The Bottom Line
SanDisk is launching two new portable SSDs today, revamping its external solutions and bringing in new technology for the enthusiasts. If you are like me, this is an exciting time. We finally have legit PCIe 4.0 solutions reaching 7GB/s, and USB is finally catching up with Thunderbolt as the two interconnects continue sharing technology.
The SanDisk Extreme Pro is the flagship, top tier, big dog solution from SanDisk. It features USB 3.2 Gen2x2 or 20GB/s USB 3.2 behind the USB-C connection. It is being offered in several capacities. At launch, a 2TB model is available with a 1TB planned later this year.
Like the Extreme, the Pro is offered in a single colorway, a fire orange color with almost gunmetal gray over-mold for added durability and IP55 rating. Performance is set at 2000 MB/s read and write for this solution bringing SanDisk into the same market as the WD P50 and FireCuda Gaming SSD.
The MSRP of the 2TB SanDisk Extreme Pro is set at $499.99 with a five-year warranty.
Packaging for the Extreme Pro offers capacity and performance top right along with additional marketing along the bottom.
The back highlights feature of the Extreme Pro, including its IP55 certification and performance.
Unboxing, the Extreme Pro is offered with a USB-C cable and C to A cable.
The drive itself has an aluminum frame, anodized a fire orange color. Branding can be found on the top centered.
On the backside, we have branding along with capacity and regulatory markings.
The bottom edge offers the sealed USB-C port.
Opening up this solution, we find the PCB and internal drive wrapped in black masking to prevent any shorts from the aluminum enclosure.
The drive used in this solution is a Western Digital SN730.
CDM is a staple in performance testing; version 7 has seen some updates in the workloads used for testing. Sequential read comes in at 1716 MB/s followed by 1688 MB/s write.
Throwing a larger workload at the Extreme Pro produces similar results with a slight gain in performance. In this case, we have 1724 MB/s read and 1677 MB/s write.
Pushing the Extreme Pro through PCMark10 storage testing, we come out with a score of 1624 in Data Drive.
Over to our 200GB file transfer, the Extreme Pro takes top honors, beating out both Sabrent solutions with a sustained transfer of ~950 MB/s, completing the task in 3.5 minutes.
Price/Performance of new technology doesn't often reap the rewards so quickly, but the Extreme Pro in its 2TB capacity takes the top spot in Price/Performance moving just ahead of the WD P50.
With the Extreme Pro now upgraded to take advantage of 20Gb/s USB 3.2 connections, it feels like SanDisk has a real flagship drive once again. That said, these platforms are still widely non-existent. Our test system board, the Maximus Extreme XII, might be the only Z490 with the tech, while GIGABYTE and SilverStone both say they have add-on cards. I have yet to see stock of these items.
Building quality is even better on this solution with SanDisk opting for an aluminum enclosure for this drive to add durability and give it a better weighty feel. Internally, they chose to use the SN730 SSD, which offers some pretty impressive sustained performance in our testing.
Speaking of testing, the Extreme Pro was a truly fantastic drive. That being said, we weren't able to hit peak marketing speeds of 2000 read and write instead topping out around 1700 MB/s for both. PCMark 10 put it in 4th place behind the XTRM Thunderbolt solutions from Sabrent, while our 200GB file transfer showed the Extreme Pro best those drives taking the top spot. Last, Price/Performance edged out the WD P50 to take the number one spot there too.
Pricing once again isn't the best for new technologies. In this case, we have the 2TB model coming in at $499.99, which sits just above the FireCuda Gaming SSD at $449.99.
Tyler's Test System Specifications
- Motherboard: ASUS Maximus XII Extreme (buy from Amazon)
- CPU: Intel Core i5 10600K (buy from Amazon)
- RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB 2x8GB DDR4 3600 (buy from Amazon)
- Cooler: Corsair Hydro H60 (buy from Amazon)
- Case: Corsair Carbide 275R (buy from Amazon)
- OS Storage: Corsair MP600 1TB (buy from Amazon)
- Power Supply: Corsair RM850x (buy from Amazon)
- OS: Microsoft Windows 10 (buy from Amazon)