Samsung Portable SSD T3 500GB Review
Category : Storage
Published by Marc Büchel on 23.03.16
With the Portable SSD T3 Samsung has come up with the successor of their T1, which they've launched last year. Equipped with a fast USB3.1 interface and packed in a sleek looking aluminum enclosure, the T3 looks great at a first glance and should perform very well. Overall we're curious to find out what this drive can do.
With the SSD T3 Samsung upgraded their SSD T1. Comapred to the predecessor, there is a new casing as well as the latest USB interface. The enclosure is now made out of aluminum and high-quality plastic and the over quality feel simply cannot be compared to the predecessor anymore. Apart from that there is an USB3.1 Type-C interface, which is also state-of-the-art. On the inside nothing changed. Samsung is still using the 850 Evo as a platform, thus enabling capacities of up to 2 Terabyte.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Test Setup |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 5 - CrystalDiskMark and AS SSD |
| Page 3 - Specifications | Page 6 - Conclusion |
Preview
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Test Setup |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 5 - CrystalDiskMark and AS SSD |
| Page 3 - Specifications | Page 6 - Conclusion |
Specifications / Technical Details
| Model | SSD T3 250 GB | SSD T3 500 GB | SSD T3 1000 GB | SSD T3 2 TB |
| Capacity | 250 GB | 500 GB | 1 TB | 2 TB |
| Form Factor | ExternalEsterno[/it] - 74mm x 58mm x 11mm | ExternalEsterno[/it] - 74mm x 58mm x 11mm | ExternalEsterno[/it] - 74mm x 58mm x 11mm | ExternalEsterno[/it] - 74mm x 58mm x 11mm |
| Controller | Samsung 3-core MGX | Samsung 3-core MGX | Samsung 3-core MGX | Samsung 3-core MGX |
| Memory |
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| Encryption | AES 256 | AES 256 | AES 256 | AES 256 |
| Warranty | 3 Years | 3 Years | 3 Years | 3 Years |
| Price |
Samsungs new Portable SSD T3 measures a mere 7.4 centimeters in lenght and 5.8 centimeters in width and therefore this external storage device is approximately 25 percent smaller than a credit card. At the thickest point the drive measures 11 millimeter and despite featuring a very compact form factor, it can store up to 2 Terabyte of data. This capacitiy is achieved, since Samsung is using their TLC (Triple Level Cell) 3D-VNAND flash memory. This is actually the same memory that's being used for the 850 Evo from Samsung. If we work our way into the drive we find out that the Portable SSD T3 is based on an mSATA 850 Evo, which has been equipped with an USB3.1 interface. This little drive for on-the-go is capable of pumping more than 450 Megabyte per second through a USB3.1 cable. To achieve transfer speeds this high the SSD T3's USB3.1 interface support USB3.1 + UASP, which comes built in with Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 Mac OS X. Windows 7 does not natively support UASP but luckily you can install an additional driver to benfit from the very high transfer speeds. If you don't install the additional driver for Windows 7 then maximum throughput rates are capped at 310 Megabyte per second for sequential writing and 280 Megabyte per second in the case of sequential reading. The SSD T3 is actually capable of synchronously hitting more than 450 Megabyte per second. One reason for that is the fact, that this drive supports Samsung's Turbo Write technology. Briefly explained Turbo Write configures a part of the DRAM cache on the SSD as SLC NAND flash, which acts as a buffer to continuously offer high sequential as well as random throughput rates.
On another note we also had a look at the software Samsung includes in the delivery. After launching the executable, which is located on the drive we instantly noticed that Samsung did a great job coming up with a very simple solution. Encrypting the drive is for example very easy and it's done in a heart beat. Apart from that the software allows you to change the drive name and you get basic insight by monitoring used and free storage space.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Test Setup |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 5 - CrystalDiskMark and AS SSD |
| Page 3 - Specifications | Page 6 - Conclusion |
Test Setup
Hardware
| Mainboard |
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| CPUs |
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| Memory |
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| Graphic Cards |
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| OS |
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| Crystal Disk Mark |
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| AS SSD Benchmark |
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| A1 SD Benchmark |
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| HDD |
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In our tests, we use Crystal Disk Mark and AS SSD Benchmark. With the Crystal Disk Mark we analyze the performance of the flash driver with different size blocks, while with the AS SSD Copy we simulate the real-world usage.
