SanDisk Extreme Pro SSD review - v2 too FAST for you? 

In the video you keep saying “most people” won’t be able to take advantage of the full speed but what you should have said was “Mac users” won’t be able to. PC Motherboards with USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 have been available since 2019! That’s TWO YEARS on the market and it can now be considered a default feature for anyone building even a mid-range PC. Furthermore, PCIE cards that support the spec are available for under $50 so you can add 20Gbps USB ports to the majority of desktop PCs made in the past in the past FIFTEEN years. That’s right my friends, you can upgrade a decade old PC to have USB ports faster than the current Macs for under $50. Anyway, just because you only have Apple hardware doesn’t mean that you should be making broad (and incorrect) generalizations like that. Either do your research and cover the benefits of using this drive with a Windows and Linux environment OR simply include in the title that your “review” is aimed solely at Apple users. Think of the thousands upon thousands of Windows users that might watch this video and then miss out on literally double the performance by taking your advice and opting for the slower version of this drive. This video did them such a huge disservice. You actually made their lives worse with your video by costing them time and money. Think how much more helpful it would have been to say something like, “Windows desktop users are in luck! Even if your motherboard was made before 2020 and doesn’t support the spec, a simple $50 upgrade can literally double your PC’s USB performance and allow you to take full advantage of this drive’s capabilities.” Yeesh, I had heard good things about your channel too. What a disappointment.

@@blueridge8992 didn't I point out that Windows users could enjoy these speeds with a suitable card or motherboard? I even gave examples of expansion cards. Yeesh, I'd expected more some someone who posted such a long complaint.

Hi which is better and why: WD 500GB My Passport Portable SSD with NVMe Technology, USB-C, Read Speeds of up to 1050MB/s and Write Speeds of up to 1000MB/s. Works with PC, Xbox, PlayStation - Midnight Blue SanDisk Portable SSD 480GB, up to 520MB/s read speed please choose NEW VERSION 480gb as the title alone will only show the old version ok? Thanks

@@Anonymous-wk9zg I don't know, I've not tested the WD.

That’s ok. I’ve got some other answers elsewhere plus I already know which is better but I wanted someone with perhaps more experience with this kinda of tech to let me know what they thought.

If you have a Mac I'd suggest looking at the Samsung X5 SSD Thunderbolt 3 1TB. I just purchased it and my read speed 2446mbs and write 1754mbs. Faster than this and works on older Mac without USB 3.2

And I'm replying to this one too! I always try to!

Thank-you! I'm doing a DIY ssd video soon

@@cameralabs can’t wait to see 😍

Thanks!

These are light enough for the dangle not to be a concern.

You're welcome!

Would you see a need to upgrade to a v2?

@@darrenhaken No, if you already have V1, I wouldn't waste money upgrading, unless you transfer files a lot and want the extra speed. They're both plenty fast, and if you do want v2 for the extra speed, make sure the cable and computer port you're using can match or exceed the speed of v2, otherwise you'll bottle neck and waste all that extra money for nothing.

You're welcome!

Thanks, check out my DIY ssd video too!

You're welcome!

I might be putting my foot in my mouth, but if I am not mistaking the gist of your dilemma: I just watched a comparison video earlier between Sandisk V1 and Samsung T5 and T7. The uploader of the video specifically discussed his user scenario which I believe relates to you. He specifically said he uses external ssds because they are fast enough I/O to be able to edit his video files WITHOUT having to transfer them off of the external. So, in your case, you’d load up whatever massive project you are working on onto your external ssd and manipulate the files, directly on your external, with whatever app you are using on your iPad. Hope that made sense.

@@Stalinfalcon yes that is the dilemma-but how do I reliably transfer to the SSD without first copying to the iPad(which seems ridiculous)? Unless I use a gnarbox I don’t seem to have much choice. Ami I missing something?whose video were you watching?

@@wolfeb99 I was using that video more as an example of someone editing files directly on the external. I don't know what ecosystem he was in [Windows, Apple, Android] I have very little experience with what Apple will allow you to do. I just bought an iPhone 12 and am already realising the headache of moving outside files onto it. I don't know if that is part of your problem or not with the iPad? I also don't do any legit photography, but it seems that it's not exactly possible to directly load files from the camera to the sdd. Hmm. In my case, using modern cellphones as my video capture, I'd just off-load the files from the phone directly to the ssd and then plug that into my tablet and do the editing. Wow. Yeah, I see your point about your workflow, if in fact you are trying to edit camera footage whilst travelling and are trying to avoid the whole computer-in-the-middle issue. Sorry, I suppose I wasn't any help after all. 🤷‍♂️

Sadly not. USB4 can but doesn't have to support 20Gbit/s USB, which is where the confusion will start! Thunderbolt 3 still supports 40Gbit/s, but is more expensive to implement.

