out the internals, and a extra widespread downside is bother getting the enclosure to click on again in place. The clip that holds the interior drive slot in place can be very tiny and product of plastic. I would be anxious concerning the clip snapping off after repeatedly eradicating and inserting the enclosure’s internals. In order for you an enclosure to be used with a number of SSDs, there’s most likely a greater one on the market.

Must you purchase the Ugreen M.2 NVMe SATA enclosure?

You can purchase the Ugreen M.2 NVMe SATA enclosure if:

• You wish to use a single SSD as an exterior drive
• You care about design and portability
• You need quick switch speeds and USB 3.2 Gen 2 assist

You must NOT purchase the Ugreen M.2 NVMe SATA enclosure if:

• You intend to swap drives out and in regularly
• You do not want quick switch speeds and will accept a less expensive enclosure

SSD enclosures generally is a strong approach to get the expertise of an exterior drive for reasonable. Ugreen’s M.2 SSD enclosure is a superb selection for individuals who wish to do precisely that, because it has a glossy design and options fast knowledge switch speeds. It is a consumer-first machine geared toward individuals who needn’t swap out drives usually, although. At $30 or much less with reductions, when you have a use for an SSD enclosure, it will be powerful to beat this one.