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The SanDisk Desk Drive is a high-capacity storage resolution designed to switch a standard desktop exterior exhausting drive. The standout characteristic is that it makes use of strong state storage reasonably than a standard mechanical exhausting drive. Consequently, the Desk Drive is able to learn speeds as much as 1000MB/s and write speeds as much as 900MB/s, making it round 4x quicker than typical desktop storage. Two capability choices can be found: 4TB and 8TB. We’re testing the 8TB mannequin right here.
Options
Not solely does the Desk Drive supply superior switch speeds to a standard desktop exhausting drive, it is also smaller, measuring simply 99.2mm sq. and 40.2mm excessive. Connection is by way of USB 3.2 Gen 2 and a Sort-C connector (a Sort-C to Sort-C cable is included). The drive comes formatted in exFAT for out-of-the-box compatibility with Home windows and Mac computer systems, plus it is suitable with Apple Time Machine for simple back-ups. Home windows customers can create back-ups utilizing the downloadable Acronis True Picture software program for Western Digital.
Design & dealing with
With its rounded-off sq. kind and low top, the Desk Drive is in contrast to typical desktop exhausting drives which are typically a lot bulkier, tall gadgets. Its plastic exterior feels powerful and strong, with no noticeable flex, and the drive is surprisingly heavy – I count on SanDisk has added a weight inside so it sits extra securely on a desk.
Behind the drive is a single USB-C port, and an AC enter socket. Sure, the Desk Drive requires a devoted energy provide, in contrast to transportable SSDs that are powered by their USB connection. Nonetheless, that is completely regular for desktop storage, and is of little concern when the drive will hardly ever be moved anyway.
Efficiency
SanDisk claims a most 1000MB/s learn velocity and a possible 900MB/s write fee. Our benchmarking software program revealed this to be really fairly conservative, as I recorded round 1050MB/s for each learn and write speeds.
However as benchmarking software program is not a real-world illustration of how an SSD will carry out, I additionally ran some sensible assessments transferring information to and from the drive. I used a folder of pictures totalling 25.7GB, in addition to one giant 36.2GB file, to check how briskly the drive is when transferring a number of small information and a single giant file (the latter will at all times lead to quicker learn/write speeds). I then transferred every file kind to and from the SSD thrice, and used the common velocity from the quickest switch time. The inner NVMe SSD constructed into my take a look at laptop computer is significantly quicker than the Desk Drive, so it was not a bottleneck. This is how the Desk Drive carried out on this real-world testing:
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
Learn |
Write |
|---|---|---|
|
Single giant file |
783MB/s |
619MB/s |
|
A number of small information |
758MB/s |
534MB/s |
Although these real-world switch speeds are significantly decrease than the marketed most learn/write efficiency, that is to be anticipated for any SSD or exhausting drive. The Desk Drive nonetheless delivers speeds effectively past what a standard desktop exhausting drive is able to.
Verdict
If you would like high-capacity storage that additionally comes near matching the velocity of your laptop’s inside SSD, then the SanDisk Desk Drive is likely one of the few gadgets that may cowl each bases. Some might discover the utmost 8TB of storage limiting when in comparison with the 20+TB you may get with a standard desktop exhausting drive, however that is a compromise that needs to be made to maintain the worth cheap.
On the time of writing the 4TB Desk Drive retails for round $290, whereas the 8TB model prices roughly $600. That makes the 4TB Desk Drive roughly twice the worth of an equal, mechanical desktop exhausting drive. Nonetheless, issues get trickier with the 8TB Desk Drive. Standard 8TB desktop exhausting drives are barely dearer than a 4TB mannequin, making the 8TB Desk Drive nearly 4x extra expensive per terabyte of storage.
Even so, if you happen to’re recurrently transferring hours of high-res uncooked video footage, the advantage of faster switch instances and fewer workflow downtime may effectively be price the additional outlay.
