External SSDs: Build your own for less money

The article says assembling external drives from an M.2 NVMe SSD and an external enclosure can be cheaper and more flexible than buying pre-built external SSDs. It notes some enclosures offer up to 10Gbps transfer speeds.

The article questions buying pre-built external SSDs and presents building an external drive from an M.2 NVMe SSD and an enclosure as an alternative. It highlights limits of pre-built models, including fixed capacity and fixed transfer speeds. The writer shares examples from personal use, mentioning Sabrent and UGREEN enclosures and citing enclosure transfer rates. Key details: - Pre-built external SSDs are convenient but lock you into a single capacity and fixed transfer speeds; the SanDisk Extreme Portable is given as an example with about 1050 MB/s. - Using an M.2 NVMe enclosure lets the same SSD be reused in different devices or swapped for another drive, according to the author’s experience. - Many modern enclosures are tool-free and straightforward to install, though the article warns not to bend NVMe sticks during installation. - The author mentions Sabrent and UGREEN enclosures and states some enclosures support up to 10Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen 2) transfer rates. - The article references internal SSD models such as the WD_BLACK 2TB, noting read speeds up to about 7,300 MB/s in that example. Summary: Assembling external drives from an enclosure and loose NVMe SSDs can provide greater flexibility, component reuse, and the ability to change capacity or speed later. The article emphasizes enclosure transfer rates and model examples but does not state a next action. Undetermined at this time.