Compare Samsung T5 vs SanDisk Extreme

What are the main differences – Samsung T5 Vs SanDisk Extreme? The Samsung T5 and therefore the SanDisk Extreme are two of the foremost popular external SSDs available on the market (right next to the G-Drive, Seagate and WD My Passport), both focusing towards offering the simplest portability, high speed performance, a far better level of security (AES encryption), and a simple to use software; furthermore, with the present trend of falling cost, neither of the 2 devices have premium prices.

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And this is often excellent news especially for people who were constrained to pay pile for a couple of more GB on their laptops (yes, I’m talking mainly about MacBooks). Samsung has been dominating the SSD marketplace for a short time now, therefore the incontrovertible fact that the T5 may be a lot of the days considered the simplest portable SSD from the value to performance perspective comes as no surprise since similarly to the M.2 and therefore the SATA SSDs, they once more got the formula right.

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Is there better alternative – Samsung T5 Vs SanDisk Extreme? But, the competition never sleeps and Western Digital, another giant within the storage market has released last year the SanDisk Extreme SSD series which matches the T5 in features (it also uses the 3D / VNAND Flash technology for a far better performance and longer life span), but it focused tons more towards the portability factor, therefore offering an excellent alternative for people who found the T5 less suitable for outdoor adventures. Considering that the Samsung T5 and therefore the SanDisk Extreme will presumably be the highest options for a short time especially for photo / video storing, but also for backup and general use, i made a decision to check them and see which may be considered the higher external SSD.

Customer reviews – Samsung T5 Vs SanDisk Extreme

Design

The auxiliary storage products are available many forms, starting from the relatively large NAS devices which have sacrificed portability for the storage flexibility then there’s the USB drives and therefore the external SSDs that are portable and tons cheaper. The Samsung T5 and therefore the SanDisk Extreme SSDs are definitely bigger than your average flash drive (the Patriot USB drives are among the few that try to blur that line), but the built quality and therefore the speed performance is significantly better. That being said, the Samsung T5 features alittle rectangular case made from one aluminum piece which curves round the internal hardware, allowing only two pieces of plastic on the lateral sides.

The SSD measures 2.91 x 2.25 x 0.41 inches and weighs 1.79 ounces, so it can easily slot in a pocket, but remember that due to its soft finish, it are often a touch slippery (initially, the T5 had a blue case if you went for the 250 and 500 GB variants and a black case if you opted for the 1 or 2 TB variants – within the meantime Samsung has also added red and gold).

The SanDisk Extreme went with a really different design approach, featuring a narrower, but slightly longer case (it measures 3.78 x 1.95 x 0.34 inches) and, because it only weighs 1.37 ounces (it’s tons more lightweight than the T5), it can give that surreal feeling that you’re not really holding a strong external SSD in your hand. While Samsung has covered its T5 line mainly with aluminum, SanDisk’s case is formed out of hard plastic, on one side covered by a soft finish (it’s a dust magnet), while the opposite features a rubber-like finish, ensuring that it won’t easily slip out of your hand (or desk). the whole case is black, but the manufacturer has added a comparatively large cut-out which pulls your attention especially because it’s surrounded by an orange plastic loop (it’s a pleasant addition if you would like to feature it to your keychain).

When put next to the Samsung T5, it’s clear that SanDisk wanted to allow you to know that its SSD is more focused towards the protection against drops and it’s true that the SanDisk Extreme will presumably survive unscathed from any sort of falls because of its rubbery case, but don’t be fooled by the aluminum body of the T5, because I’ve been using it for nearly a year and through this point it’s survived multiple tumbles on the concrete floor and much of travel – all that valiantly (for additional protection, you’ll purchase a leather pouch or use a skin). And that’s really the character of the SSDs, since, unlike the normal HDDs, these lack any spinning platters, therefore besides being lighter, they’re also stronger. SanDisk went a step further, so its disk is IP55 rated which suggests that the device is dust protected and it’ll survive against water jets directed towards the enclosure.

One significant difference between the 2 disks is that the heat management: the Samsung T5 remained cool most of the time it had been connected to my PC (it got warmer after data was transferred for a extended period of time), but SanDisk got significantly warm immediately after I connected it to a PC (close to the USB port) and it remained this manner for the whole time it had been connected.

Both the SanDisk Extreme and therefore the Samsung T5 have a USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C port (10Gbps) for connectivity purposes, but the T5 also comes with alittle blue LED which allows you to know when the portable SSD is connected (draws power) and when data is being received or transmitted (the blue LED will flash) – i might have enjoyed an identical approach from SanDisk also .

Verdict: Samsung is all about simplicity and therefore the small aluminum case of the T5 is ideal for people who want a further SSD for his or her laptops or for the folks that travel tons and wish a memory device for his or her photos and videos. The SanDisk Extreme is somewhat smaller and tons lighter, making it perfect for carrying around (it will even slot in the smaller pocket of your jeans) and its IP55 rating does provides it a foothold over the T5. At an equivalent time, the T5 runs a touch cooler than the SanDisk Extreme, so this round ends during a tie.

Features and Performance – Samsung T5 Vs SanDisk Extreme

The Samsung T5 External SSD uses the ASMedia ASM235CM Gen 2 SATA III bridge chip and therefore the 64-Layer V-NAND flash (a significant upgrade over the 48-layer TLC V-NAND of the older Samsung T3) which suggests that this technology stacks 64 layers of 3-bit cells vertically on top of every other maintaining a compact design and more density. Unlike the 850 and 860 EVO which use the SATA III interface (so, it can only go up to six Gbps), the Samsung T5 takes advantage of the USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C interface, which may go up to 10 Gbps, but the T5 advertises a transfer speed of up to 540 Mbps.

