Our Verdict
95%
The SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD is the equivalent of Bear Grylls in that it's born to survive and outlast the competition. It gets our seal of approval in a big way.
With so many people opting to use their laptops and desktops for gaming or video and picture editing, there is an increased need to have additional storage accessible on various devices. Sometimes you can get away with using an SD card or getting a new hard drive for your PC, but these solutions don’t always offer nearly as much as the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD.
So, if you are an avid gamer, someone working in graphic design, or a PC user who spends time editing videos or photos, then having additional and, ideally, portable storage is going to really benefit you.
The best laptops and even the best MacBooks on the market will often struggle for storage space, so where do you turn? The the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD is easily one of the best external hard drives you can buy today, but let us show you why.
A hardy SSD for all conditions
The SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD is made for most eventualities. With its hardy exterior and rubber surround, it makes for a tough SSD you can take anywhere. It also has an IP55 rating which makes it resistant to water and dust; this allows you to take photos and videos while out and about and not worry about running out of storage, as you can easily connect up your SanDisk Extreme SSD and save any material you need on to it. It also comes with an ultra handy loop at the top of the SSD, allowing you to hook it onto any belt or bag should you not have anywhere else to store it.
One thing to bear in mind with the SanDisk Extreme SSD is that the port for connecting the cable to it is exposed. There is not a cover or rubber dam you can protect it with, like on some other competing devices. This does not affect its IP55 rating as it is still water and dust resistant but upon dropping it you may get something lodged in the outlet which may impact connection to other devices.
Multiple Storage Options
Another great aspect of this SSD is the fact that it comes with multiple choices for storage capacity, giving you the option of how much storage to fork out for. The SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD comes in 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB, giving you plenty of storage options to choose from.
With The Gen 2 USB 3.1 port, that comes on the SanDisk Extreme, you can get upwards of 550MBps when paired with a Type-C cable, as SanDisk, themselves, report. This is undoubtedly a good write speed for when you’re looking to transfer files on the fly. Pairing this great transfer speed with the storage options available the SanDisk Extreme is a total powerhouse when it comes to SSDs.
What’s in the box?
When you purchase the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD, you will get the SSD itself, a transfer cable, and a manual to help you get it all set up. As well as this, the SSD comes with SecureAccess 3.02 software from SanDisk. This allows you to password encrypt or create a secure vault to store any private files within the device. This software will protect your files with 128-bit AES encryption, making sure you feel confident when storing even the most private files. Bear in mind though, that the application to set up the encryption is on PC or MAC, so you will need to format the drive on PC to set up the encryption.
SanDisk Portable SSD review summary
All in all, there is not much on the market that can rival the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD, even the Samsung T7 Portable falls just short. With its +6 ruggedness paired with the power it has when transferring files, it truly is one of the best SSDs on the market.
The SanDisk Extreme’s ability to go into the water and dusty terrain and still function afterwards makes it a no-brainier for any adventurers out there. After testing it out with downloads, you can see that the speed when using a Type-C cable is rapid and will have all your data downloaded and transferred in minutes.
With everything the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD has going for it, I have to rate this highly. The only thing I can mark this SSD down on the fact that it’s port is open with no cover, the fact something could get lodged in there or the element for the cable could be damaged means it cannot obtain a perfect score. This is, however, the only downside I could find with the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD.