SAMSUNG T5 Portable SSD 1TB - Up to 540MB/s - USB 3.1 External Solid State Drive, Black (MU-PA1T0B/AM)

Bottom line: Works wonderfully and harmoniously across computers.This drive comes with a hardware-based secure log-in system, and when you plug it in you'll see a choice of emulator/"activator" interfaces for login to PC or Mac or device. I ordinarily use it with a Macbook or desktop Mac, but I've guest-visited PC's also, and what happens is: you plug it in and will see the initial choice of platform log-in apps. Choose your OS, click, and enter your password - whatever password you set up initially from your own computer/device, as once you do that your password is hard-wired into the drive, and you can access it from anywhere - if you have the password.Setting up hardware-based encryption/security is optional, by the way. But really simple, and it really works easily across my own computers and ones I've guest-logged into while traveling. Same routine. Bring up system-specific log-in screen, enter password, you're in. Password required every time it's re-installed. Great basic mobile security.For Mac there's a known strangeness, despite full compatibility. When first plugging it in or upon ejecting it, you may see an upper-right-hand corner pop-up saying disk was improperly ejected (last time). Maybe on Windows "safely eject" avoids that, but on Mac you'll likely see it. Not to worry, as long as you're not transferring data while unplugging. (In Mac I "eject" and it looks normal but still will get a pop-up nag about safely ejecting.)What else can I say? I know there's a few reputable makers of 250-500GB SSD portable drives worthy of consideration. (As a scientist, believe me, I read all the reviews and looked at "data", but as a typical computer user I chose based on things like form factor, price, and past experience).So this is my 3rd Samsung T (2 "3"s and one T-5 now). I've had no problem with any of them (thus my collection has expanded). They are fast, reliable, and practical between the various interfaces, portable security protection, and choice of cable/interface. I'm a fan.

This is an impressive little device. I am impressed with the look, and the apparent durability of the drive. In classic Samsung style, the drive is a good looking accessory especially for my Dell Precision 5530. I believe the drive will be very durable it is made of what feels like aluminum and is sealed on the ends. I would not hesitate to put this in my pocket for quick and easy transport.The big question for me was about the speed. I have owned many external drives that claim to be fast, but I still can't run my VMs directly from the drive. I tested both the USB C and the USB A cables to know which I would have to use. With both connectors the T5 really delivers. I can't tell a difference between this drive and an internal SATA SSD installed directly on the SATA bus. I have included some screenshots of the benchmarks I did on each connection type. The external drive basically saturates the SATA protocol bandwidth, AWESOME! On the Thunderbolt 3 Type C port, I was seeing full SATA capability on the large reads and writes. However, when it is hooked to the USB 3.1 type A connector (the rectangle one) it seems as if the USB overhead slows down the large sequential operations by 10% or so . However, the USB 3.1 A out performed the thunderbolt 3 connection when it came to 4k and 4k QD performance. For me the 4k performance is most important as that is what the OS does constantly. The 10% or so drop in performance on the large sequential files in reality will not materially affect the performance of the VMs.I officially brand these drives as AWESOME and they will be my new go to drive when I need high performance low cost external storage.

Love it! I've owned dozens of internal and external drives. I've had older gen spinning drives fall to their doom, or the they get old and the bearings go out which results in me and losing data. This WD SDD drive has no moving parts, which means less things to break. Now I have no worries about leaving the drive in my backpack and hauling it around. Then consider the fact that this drive is tiny and weight almost nothing. Its half the size of my iPhone and 25% the weight. If the drive falls there isn't even enough weight to pull the USB cord out. I would recommend a carrying case just so you can keep the drive and the USB cable together, and somewhat protected.Performance wise no complaints. It doesn't get hot. Generally the bottleneck is the drive I am copying to or from. Transfers from the T5 to an internal spinner HDD range from 80MB/s to 120MB/s. While the transfers from the T5 to my internal SSD range from 100MB/s to 170MB/s. Lightroom runs as good externally as it does internally. And my 1TB version has plenty of space.

As we all may know, COVID-19 has caused a lot of us to become quite dependent on our computers and technology. I am currently a college student going through Zoom classes and my computer had a malfunctioning hard drive half way through the semester. I was in panic as the Apple Store had told me it would not only cost a lot, but take a while to fix. Through research, I had discovered that I could use this as a hard drive replacement and a place to boot my computer. I ended up buying the product which came the next day thanks to Amazon. As soon as I got it I plugged it in, downloaded OS, and to my surprise, my computer was actually able to perform normally. It is now the end of the semester and I would like to say that the drive has been working wonderfully. I have spent many nights and days studying for hours on end with no problems or headaches coming from the drive. There are some cons such as not being able to search for files or having to carry the drive everywhere with me, but those are small problems that take no real toll on me. Overall, this drive was a life saver and I would honestly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a quick and easy hard drive replacement (especially for those using MacBooks that have soldered SSDs).