Both benchmarks are updated to the latest software version available.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Test Setup |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 5 - CrystalDiskMark and AS SSD |
| Page 3 - Specifications | Page 6 - Conclusion |
Benchmark
Crystal Disk Mark Read (MB/s)
| Model | Sequential | Random 512KB | Random 4KB | Random 4KB QD32 |
| Samsung SSD T3 500GB | 430.80 | 418.20 | 22.96 | 142.70 |
| Samsung SSD T1 500GB | 420.40 | 373.70 | 22.95 | 140.50 |
| Patriot Supersonic Magnum 128GB | 278.10 | 246.10 | 11.39 | 11.87 |
| MX Technology MX-ES Ultra 32GB | 201.20 | 150.30 | 4.62 | 11.06 |
| Patriot Boost Stellar XT 32GB | 111.80 | 103.50 | 6.30 | 11.03 |
| Corsair Flash Voyager 32GB | 91.28 | 82.93 | 5.74 | 5.24 |
| More is better | ||||
Crystal Disk Mark Write (MB/s)
| Model | Sequential | Random 512KB | Random 4KB | Random 4KB QD32 |
| Samsung SSD T3 500GB | 406.30 | 391.90 | 37.79 | 160.40 |
| Samsung SSD T1 500GB | 383.70 | 362.50 | 35.52 | 152.80 |
| MX Technology MX-ES Ultra 32GB | 201.10 | 3.57 | 0.04 | 0.09 |
| Patriot Supersonic Magnum 128GB | 103.60 | 1.17 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Corsair Flash Voyager 32GB | 43.35 | 1.90 | 0.05 | 0.04 |
| Patriot Boost Stellar XT 32GB | 10.65 | 0.64 | 0.04 | 0.03 |
| More is better | ||||
AS SSD Copy Benchmark - ISO
| Model | Speed (MB/s) | Time (seconds) |
| Sasmsung SSD T3 500GB | 188.20 | 5.71 |
| Samsung SSD T1 500GB | 171.27 | 6.27 |
| MX Technology MX-ES Ultra 32GB | 73.43 | 14.63 |
| Patriot Supersonic Magnum 128GB | 64.47 | 16.41 |
| Corsair Flash Voyager 32GB | 27.12 | 39.61 |
| Patriot Boost Stellar XT 32GB | 8.22 | 130.62 |
| More is better | ||
AS SSD Copy Benchmark - Program
| Model | Speed (MB/s) | Time (seconds) |
| Samsng SSD T3 500GB | 96.81 | 14.53 |
| Samsung SSD T1 500GB | 59.44 | 23.67 |
| MX Technology MX-ES Ultra 32GB | 19.82 | 70.98 |
| Patriot Supersonic Magnum 128GB | 14.45 | 97.37 |
| Corsair Flash Voyager 32GB | 11.48 | 122.58 |
| Patriot Boost Stellar XT 32GB | 5.62 | 250.14 |
| More is better | ||
AS SSD Copy Benchmark - Game
| Model | Speed (MB/s) | Time (seconds) |
| Samsung SSD T3 500GB | 153.82 | 8.98 |
| Samsung SSD T1 500GB | 131.34 | 10.51 |
| MX Technology MX-ES Ultra 32GB | 41.08 | 33.62 |
| Patriot Supersonic Magnum 128GB | 34.18 | 40.40 |
| Corsair Flash Voyager 32GB | 20.08 | 68.76 |
| Patriot Boost Stellar XT 32GB | 7.17 | 192.17 |
| More is better | ||
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Test Setup |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 5 - CrystalDiskMark and AS SSD |
| Page 3 - Specifications | Page 6 - Conclusion |
Conclusion
A closer look at this drives sheer performance shows, that the Portable SSD T3 is seriously quick and the drive stands up to Samsungs promise of delivering an actual SSD with USB3.1 interface. Since the drive supports USB3.1 + UASP it can easily reach throughput rates way above 400 Megabyte per second. Nevertheless you should be aware of the fact, that your operating system needs to support the UASP mode for USB 3.1. You natively get support in the case of Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 as well as with Mac OS X. If you want to benefit from transfer speeds above 280/310MB/s (read/write) in the case of Windows 7 you need to install an additional driver.Compared to an external hard drive with magnetic disk, the SSD T3 is apparently much quicker. Already regarding sequentials the SSD T3 plays in a different league and random throughput rates that is a completely different story as you all know. The only drawback you get with an external SSD comparing it with an external hard drive is as expected the price. Although on the other hand there is the massively increased portability plus shock resistance. If you drop the drive from a height of 1.5 meters for example nothing is going to happen to the SSD T3. A standard hard drive would never survive the impact and all your data is lost. Anyway, in our opinion it makes much more sense to compare the SSD T3 with high capacity USB sticks, since portability and performance are closer together.
If we check what you have to pay to get your hands on a Portable SSD T3 from Samsung, we find the Portable SSD T3 250GB priced at 115 Euro these days. The 500 Gigabyte version of the drive is going to set you back 190 Euro, the 1 Terabyte variant costs 379 Euro and the 2 Terabyte drive changes its owner for 744 Euro. Therefore especially the price of the 500 Gigabyte drive is interesting when compared to a USB stick with similar capacity and high performance.
Overall the SSD T3 is an external storage device, which is seriously quick, even when compared to a USB stick as well as to a standard hard drive. Apart from that the Portable SSD T3 is about the same price as the cheapest high-performance USB sticks with the same capacity. Overall the SSD T3 is an excellent alternative to high capacity USB sticks.
We give the Samsung Portable SSD T3 excellent 5 out of 5 stars.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 4 - Test Setup |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 5 - CrystalDiskMark and AS SSD |
| Page 3 - Specifications | Page 6 - Conclusion |