Top 5 Ultra Fast Portable SSD: external storage for full-frame editing straight on the drive
Want high performing external SSD drive that support full-frame video editing from the drive? Save yourself the time of transferring and saving your working files back and forth. Use these ultra fast portable SSD like your native hard drive.
With transfer rates up from onwards of 1000MB/s up to 2800MB/s, it is over 5 times faster than your standard portable external SSD based on SATA interface. Physically, both Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.2 Gen 2 shares the same USB Type-C port. The only way to tell them apart is the lightning symbol near the port.
Look for the lightning symbol next to your USB Type-C port on your laptop to confirm if you can take advantage of Thunderbolt 3 drives (from G-Drive and Samsung). If you don’t have a computer with Thunderbolt technology but has USB Type-C port, you can still take advantage of the drives with USB 3.2 Gen 2 and NVMe interfaces. These offer transfer speeds up to 2 times that of standard SSD storage.
Edit multi-stream 8K footage at full frame rate with these ultra fast portable SSD storage. You can edit natively on the drive or transfer as much as one terabyte of media in less than second minutes. Drives that support the Thunderbolt 3 technology are capable of continuous transfer rates of up to 2800MB/s.
1. G-Drive Mobile Pro SSD from G-Technology (500GB, 1TB, 2TB) Thunderbolt 3 [RUGGED]
The ultra fast Mobile Pro SSD uses Thunderbolt 3 interface for faster transfer rate, going up to 2800MB/s. At that speed, you can even edit natively on the drive itself, saving you the time of transferring to the local drive and back.
- Storage Sizes: 500GB, 1TB, 2TB
- Dimensions: 112.01mm x 80.01mm x 17.02mm
- Interface: Thunderbolt 3 (with 1 x 0.5m Thunderbolt 3 Cable (40Gbps) included
- Transfer rate: up to 2800MB/s
2. SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD (500GB, 1TB, 2TB) [RUGGED]
Earlier version, the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD was popular thanks to its cool and rugged design. It had a high transfer speed of up to 550MB/s and IP55 rating. The SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD takes on the same design and is nearly twice as fast at 1050MB/s transfer speed.
It achieves this with lightning-fast, in-house NVMe technology and the use of USB 3.1 Gen 2 interface. With that kind of speed, it allows for full-frame editing from the drive, saving time and keeping the internal storage free. The Pro is also IP55 rate for water and dust resistance.
- High-speed transfers with up to 1050MB/s read speeds let you move hi-res photos and videos fast (Based on internal testing; performance may be lower depending on drive capacity, host device, OS and application.)
- Ruggedized, water- and dust-resistant (IP55-rated) (IEC 60529 IP55: Tested to withstand water flow (30 kPa) at 3 min.; limited dust contact does not interfere with operation. Must be clean and dry before use.)
- Shock-resistant solid state core for greater durability (Shock-resistant (up to 1500G) and vibration-resistant (5g RMS, 10-2000 HZ), Non-Operating Temperature(from ‐20°C to 70°C), operating temperature (from 0°C to 45°C))
- Compact and pocket-sized
- Dimensions: 4.34″ x 2.26″ x 0.4″
3. Samsung X5 Portable SSD (500GB, 1TB, 2TB) Thunderbolt 3 [RUGGED]
The fastest SSD in our line-up, the Samsung X5 Portable SSD uses Thunderbolt 3 technology and NVMe interface to deliver ultra high transfer speed. Thunderbolt 3 bandwidth is up to 40Gb/s, four times faster compared to USB 3.2 Gen 2 with 10Gb/s bandwidth. This allows the X5 to achive read/write speeds of 2,800/2,300 MB/s.
This makes it 5.2x/4.5x faster than a Portable SSD with SATA interface and 25.5x/20.9x faster than an external HDD. The X5 lets you transfer a 20GB 4K UHD video from your PC to the X5 in just 12 seconds. By comparison to the other SSD drives here it is not small nor lightweight.
The case is designed with protection guard and heat sink allowing the drive to withstand 2m drop and keeping the drive running at optimal performance and temperature.
