Skilled’s Score
Execs
- Very excessive knowledge switch charges
- Excessive-quality housing
- Good cooling and not using a fan
Our Verdict
Knowledge switch charges of round 3,000 MBps, high-quality housing with good thermal habits, and a pretty worth. Merely put, the OWC Categorical 1M2 is a superb all-around exterior SSD.
Greatest Costs In the present day: OWC Categorical 1M2 USB4 SSD
£118.33
The OWC Categorical 1M2 makes a putting first impression with its cooling-fin design. The cooling fins alone account for round half of the general peak of this exterior SSD. Good cooling is extraordinarily necessary, particularly for quick NVMe SSD drives.
We came upon how effectively the cooling works by working Blackmagicdesign Disk Pace Check over an extended time frame. After half-hour, the cooling fins and the underside of the housing turned noticeably heat. After an hour, the temperature elevated considerably to round 40 levels Celcius however was not sizzling sufficient to burn your fingers.
The aluminum housing is kind of massive at 5.2 by 2.8 by 0.9 inches (13.2 by 7.1 by 2.3 centimeters) however the Categorical 1M2 can be utilized each as a stay-on-your-desk drive and a cellular storage machine. The very high-quality steel housing additionally has sufficiently massive rubber surfaces on the underside. These not solely stop scratches on the desk but additionally present good anti-slip safety.
The equipped connection cable is kind of quick at about 9 inches (22 centimeters). The Categorical 1M2 is accessible each as an empty housing and totally configured from 1TB to 8TB. We examined the 8TB model which sells for a whopping $1,400. The 1TB mannequin is way extra affordable at $250.
To check for pace, we used two benchmarks, Aja System Check Lite and Blackmagicdesign Disk Pace Check. The outcomes are spectacular: 2736MBps (write) and 2980MBps (learn) in Aja System Check Lite. The values with Blackmagicdesign Disk Pace Check have been round 100MBps greater–it cracked the 3000 MBps mark within the learn take a look at.
One other optimistic facet of the endurance take a look at was that the info switch fee didn’t drop even after an hour. OWC states a pace of 3150MBps when studying with a 14-inch MacBook Professional. To confirm this worth, we simulated the OWC take a look at in Aja System Check Lite on an M3 MacBook Air and a Mac Studio and achieved nearly the identical outcomes, with learn charges over 3100MBps.
Must you purchase the OWC Categorical 1M2?
With the Categorical 1M2, OWC has created an SSD drive with an excellent price-performance ratio. The information switch charges are among the many best possible on the Mac and the housing can also be thermally exemplary. The Categorical 1M2 can also be future-proof; OWC specifies compatibility with 16 B NVMe SSD storage. So if you wish to improve later, there aren’t any issues to fret about. In the event you purchase the Categorical 1M2 totally configured with storage, OWC affords a three-year guarantee. It’s two years with the empty case.
This text initially appeared on Macwelt and was translated by Roman Loyola.
This text initially appeared on our sister publication Macwelt and was translated and localized from German.