SAMSUNGs latest in the T-series of external SSD solutions is under the spotlight today, read on to find out how it performs.
Product on Review: SAMSUNG T5
Manufacturer: SAMSUNG
Street Price: 500GB £192.49 / $ Not currently available
Today has seen the release of the SAMSUNG Portable SSD T5, their latest within the T series of external drives using solid state memory. The T5 comes in two different aluminium finishes – a bright blue representing 250GB and 500GB, and a deep black for the 1TB and 2TB models. The T5 utilises the USB 3.1 Gen. 2 (10Gbps) interface to achieve speeds of 550MB/s read and 515MB/s write; both drives arrive with a USB-C to USB-A cable, as well as a USB-C to USB-C.
SAMSUNG have found themselves as a market leader within the memory sector, with which comes big budgets to spend on research; the outcome being that SAMSUNG is now producing some incredibly fast NAND modules. The T5 is using SAMSUNG’s fourth generation 64-layer 3-bit MLC V-NAND alongside TurboWrite Technology and UASP to help boost those read and write speeds.
We have been provided with a 500GB model for testing, in the alluring-blue. The drive claims speeds around that of the most expensive SATA 3 solutions so let’s put it through some tests and see how it fares.
SAMSUNG on the T5:
The new Samsung Portable SSD T5 elevates data transfer speeds to the next level and unleashes a new experience in external storage. With a compact and durable design along with password protection, the T5 is truly easy to carry and stores data securely.
Technical Specifications
Packaging, Bundle & Closer Look
The front of the packaging is just about perfect in terms of information required. The Clear and concise title, a large photograph of the object, the capacity is stated and platforms supported are listed.
Included with the SSD are two cables (a USB Type-A to USB Type-C and a USB Type-C to USB Type-C) and a quick start guide. Both cables feel of excellent quality and come included with Velcro tie-wraps.
The SSD, in blue, looks stunning, the external shell encompasses the entire drive with no noticeable join in the metal and fits within the palm nicely. The drive measures 74mm x 57mm x 10mm and tips the scales at 51g; it’s barely noticeable within your pocket, especially with most mobile phones now being at least twice the size and twice the weight of the T5.
SAMSUNG have drop tested the drive and have concluded it can withstand a 2-metre fall when tested under controlled conditions; the drive doesn’t claim any water or dust proofing.
Test Setup & Methodology
Our test system is formatted and a fresh version of Windows is installed with just drives in place – no additional applications. Windows is then updated to the latest release and the drivers are installed.Included in the list of benchmarks are the following applications:
Benchmarks
Anvil Pro
AS SSD
ATTO Disk Benchmark v2.46
Futuremark PCMark 8
AIDA64
AS SSD
ATTO Disk Benchmark v2.46
Futuremark PCMark 8
AIDA64
Test system
CPU: Intel Core i5 6600K
Motherboard: MSI Z270 Gaming M7
Graphics: EVGA GTX 1070 SC
Memory: 16GB CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 3200MHz DDR4
SAMSUNG SM961 256GB NVMe
PSU: Enermax Modu82+
OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-Bit
Motherboard: MSI Z270 Gaming M7
Graphics: EVGA GTX 1070 SC
Memory: 16GB CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 3200MHz DDR4
SAMSUNG SM961 256GB NVMe
PSU: Enermax Modu82+
OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-Bit
Our test system is fully compatible with the latest USB 3.1 Gen. 2 specification.
Benchmarks: Anvil Pro
Anvil Pro from Anvil Storage utilities is one of the most popular storage benchmarking utilities today thanks to the large suite of tests available. You can test pretty much anything from Read/Write Speed to IOPs with many variables to tweak allowing you to get either a single or host of results to compare with other like-minded enthusiasts. In our test we ran the standard suite 5 times, subtracting both the highest and lowest scores and determined the final result from the average of the remaining three results.
Benchmarks: AS SSD
AS SSD Benchmark is a straightforward tool for measuring the speed of your SSD drive.
Simply launch the program, choose your drive, click Start, and it’ll test your SSD’s read and write speed in a variety of ways, delivering a score for each when it’s done. And if that’s not enough, there are also additional file copy and compression-related benchmarks available from the Tools menu. (The author’s support page is German only, but if you need further English explanations then there’s a thread on the program at the OCZ Technology forum.).