@@cameralabs a bit interesting it seems I think Apple put some pressure on Intel to "open" Thunderbolt3 for it to be implemented as the USB4 open industry standard. I guess the electronics to do the USB4/TB3 are a bit different to what makes a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, just a bit confusing why a USB4 port wouldn't support what they call USB 3.2.. I have seen a youtuber show he can render faster to the 2000MB/s on an M1 than using the internal SSD, I want to see though what speed one can get with it..

@@charbax in terms of rendering, it should be faster to an external drive because the internal drive is also reading assets, performing calculations, running apps, OS etc, so if you can offload any of those to fast external drives, then yes, a render can take place more efficiently.

I haven't tested the Studio, but the ports look the same spec as my 14in MBP, in which case, sadly NO they do not support USB 2x2. None of the Macs do, and very few PCs do either. USB 4 is different. If you want the fastest speeds from an external drive on a Mac, new, or even a few years old, you need to get one which uses Thunderbolt 3 or 4. Check out this more recent video I made: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9oT74rI7eXE.html

@@cameralabs Thanks, Gordon!

I don't think so no. Not unless it has a 3.2 Gen 2x2 host. If you want faster than 10Gbit/s on a Mac, you're safer with a Thunderbolt drive. See my DIY SSD drive video.

You're welcome!

Near the start of the video I say it works on some phones, tablets, consoles etc.

It should work as well as it does on my MacBook - the scores should be similar or the same as the 250GB v1 I compared the Pro drive to in this video.

You're welcome!

@@cameralabs additional question though, related topic, if i were to convert an internal ssd to external with encolsure, do you think it will be faster than the traditional portableHDD?

Hi Ken, no you can't yet connect a USB drive to a camera for storage unless it's a compatible cinema camera. I wish they'd sort this, but the camera would need the intelligence to become a USB host, like a computer essentially. As for the iphone, I don't know, but it does work on the iPad, although obviously it needs o have USB C.

Nope sadly not. Apple doesn't support USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 on any products to date including the 2021 14 and 16in MBPs. So you won't get faster speeds than i showed here. Check out my latest video about building the fastest portable SSD.

In order to exploit the bandwidth of Thunderbolt, the drive would need extra electronics and licensing fees that would make it more expensive - and less compatible - than a USB version. So yes, in theory a native Thunderbolt drive could access greater bandwidth, but it would be more expensive and fewer people could use it - or at least enjoy the benefit.

As far as I understand, Extreme Portable v2 is the same speed as Extreme Pro v1, but maybe the Pro has better heat management for prolonged use

No, this needs a host device inbetween, like a computer. What you're talking about is something like a Gnarbox or WD Wireless Go

Nope, none of the Macs will give you over this speed with USB 1-3. You need a Thunderbolt drive if you want faster - see my review of a TB enclosure

Hmmm, I generally only use Macs and haven't noticed any long term issues with my SanDisk drives.

I didn't use their app.

The newer model certainly ran hotter for me.

@@cameralabs well I got the V1 4TB today and started transferring my instrument library. It’s a total of about 2.2TB then the auxiliary and drivers after that. But for some reason my MacBook Pro shut down about hour or so into it. Then it wouldn’t recognize the drive when I rebooted. Used disk utility program and finally got it to show up. And reformatted it to macOS instead of Exfat. Started transfering again this time did smaller chunks of files instead of all at once. And i noticed it got so hot I couldn’t really touch it so I think it overheated first time and shut down. So I only did about 40% of the files and will do rest tomorrow in smaller chunks. Once I get up and running with it I think it will be fine but 2.2Tb of data all at once is a lot. I also got a 2Tb v2(pro) coming tomorrow. Perhaps I will use that for the actual recordings I make. I benchmarked the one I got today at about 840 MB/s read and write which is faster than the GTech ones I have been using the GTech ones seem to be better built. They don’t have anything larger than a 2TB yet unless you spend $3,500 for a thunderbolt 3. I’m sure those will be affordable at some point.

I mention this in the review - ultimately while some shorter cables are better for speed, I would really recommend timing a large folder / file copy with each to see which is best as some brands and types of cables can perform quite differently.

Gordon, that addresses the length but not the quality of the cable. I did hear you say that, by the way.

And I just went onto Amazon UK and they only have the 1050 speed SSD’s

@@calvinchann1996 there's no way of telling whether one cable will be better than another just by sight - I have loads of USB cables for instance, and if a device doesn't seem to be going as fast as I'd expect, I test the speed and try a different cable. The ones supplied with the SanDisk drives have been fine in my tests though and not a limiting factor.

synthetic benchmarks are just that. You always get different results in real life situations, and for SSDs, the cache size plays a big role.

