Going for mass-market adoption rather than fastest interface certainly helps in keeping value in check, and Crucial does well in the compatibility stakes. That’s no great problem as the vast majority of client devices don’t feature the newer 20Gbps controller. X8 opts to include the version using DDR4 memory – there is another relying on the Host Memory Buffer (HMB) interface for buffering duties – but do appreciate sequential speed is capped at 10Gbps, even though the controller and NAND can run faster in a PCIe-attached M.2 NVMe environment. Inside, Crucial uses 64-layer QLC NAND allied to a four-channel Silicon Motion SM2263 controller bridging over to USB. To the drive’s design credit, the external casing – ending in grippy, rubberised sections that ought to avoid easy marking – does a great job at keeping everything cool internal temperature rose to merely 48☌ after 10 minutes of sequential writing, while the casing ran only five degrees warmer than ambient room level. Looking closer, there are no activity lights to break up the unibody construction. X8’s only available in black, which is a good thing. At 97g, there’s reassuring heft emanating from a high-quality anodised aluminium finish that does an adequate job at repelling fingerprints and is drop-tested to 7.5 feet. The X8 2TB is neither the smallest nor lightest of external SSDs, mind, as measurements of 110mm length, 53mm height and 11.5mm thickness are at odds with the very latest drives. A supplied 25cm cable is suitable for newer systems, while for everyone else, we commend Crucial for also including a USB-C-to-A adapter. Worth a closer look, don’t you think?Ĭrucial goes about building the X8 in a familiar way by connecting to a computer via USB-C. Available for some time, the X8 Portable SSD now majors on value, with the 1TB model fetching £80 and 2TB just £140. Though Crucial has called time on supporting Ballistix memory, more resource is poured into expanding the storage division. Myriad M.2 drives take care of internal capacity enhancements and truly pocket-sized external SSDs offer a hassle-free method of moving large files around with the minimum of fuss. Expanding storage is now easier than ever.
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