Simply launch the program, choose your drive, click Start, and it’ll test your SSD’s read and write speed in a variety of ways, delivering a score for each when it’s done. And if that’s not enough, there are also additional file copy and compression-related benchmarks available from the Tools menu. (The author’s support page is German only, but if you need further English explanations then there’s a thread on the program at the OCZ Technology forum.).
Out of curiosity, we ran the AS SSD test using USB 3.0. The results were 434MB/s read and 267MB/s write; this shows that USB 3.1 Gen. 2 isn’t necessary to achieve satisfactory results, although it is of course recommended you utilise any Gen. 2 port if one is available.
Benchmarks: ATTO
The ATTO Disk Benchmark performance measurement tool is compatible with Microsoft Windows. Measure your storage systems performance with various transfer sizes and test lengths for reads and writes. Several options are available to customize your performance measurement including queue depth, overlapped I/O and even a comparison mode with the option to run continuously. Use ATTO Disk Benchmark to test any manufacturers RAID controllers, storage controllers, host adapters, hard drives and SSD drives and notice that ATTO products will consistently provide the highest level of performance to your storage.
Benchmarks: AIDA64
With this module, we can measure the performance of the PC’s storage devices, including (S)ATA or SCSI hard disk drives, RAID arrays, optical drives, solid-state drives (SSD), USB drives and memory cards. It also allows us to perform write tests, which helps us detect fake products and errors on the devices. In order to attain reliable benchmark results, we have to make sure to close all background applications.
Benchmarks: PCMark 8
We use the Futuremark PCMark 8 utility to measure storage via Photoshop performance under both light and heavy loading conditions. Accelerated (Open CL) is used to perform this test. The test is measured in seconds to complete.
Software
The SAMSUNG T5 SSD comes preloaded with password protection software; the software uses AES 256-bit hardware encryption to ensure your files are as secure as possible. The software is compatible with Mac OSX 10.9 or higher, Windows 7 or higher and Android 4.4 or higher.The included software couldn’t be simpler to use, requiring an extremely quick install and set up. You simply enter a name for the drive and use a password of your choice. Please note that your files will become irretrievable if you forget the password.
Once within the software, there’s the ability to check your current software and firmware versions along with a utility to perform any updates. It also displays current drive usage.
The software, all in all, is incredibly basic, but does the job well and reduces any risk of issues.
Conclusion
SAMSUNG’s latest iteration within the T-series of portable SSDs is a beautiful drive with speed to boot; weighing in at 51g, the drive is certainly light and small enough to be chucked in any rucksack or laptop bag, or even your back pocket if you’re in a pinch. The three-year warranty isn’t class leading but certainly long enough for a product of this nature.
The drive can hold its own against some of the fastest SATA-based SSDs on the market, helped along by the USB 3.1 Gen. 2 (10Gbps). The PCMark 8 tests showed the true speed of the drive, with the T5 being found at the bottom of our graphs, but as an external data drive, the SAMSUNG performed remarkably well, considering it’s being pitted against SATA3 and NVMe drives. Conversely, the SAMSUNG was only a few percent from the top SATA SSDs in the AS SSD read and write graphs, showing some serious grunt.
The T5 500GB is priced at £192 here in the UK, which puts it a little above other solutions, but in terms of raw speed and portability, the SAMSUNG is unmatched. The 250GB will come in at £125, 500GB at £192, the 1TB is £385 and for those moving around colossal amounts of data, the massive 2TB is £760. All 4 capacities share the same enclosure though the weight may vary fractionally.
The SAMSUNG T5 is an incredibly fast external SSD solution squeezed into a tiny frame.
Pros
+ Gorgeous design
+ Good speeds
+ Small and lightweight
+ Faster than many SATA solutions
+ 3-year warranty
+ Drop tested to 2M
+ Type-A and Type-C cables included
Cons
– Lack of colour choice
– Pricey compared to competition
+ Gorgeous design
+ Good speeds
+ Small and lightweight
+ Faster than many SATA solutions
+ 3-year warranty
+ Drop tested to 2M
+ Type-A and Type-C cables included
Cons
– Lack of colour choice
– Pricey compared to competition
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
