Samsung T5 Review: Looking for a thin, slim anf fast SSD? The T5 is a fantastic piece of storage hardware and an undeniable success from Samsung, but unfortunately it’s over priced! We are happy to bring you the Samsung T5 experiences.
Samsung’s T Series of portable SSDs have always been great devices! The original T1 offered mobility, huge storage space, turbo speed and a very beautiful design. And it continued with the T3, it even contained a USB 3.1 Type-C connector and it was even a bit faster.
Now we have the Samsung T5, which brings with it the newest technology – a 10Gbps USB 3.1 Type C Gen 2 connector and another extravaganza speed! It’s insane how quick it is! It is really a premium product – but if you need speedy storage while on the move, this must be something of the best on the market. Well, wait, check out the review first below!
Make sure you have compatible hardware to support the SSD’s full levels of performance, of course, otherwise it’s just stupid to buy something so expensive. When that is being said, the drive supports Windows, Mac and Android devices and takes less space on the table than other portable SSDs – as the Angelbird SSD2go Pocket, although the latter is built up by a very solid construction – it’s a heavy-duty aluminum casing.
We really like that Samsung has decided to bring some cool colors to the Portable SSD series. The 250GB and 500GB will be delivered in Samsung’s Alluring Blue, and it is really cool if you have a Samsung mobile phone, because they use the same color! The 1TB and 2TB will also ship in Samsung’s semi-gloss Deep Black – which is my favorite. The new Alluring Blue color signifies a lot for Samsung fanboys – matching your Samsung phone.
Amazing specs on Samsung T5
- Up to 540 MB/sec transfer speed
- Compatible with USB 3.1 Gen2 (10Gbps), backwards compatible
- Bus powered, no need for power connectors
- UASP (USB-attached SCSI Protocol) support
- 250GB and 500GB capacities in Alluring Blue color
- 1TB and 2TB capacities in Deep Black color
- Aluminum unibody design
- Includes USB-C to USB-C cable and USB-C to USB-A cable
- Dimensions: 2.91-inches x 2.26-inches x 0.41-inches
- Weighs just 51 grams
- AES 256-bit hardware encryption
- Shock-resistant, can withstand 2-meter drops
- Limited 3-year warranty
Samsung T5 Review – Samsung’s thinnest and FASTEST SSD
The Portable SSD T5 measures 0.41 by 2.26 by 2.91 inches and weighs 1.8 ounces, and that’s why we can say congratulations to Samsung. You have made the thinnest and slimmest SSD on the market right now! The drive connects via USB-C, matching the G-Drive Slim, Adata SE730, and our current top pick, the Sandisk Extreme 900 (the Envoy Pro EX uses a legacy micro USB 3.0 port.) Like the Extreme 900 and G-Drive Slim, the T5 SSD comes with both USB-C-to-USB-C and USB-C-to-USB-3.0 cables, so you can use it with virtually all laptops and desktops.
The Samsung Portable SSD T5 corrects the T3’s most glaring omission by including a USB-C cable, and improves its dollar-to-gigabyte ratio and its performance significantly.
PC World has also tested the T5:
All things being equal, and we’re talking price, the T5 is the external SSD most users will want. Sandisk’s Extreme 900, a much larger drive, is still the speed king, but the T5’s superior combination of small size and big performance makes it our overall favorite. The T5 is easily the fastest non-RAID portable USB SSD we’ve tested. It makes full use of its Gen 2, 3.1 interface while retaining the svelte profile of the T3. A winner for sure.
7 reasons why you should choose the Portable SSD T5 series from Samsung (for the tech nerds)
- Maximum capacity point as the is moved to denser 64-layer V-NAND.
- Availability in multiple colors (Deep Black for the 1TB and 2TB variants, Alluring Blue for the 250GB and 500GB ones)
- Migration to a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C interface (compared to the USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C interface in the T3), resulting in upgraded performance numbers (up to 540 MBps)
- Official compatibility with Android devices – even for hardware-encrypted volumes
- Retention of the partial metal enclosure to improve heat dissipation
- Migration to a newer USB 3.1 Gen 2 – SATA III bridge chip
- Support for TRIM
The biggest con with T5 is the price
Its aluminum unibody comes in a handsome shade of blue for 500GB and 250GB ($129.99) versions, black for 1TB ($399.99) and 2TB ($799.99) models. Samsung’s 500GB and 1TB prices match those of WD’s My Passport SSD$399.99 at Best Buy pocket drives (WD doesn’t offer a 2TB model).
T5 doesn’t have any rubber bumper protection which you could expect from such expensive premium devices! It is a portable device that you will with you everywhere and it should handle all kind of stressed situations. So our question is: Can T5 handle an accident? What happesn if T5 is falling into the floor? The T5 does not have a rubber bumper around it and is not submersible in water like the ADATA SD700,$178.12 at Amazon but Samsung says it can withstand drops of up to 2 meters (6.6 feet). We dropped our test unit several times onto both carpeted and wooden floors with no ill effect.
9to5mac is also very impressed by T5:
Outside of the speed improvements and the other noted differences, the Samsung T5 is just what you’d expect as a follow up to the well-regarded T3. This time around you get a better-looking product, one that’s faster for computers that can support the added speed. Yet, even if your computer isn’t USB 3.1 Gen 2-capable, the drive is backwards compatible with older flavors of USB, so it should work in pretty much all modern environments.
Sources:
http://uk.pcmag.com/review/90732/samsung-portable-ssd-t5
https://www.pcworld.com/article/3211401/storage/samsung-t5-review.html
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/samsung-portable-ssd-t5
http://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/samsung-t5#ocPGv0UxYxqBLCJD.99
https://www.forbes.com/sites/antonyleather/2017/09/20/samsung-t5-portable-ssd-review-the-ultimate-usb-flash-drive/#601223534e61
https://www.anandtech.com/show/11719/samsung-portable-ssd-t5-review-64layer-vnand-debuts-in-retail
https://www.computershopper.com/storage/reviews/samsung-portable-ssd-t5-500gb#product-review
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/samsung-t5-portable-ssd,review-33985.html
Review: Samsung T5 external SSD – a worthy, faster follow-up to the T3 [Video]
Check out more articles about cool electronics and gadgets on electrita.com