@@cameralabs OK.. but a WHOLE 1000 MB/s less? I mean, shouldn't it be advertised as an 1000 MB/s read & write External SSD in that case?

@@theop1875 all drive and interfaces are advertised at their top theoretical speed. Like Thunderbolt saying 40Gbit/s, or ethernet saying 1Gbps. No-one ever gets those speeds.

You're welcome!

Thanks, you should also check out my latest 'build your own' drive video as it compares the SanDIsk to a DIY project.

I just tried it on my Galaxy S20 and it would work for short bursts of files - formatted as EXFat right now. It didn't copy ALL the files I asked it to, but it did a bunch at a time.

Ok and how did you do it which App or functionality you use please can you explain it a bit more exact. I assume you go into My files on the phone and choose some files vou want to copy and then further on?

@@rolandburde8198 yep, I do it via Samsung My Files.

Thank you Gordon but on my S20 Ultra it will not work with exFat and NTFS formated filesystems only with the old FAT32 sytem

@@rolandburde8198 as I said, it works on mine, but not reliably for long - I can generally get a few seconds worth of copying before it stops for some reason. But I'm not getting any error messages strangely, and the drive remains mounted. Wonder if we need a different file system?

The max file size depends on the file system which you've used to format the drive. As for the ports, not there's no point paying extra for a USB 2x2 drive, although if those models are cheapest or discounted when you're buying, it could still be worth getting just on price. Sometimes newer models are cheaper than the last one or two.

@@cameralabs I wouldn't know how o format the drive. I take it these are not plug and go like some drives then. Could you advise on which systems to format the drive . I am macbook user but I wanted to format so can be used on PC and Mac.

@@jonkino try fat32, although i think that's how they're supplied as standard, so I'd suggest just trying it first.

No, but I have just made a video about achieving faster speeds, see: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9oT74rI7eXE.html

Not with this because it's not a Thunderbolt drive. It just coincidentally uses the same USB-C plug. For Thunderbolt speeds you need a drive with the electronics to support the interface, plus the speed of the drive to exploit it. This only has the latter.

@@cameralabs Thanks! really helpful reply and great video!

No, because it's not a thunderbolt drive.

Yes, there's a difference. The V2 has read & write speeds of 2000MB/s, twice those of the V1.

@@Ron_Boy For his workflow (posting comments on RU-vid), it won’t matter.

Only if it uses the Thunderbolt protocols, which it doesn't. The Mac's ports double as TB and USB ports.

Thanks and sorry for all the ads. I'm thinking of taking on sponsorship so I can turn off the RU-vid mid-rolls.

@@cameralabs Please do because I'm sick and tired of all the youtube ads popping up at the wrong time. RU-vid used to have an ads-free subscription but now they want you to pay for RU-vid TV in order to get rid of ads. If the ads had something to do with your "product" that's one thing but they usually are simply random or targeted ads by youtube.

@@robeigner4390 my next video on Monday is my first with sponsorship, and that allows me to turn off mid-roll ads for that video.

@@cameralabs Great! Now I'll think about subscribing.

@@robeigner4390 get an adblock extension like ublock origin.... And I'm saying this as a monetized creator lol

Don't worry, you still got me to comment! Thanks for watching and glad you're enjoying my videos!

@@cameralabs you're awesome and had made my day! Yayy... Cheers!

@@torakun3573 You're very welcome, hope you have a good one!

Thanks!

Because to achieve more than 1000MB/s, you need a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 interface which sadly the new Macs don't support - it's not automatically part of USB 4. For faster speeds on a Mac, you need a Thunderbolt drive, see ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9oT74rI7eXE.html

M1 macs do not suport 2x2. Nothing does. And thunderbolt nvme is broken, since queue command is broken in firmware. Fuxx Apple.

In terms of speed alone, a Thunderbolt drive has the potential to be quicker than one that uses USB C on all current and previous Macs. BUT that's assuming the drive itself is able to deliver speeds faster than the USB port spec used by Apple. This SanDisk v2 drive for example is quicker than Apple's USB ports, so it could have gone faster had it used a Thunderbolt connection.

@@cameralabs Thank you for the response. Another question you may know. Could their potentially be a usb4 or thunderbolt hub in the future that has a faster usb port on it? Would something like that work to unleash the full speed (not full, but more than just the normal ports on the m1) of the v2 drive or would that not work either.

You won't get over 1000MB/s on ANY Mac so far, so save money and get the 1050 version or go for a Thunderbolt 3 drive instead - see my latest DIY video where I explain it all.

@@cameralabs Thanks for your reply appreciate it much!

