However, to get the most out of it, USB 4.0 ports are recommended.
A strong alternative to thebest portable SSDs, this gadget does what the maker claims.
Direct from Ugreen, it costs 99 in the UK and $129.99 in the USA.
The enclosure comes with both cables for USB-A and USB-C, although the USB-C option offers the best performance.
This is all remarkably easy, and once inside, installation is incredibly easy.
The documentation quotes a maximum capacity of 4TB, although that may be because 8TB drives are relatively rare.
However, this isn’t a true apples-to-apples comparison because you might put any drive in the enclosure.
I chose to use a Kioxia Exceria Plus G3 1TB, which I bought specifically for this test.
The test environment was a GMKtec M7 Pro Mini PC, a machine with dedicated USB 4.0 ports.
This alters how the drive is cached, and without enabling this setting, it would not work well.
Conversely, the Ugreen enclosure did not require any special tweaks to work and perform reasonably.
These improvements extended to every test, such that the Ugreen enclosure was the winner almost across the board.
In contrast, the 1TB model of the Nextorage NX-PS1PRO is closer to 200.
Sometimes, USB SSD makers offer only basic software tools that you must download from the company website.
But Ugreen hasn’t included any.
If hardware encryption isn’t necessary, a cost-saving can be made with a cheaper mechanism.
This enclosure will likely be the standard by which others are assessed.
Should I buy the Ugreen 40Gbps M.2 Enclosure?
Buy it if…
Assuming that the machines have a USB 4.0 port.
It will work with USB 3.2, but only at much slower speeds.
To get what you paid for requires a USB 4.0 compatible port.
But the unit is passively cooled, and the drives can’t be replaced.
Read our full review of ithere.
Read our full review of theOWC Envoy Pro FX
We’ve also reviewed thefastest external SSDsaround.
