Final Thoughts
As of writing the is the smallest portable solid state drive available in a capacity of up to 2TB. SanDisk’s Extreme 510 drives are around the same size, but are only available in capacities of up to 480 GB. So if you are looking for the highest capacity fast mobile storage the Samsung Portable SSD T3 is the way to go.
Samsung made some great improvements over the SSD T1. First they bumped up the maximum capacity from 1 TB to 2 TB. Next they moved away from the microUSB connector on the T1 to a USB 3.1 Type-C connector. The enclosure itself was upgraded to be partially metal to help with heat dissipation. And finally the drive is officially compatible with Android. These improvements makes the T3 the solid choice.
When it comes to performance this drive lives right up to its expectations. In ATTO Disk Benchmark (our definitive storage test) it scored read and write scores of 454 MB/s and 436 MB/s respectively. With that type of speed you will no problem transferring files and media in seconds.
Taking a look at the price of the 500 GB, it is $215 at our favorite online retailer. That puts it at $0.43 a GB. With its small size and performance that price is more than fair. Although it would have been nice to see a USB Type-C to Type-C cable included as well.
Overall ThinkComputers gives the Samsung Portable SSD T3 a 9 out of 10 score and our Recommended Award!
Pros:
– Extremely small size
– Solid design
– Great performance
– AES 256-bit hardware encryption
– Available in capacities up to 2 TB.
– 3 year warranty
Cons:
– A USB Type-C to Type-C cable should be included