- THUNDERBOLT 3 AND NVMe POWER: up to 40Gb/s data transfer speeds
- Sequential read and write up to 2,800MB/s and 2,300MB/s, respectively
- Full metal body with glossy top and non-slip bottom mat withstands drops of up to 2 meters; Shock resistant internal design features Dynamic Thermal Guard technology to help maintain optimal performance and temperature.
- Optional password protection and AES 256-bit hardware encryption keeps your personal and private data more secure
4. Samsung T7 Touch Portable SSD (500GB, 1TB, 2TB) [FINGERPRINT SCANNER]
As the name suggest, the Samsung T7 Touch Portable SSD has as touch ID fingerprint recognition built-in to secure the content of your drive. But what is even more important is the use of PCIe NVMe technology. Together with USB 3.2 Gen 2 on the T7 Touch, it allows the device to reach sequential read/write speeds of up to 1050/1000MB/s respectively. That’d almost double the speed of T5 above. Like the T5, it is also built to be touch allowing the data to stay intact from falls of up to 2 meters thanks to its sturdy metal body. That body measures a mere 57mm wide by 85mm long by 8mm thin, slimmer than T5 and only longer by 11mm.
- SSD with fingerprint and password security
- Transfers files nearly 9. 5x faster than hard drives
- Reads up to 1, 050 MB/s / Writes up to 1, 000 MB/s
- LED status indicator
- Shock-resistant and withstands drops from 6ft
- 57mm (W) x 85mm (L) x 8mm (D), 58 grams
5. Adata SE800 External Portable SSD (512GB, 1TB) USB Type-C [RUGGED]
Adata may not look it but beneath that brushed aluminium body is a high performing SSD storage with read and write speeds of up to 1000MB/s. For a feel of how fast that is, it can transfer a 50GB 4K movie real quick, in as little as 50 seconds. You will need your laptop or computer to support USB 3.2 Gen 2 and UASP mode enabled to achieve that performance.
The drive is also designed to be durable with waterproofing, dust-proofing and shock resistance built-in. A removable cover seals the single USB-C port during transit to keep the elements out. This allows the device to comply with IP68 rating (up to 30 minutes in 1.5m of water) and MIL-STD-810G (drop tested from 1.22 meters) for shock and impact resistance.
- Superfast Read/Write Speed up to 1000 MB/s
- IP68 Rated: Ruggedized Waterproof / Dust-proof / Drop-Proof / Shock-resistant
- Exquisite hairline-brushed surface for sleek look, compact and lightweight it’s perfect for travelling
- Interface: USB 3. 2 Gen 2 Type-C, backward compatible with USB 2.0
- Dimensions & Weight: 72.7 x 44 x 12.2 mm / 2.8 x 1.7 x 0.4 inch, 40 grams
BONUS. Crucial X8 Portable SSD (500GB, 1TB) USB Type-C [RUGGED]
Crucial X8 Portable SSD by Micro supports fast transfer speeds of up to 1050MB/s over USB 3.2 Gen-2 interface that’s 1.8x faster than the standard portable SSDs and up to 7.5 times faster than portable HDDs. It has a no nonsense all black soap bar design with rounded corners and a slim profile. To keep the data safe, the case is made with unibody core of anodized aluminium to be durable and rugged to withstand extreme temperatures, shock, vibration and drop from 7.5 foot. That case helps dissipate heat too.
- Incredible performance with read speeds up to 1050 MB/s
- USB-C 3.1 Gen2 and USB-A connectors
- Beautiful and durable design, featuring an anodized aluminum unibody core. Drop proof up to 7.5 feet. Extreme-temperature, shock, and vibration proof
Seagate FireCuda Gaming SSD (500GB, 1TB, 2TB)
The Seagate FireCuda Gaming SSD uses NVMe SSD and USB3.2 Gen 2×2 technology to double the transfer speed to up to 2000MB/s with coonnected to compatible port. Installing games, booting up, loading levels and auto saving will feel much faster. No more waiting around.
It also comes with really cool RGB LED lights customisable using Seagate Toolkit software suite. Change the light colour and patterns to complement your gaming rig. If you are looking for something with even more storage, check out the FireCuda Gaming Dock with up to 4TB capacity and maximum transfer speed of up to 2,800MB/s with NVMe SSD upgrade.