The Angelbird SSD I use on my Ninja V came with a SATA to USB C cable that lets me connect it directly to my MacBook, so yes, it should work fine. Note Luma Fusion currently copies files onto the iPad for editing, so once they're imported, you can disconnect the drive. Hope you have enough space on there! So yes, just buy a SATA to USB C cable.

No they can't because they do NOT support the USB 2x2 protocol which is what allows the SanDisk to work at up to 20. I demonstrate this in a newer video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9oT74rI7eXE.html

No software needed. Just format the drive as fat32

@@cameralabs No idea what that means! How do I do that? And does that somehow inactivate the password security of the drive?

what would you recommend?

@@AutBelli For some reason, I'm thinking it has to be a Lightening USB cable to take advantage of 2000 MB/s R/W speeds, USB C 3.2 Gen 2x2 should achieve this goal, although, I have seen the spec for a USB 4.0 and it sports a 40 Gbits/s speed, that is also associated with SuperSpeed + as-well-as Thunderbolt 3 and 4. But basically, you are limited by the host device, and if it doesn't support the USB C 3.2 Gen 2x2 you might not be taking full advantage of this devices capabilities.

Not sure if you can connect any of them to a Lightning iPhone, but check SanDisk's website, there may be an adapter. But for the USB C devices, any of them will do.

It's NOT a thunderbolt drive, so it will only go at USB speeds. If your USB port is standard, then you will be limited to 10gbit/s, and real life data rates of about 1000 Megabytes /s. Only USB 2x2 ports will support 20gbit/s, and I've never seen one

it'll be fine for normal USB ports.

Thanks!

Dunno, maybe the format/ file system

@@cameralabs would encryption do this? it more than used dbl the space? eatn up my drv...

that's what I thought too?

Hmmm, good question, it's hard to tell sometimes what iOS is doing, but in Lumafusion I imported the videos direct from the drive, did some work on them, but when i unplugged the drive, the files were not obvious on the iPad, so i'm assuming - hoping - they weren't copied over by default.

@@cameralabs Could you open th Lumafusion project withiot the drive attaxhed and see if it finds the files? Would highly appreciate, as it's a major question for me.

@@morrisgetman9827 hmmm, I just tried it without the drive connected and yes, it had copied the clips into the iPad's own storage, grrr. I thought this had been resolved and will look into it.

@@cameralabs Thanks so much for your effort!

you're welcome! Do also check out my DIY SSD video!

Straight in the bag

On the Key ring

I don't use iPhone sorry

With exactly which external drive? Maybe your USB ports don't support the top speed of the drive.

Sadly not as they don't support the 2x2 part. See my DIY ssd video

Yes you're right, I meant you could work directly off an external drive if you were using a laptop.

@@cameralabs I wished iPadOS would receive an update that would make it easier for LumaFusion to work directly of the external. But this workflow works still quite well for me now.

You may find this video interesting: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9oT74rI7eXE.html

Does SanDisk not mention the lifetime in their specs? It may be due to using different drives. I'm not sure.

@@cameralabs looked on their site but couldn’t find it. I might email them.

You're very welcome James! I've not actually tested the new M1 macs yet BUT since their USB ports are only rated at the same 10Bit/s as mine, then I wouldn't expect you to enjoy more than abut 1000MB/s performance from anything connected to them. Thanks for the coffee!

@@cameralabs I'm thinking the same as you. I hope the new M1 Pros released next year will have the fast USBs. Do you think that you might test an M1 soon? Great videos by the way. You go into depth about the products that are very helpful and intriguing.

@@jgates thanks! Unless they have a new chipset I don't expect the 2021 MBPs to support 20Gbit/s, but surely a new Mac Pro would? If there's a slot - or a TB3 adapter - then it's also possible I guess. My next laptop will be an M1, but waiting for the 16inchers...

Get the Extreme V2 (non-pro). It’s less expensive and the speeds will be basically the same.

@@cameralabs If the USB4 in the M1 Macs does not support 3.2x2 then that a new level of crazy for the USB standard and that’s a high bar! I have an M1 Mini but the drives are a bit pricey to take a chance with. The Sabrent XTRM-Q drives have TB3 & USB3.2 support which makes far more sense today.

We now have USB 4

I didn't notice that, but I've not tested the Samsung, so have nothing other than the older generations to compare it against. It certainly runs hot. What are you using to test this aspect of the drives?

@@cameralabs thanks for your reply. The T7 uses about 4 times less power at idle and also uses less at peak. The figures come Anandtech which is pretty authoritative. www.anandtech.com/show/14661/usb32-g2-portable-ssds-roundup/6

@@dant.6364 yes, i like Anandtech's work - I was a fan from the late Nineties when I was working on a computer magazine and we all thought his work was the future!

I guess so, but haven't tried