At a look
Skilled’s Score
Professionals
- USB4 offers good efficiency
- Aggressive value
- Rugged design for outside use
Cons
- Lacks full Thunderbolt assist
- Bigger than many transportable drives
Our Verdict
The Excessive Professional With USB4 isn’t the quickest SSD round, but it surely’s greater than quick sufficient for many non-professional customers, and much more inexpensive than high-end Thunderbolt drives. It’s sturdily constructed too, making it a good selection for outside use and unhealthy climate.
Value When Reviewed
This worth will present the geolocated pricing textual content for product undefined
Greatest Pricing At present
Value When Reviewed
$280 for 2TB, $430 for 4TB
Greatest Costs At present: SanDisk Excessive Professional SSD with USB4
$429.99
$429.99
About 10 years in the past, SanDisk was taken over by Western Digital, however the two firms not too long ago determined to half firm once more, with SanDisk specializing in solid-state drives and reminiscence merchandise whereas WD sticks with its conventional vary of laborious drives. And, to rejoice its independence, SanDisk has been launching a flurry of latest merchandise in latest months, notably specializing in transportable storage and backup.
We not too long ago reviewed its Excessive Transportable SSD, which was an inexpensive entry-level drive that used a USB-C interface with assist for USB 3.2 (Gen 2). That was adopted by the Excessive Professional Transportable SSD, which stepped as much as the sooner USB 3.2 (Gen 2×2). Nevertheless, Macs don’t assist USB 3.2 (Gen 2×2) in order that wasn’t essentially an excellent choice for Mac customers. SanDisk wasn’t completed, although, because it has simply launched one more transportable drive known as the Excessive Professional With USB4, which – you guessed it – now adopts the even sooner USB4. And sure, USB requirements are a complicated mess today, so that you do have to pay shut consideration to the technical specs when shopping for drives from SanDisk or some other producer. Learn: Thunderbolt 5 vs Thunderbolt 4 and three vs USB4 for extra concerning the totally different requirements.
As you may count on, the Excessive Professional With USB4 is quicker than its predecessors – the truth is, USB4 is definitely based mostly on Thunderbolt 4 and SanDisk even recommends utilizing the drive with a Mac or PC that has Thunderbolt 4 with a view to get one of the best efficiency, which makes it an excellent choice for Mac customers who want a quick, transportable backup drive.
Obtainable with both 2TB or 4TB of storage, the Excessive Professional With USB4 appears similar to its predecessors, with the identical rounded corners, orange trim and a helpful cut-out part in a single nook that can be utilized with a lanyard to connect it to a belt or backpack once you’re travelling. There’s a USB-C cable included within the field, however there’s no lanyard so that you’ll want to supply that for your self.
Nevertheless, nearer inspection reveals that the Excessive Professional With USB4 is sort of a bit bigger than different SanDisk drives that we’ve examined prior to now, measuring 11.9mm thick, 58.7mm huge, and 140mm lengthy. It’s nearly as massive because the iPhone 16e – and, at 172g, it’s really heavier than the 16e – but it surely’s nonetheless sufficiently small to slide right into a pocket or bag, and its sturdy design makes it an excellent choice for travelling and for individuals who have to work outdoor.
The primary physique of the drive is made out of solid aluminium, which is then wrapped in a silicon sleeve for added safety. SanDisk says that it will probably survive being dropped from a peak of 2m, and it’s rated IP65 for water and mud resistance (which signifies that it will probably survive heavy rain, however not whole immersion in water). And, to again it up, SanDisk offers a five-year guarantee as effectively.
However, in fact, the primary attraction is using USB4 to supply excessive efficiency for storing your essential recordsdata and Time Machine backups. SanDisk quotes a most write efficiency for the Excessive Professional With USB4 of as much as 3700MB/s, and browse efficiency as much as 3800MB/s though, as talked about earlier, it does suggest utilizing the drive with a Mac or PC that has Thunderbolt 4 for finest outcomes.
That’s excellent for Mac customers in fact, and after we examined the drive with the BlackMagic Disk Pace Take a look at utilizing a MacBook Professional with Thunderbolt 4 we obtained very sturdy efficiency of 3400MB/s for each learn and write efficiency. And, simply out of curiosity, we additionally examined the drive with an M4 Mac mini that has Thunderbolt 5, and have been stunned to see that the write efficiency jumped fairly drastically to 4400MB/s. That write efficiency stayed constant even after a number of repeated checks with BlackMagic, though the drive’s learn efficiency with the Mac mini was unchanged at 3400MB/s.
Ought to You Purchase The Excessive Professional With USB4?
Skilled customers who want high efficiency for working with massive video or graphics recordsdata may favor to pay extra for a solid-state drive with full assist for Thunderbolt. Nevertheless, the Excessive Professional With USB4 is much extra inexpensive than most Thunderbolt drives and nonetheless offers spectacular efficiency that shall be greater than ample for most individuals who simply want a quick, sturdy transportable drive for his or her Time Machine backups.
Check out the Greatest SSDs for Mac for alternate options to the SanDisk Excessive Professional