You can buy the world’s largest true portable 8TB SSD directly from Samsung for just $650 just in time for Black Friday (check out our Black Friday SSD deals). The Portable SSD T5 Evo (aka the MU-PH8T0S/AM), also available in 2TB and 4TB, is now offered with a 7-day delivery time, but you can buy it a little cheaper at ShopBLT And PCNation.
The first of its kind, this external SSD uses the Evo branding of Samsung’s own in-house SSD range, which focuses on value for money rather than performance. It also has a new rectangular design that is markedly different from the flat design used by competitors – many of whom have repackaged an 8TB 2.5-inch SATA SSD.
It reaches speeds of just 460 MB/s in read and write, which the SATA-based portable SSD achieved about five years ago – so no, it’s certainly not one of the fastest SSDs, but will almost certainly be on our list of the best come. best external SSD.
Despite this poor display, Samsung sells the Portable SSD T5 Evo at a high premium. It’s cheaper to buy two of its own faster Portable SSD T7 Shield SSDs (I tested them and loved them). These come with a good IP rating that the T5 Evo lacks and support for USB 3.2 Gen 2 (instead of Gen 1).
Portable hard drives are the target
That said, Samsung is targeting a different audience, one that relies on external hard drives whose capacity hasn’t increased in about five years thanks to the lack of investment in R&D by the major HDD manufacturers. Laptop HDDs are stabilized at 5TB and it was only a matter of time before someone came up with a large 8TB SSD.
According to Samsung’s website, it comes with the company’s own Magician software, a three-year warranty, plus a Type-C connector and cable (plus LED indicator). At 102 grams, it’s lighter than expected considering it has an extra handle and that’s likely due to the rubber design that allows it to withstand a drop of up to 6 feet.
Samsung also claims that the T5 EVO is “optimized for large file transfers with improved Intelligent TurboWrite,” although we can’t see much of an optimization if you’re hitting speeds below 500MB/s. It’s a shame that Samsung didn’t launch a faster 8TB SSD at a lower price, but I can understand why they did it (i.e. to maximize their position and increase their profits).
For those looking for more bang for their buck when it comes to external storage, buying an 8TB 870 QVO drive from Samsung with a third-party enclosure will likely save you around $300 or, put another way, you deliver a stinking good BOGOF deal.