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Samsung Portable SSD T1 500GB Review

Published by Marc Büchel on 26.01.15

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Specifications / Technical Details

Model	SSD T1 250 GB	SSD T1 500 GB	SSD T1 1000 GB
Capacity	250 GB	500 GB	1024 GB
Form Factor	External - 71mm x 53.2mm x 9.2mm	External - 71mm x 53.2mm x 9.2mm	External - 71mm x 53.2mm x 9.2mm
Controller	Samsung 3-core MGX	Samsung 3-core MGX	Samsung 3-core MGX
Memory	MLC NAND 3D V-NAND 3bit	MLC NAND 3D V-NAND 3bit	MLC NAND 3D V-NAND 3bit
Throughput - USB 3.0 + UASP	450 MB/s sequential read 450 MB/s sequential write	450 MB/s sequential read 450 MB/s sequential write	450 MB/s sequential read 450 MB/s sequential write
Throughput - USB 3.0	280 MB/s sequential read 280 MB/s sequential write	280 MB/s sequential read 310 MB/s sequential write	280 MB/s sequential read 310 MB/s sequential write
Throughput - USB 2.0	49 MB/s sequential read 45 MB/s sequential write	49 MB/s sequential read 45 MB/s sequential write	49 MB/s sequential read 45 MB/s sequential write
Encryption	AES 256	AES 256	AES 256
Warranty	3 Years	3 Years	3 Years
Price

Samsungs new Portable SSD T1 measures a mere 7.1 centimeters in lenght and 5.3 centimeters in width and therefore this external storage device is approximately 30 percent smaller than a credit card. At the thickest point the drive measures 90 millimeter and despite featuring a very compact form factor, the drive comes with up to 1 Terabyte of storage capacity. These capacities are achieved, since Samsung is using their TLC (Triple Level Cell) 3D-VNAND flash memory with 32 layers. This is actually the same memory that's being used for the 850 Evo from Samsung. If we work our way into the drive we find out that the Portable SSD T1 is based on an mSATA 850 Evo, which has been equipped with an USB3.0 interface. This little drive for on-the-go is capable of pumping up to 450 Megabyte per second through a USB3.0 cable. To achieve transfer speeds this high the SSD T1's USB3.0 interface support USB3.0 + UASP, which comes built in with Windows 8, Windows 8.1 Mac OS X. Windows 7 does not natively support UASP but luckily you can install an additional driver to benfit from the very high transfer speeds. If you don't install the additional driver for Windows 7 then maximum throughput rates are capped at 310 Megabyte per second for sequential writing and 280 Megabyte per second in the case of sequential reading. The SSD T1 is actually capable of synchronously hitting 450 Megabyte per second. One reason for that is the fact, that this drives supports Samsung's Turbo Write technology. Briefly explained Turbo Write configures a part of the DRAM cache on the SSD as SLC NAND flash, which acts as a buffer to continuously offer high sequential as well as random throughput rates.

On another note we also had a look at the software Samsung includes in the delivery. After launching the executable, which is located on the drive we instantly noticed that Samsung did a great job coming up with a very simple solution. Encrypting the drive is for example very easy and it's done in a heart beat. Apart from that the software allows you to change the drive name and you get basic insight by monitoring used and free storage space.