SanDisk has equipped the acute SSD during a similar manner, also sporting an ASMedia ASM235CM SATA III bridge chip (along with a Marvell 88SS1074 controller) and it also uses the 64-layer 3D TLC flash technology, which has allowed it to stay that thin profile and up to 2TB of storage available. Furthermore, a bit like the T5, it takes advantage of the USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C interface, but the advertised speed may be a bit above what Samsung has got to offer, topping at 550 Mbps.

I’ve recently had a glance at a secure HDD which used hardware-based encryption so as to make sure that the disk would remain impenetrable from both hardware or software-types attacks (I am talking about the iStorage diskAshur 2), so it’s important to understand that your data can’t be stolen. Neither the Samsung T5, nor the SanDisk Extreme are that fortified, but both offer password protection, the previous counting on the AES 256-bit hardware encryption, while the latter uses the 128-bit AES software encryption. Samsung’s hardware encryption is closed source (proprietary) and towards the top of the last year, researchers found that the encryption was faulty, so, because Microsoft’s BitLocker used the SSD’s encryption (instead of its own), it meant that the SSD wasn’t secure in any way. To alleviate this problem, you ought to install some sort of software encryption and not believe the hardware one. The encryption on the SanDisk Extreme relies on SecureAccess software which creates a separate folder where the private data are often stored and, to access it, you’ll got to insert a password (the folder are often deleted by anyone that has access to the SSD).

These are the most features of every portable SSD, so let’s see how each performs during a few synthetic benchmarks (both drives are formatted to NTFS and that i chose the 250 GB variant for every SSD). The CrystalDiskMark 6 synthetic benchmark doesn’t seems to favor any of the 2 SSDs, since they’re almost evenly matched in every category, but the ATTO Disk Benchmark 4 pushes the Samsung T5 slightly before the SanDisk Extreme within the writing test and keeps it evenly on the read test.

Furthermore, i made a decision to maneuver a 30 GB folder containing five movie files and, using the Samsung T5 SSD, I measured a mean of 340 MBps reading the folder (with a peak of 372 MBps) and a mean of 287 MBps writing the folder (with a peak of 327 MBps). Using the SanDisk Extreme (with an equivalent folder), I measured a mean of 345 MBps reading the folder (with the height at 363 MBps) and a mean of 225 MBps writing it (with a peak of 229 MBps). As are often seen, the SanDisk Extreme is merely slightly faster reading the folder, but it’s noticeably slower writing it.

Verdict:The SanDisk Extreme and therefore the Samsung T5 share an equivalent chip and are almost identical in terms of features (except for the encryption type) and, if you were expecting a transparent limit between the 2 in terms of speed, well, the synthetic benchmarks indicate that there’s little or no difference between the drives and therefore the read / write test (with the 30GB folder) does give the Samsung T5 a small advantage, so it wins this round, but not by much.

Software – Samsung T5 Vs SanDisk Extreme

The Samsung T5 comes with a transportable SSD Software compatible with Windows OS, MacOS and Android OS, but, for this text , I used the Windows version which may be downloaded from the official Samsung website. The utility software itself is sort of simple, displaying all the connected Samsung T5 drives on the left and therefore the available options on the proper side, but, the primary thing you’re getting to be asked to try to to is to feature a password to guard your data. you’ll Skip this step, but, if you opt to place a password, confirm you write it down since you’ll not be ready to recover the info if you forget it.

After that’s done, you’ll see the status of the drive which incorporates the quantity of free and used storage and if the safety Mode is Enabled; further to the highest , there’s the Settings icon. As you’ll see, I had an update available and, so as to use it, I had to disable the safety Mode (only if you add a password) which may be done by accessing the Settings tab and that i had to shut any program that used the drive. And that’s just about everything that the software has got to offer.

The SanDisk Extreme SSD uses the SecureAccess software which is compatible with Windows OS and MacOS – i exploit the Windows version and, to run it you’ve got to maneuver the utility within the SSD folder. Double click it and immediately you’ll be asked to make a Password and, on subsequent window, the tool shows four ways to guard your files (drag and drop them, copy and paste the files, use the ‘Add files’ option or use the Backup Data to safeguard your info). then , you’ll gain access to the most UI, which doesn’t looks that intuitive and seems like it tries to takes you out of the temperature and that’s not really an honest thing in comparison to the user friendly approach of the T5 software, but it does get the work done. I also haven’t found clear info about the way to upgrade the firmware (the PRO version seems to need a bootable drive).

Verdict: The Samsung T5 software is basically well done, quickly allowing you to line a password and to update the firmware version and, while the SanDisk Extreme does have an identical tool which encrypts your data and adds a password, it feels less intuitive, so Samsung T5 wins this round.

Conclusion

The more storage we will fit within a smaller case, the more popular the portable SSDs are going to be and both the Samsung T5 and therefore the SanDisk Extreme are prime samples of how a transportable memory device should look and what can the user expect in terms of performance. The two-year old Samsung T5 has almost managed to line a typical for the portable SSDs with its stellar performance, longevity and minimalist design, but the SanDisk Extreme will have more appeal to people who travel tons and wish a rugged device to make sure that the stored data will survive in most cases (the T5 is more suitable for offices, but has proven to be a worthy competitor in terms of ruggedness). the extra software does set the 2 drive slightly apart, but the writing / reading performance is extremely similar between the 2 , so, considering that every drive will do an excellent job at providing additional storage for your devices, the sole significant differentiating factor are going to be the planning preference (and the worth , of course).