74 PCWorld APRIL 2020REVIEWS SANDISK EXTREME PRO PORTABLE SSD
4.34 inches, but it’s still compact enough to
reside comfortably in a shirt pocket. Unlike
the Samsung T7 competition, there’s an
attachment point (a very large one!) for a
lanyard or key ring.
The Extreme Pro Portable is designed with
an aluminum chassis and ABS top, and is
IP55-rated (Ingress Protection), meaning it will
fend off dust and low-pressure water. The
ingress weak spot with storage devices has
historically been the connection port, but
Type-C ports, such as the one on the Extreme
Pro, are far better sealed than previous types.
Note that the IP rating indicates
survivability when disconnected. With
electricity flowing through a cable
connection, fluid can short cable pins,causing electronic damage.
The Extreme Pro Portable SSD lacks the
fingerprint reader that graces the Samsung
T7; however, it does come with SanDisk’s
own SecureAccess software security solution.
It provides password protection for the drive’s
256-bit AES encryption (when enabled),
though it must, of course, be installed on any
device or PC from which you wish to access
your data—not as convenient. Neither drive is
FIPS 140-2 certified (Federal Information
Processing Standards security), which will
limit enterprise interest and rule it out for
conforming government agencies.
Why is the Extreme Pro Portable so fast?
While it does transfer data via speedy USB 3.1
Gen 2 (10 gigabits per second), it’s likely far more
important that the internal storage uses the
NVMe communications standard (go.pcworld.
com/nvms), instead of the slower SATA standard
used by its Extreme Portable SSD predecessor
(go.pcworld.com/pitr). Beyond that, SanDisk
offered no details, and I didn’t want to destroy
the drive to find out what’s inside.
The WD store (go.pcworld.com/wdst)
(SanDisk’s parent company) sells the Extreme
Pro Portable in three sizes: 500GB for $120
currently, 1TB for $230 currently (the size we
tested), and 2TB for $430 currently. We found
the same prices on major online sites: 500GB
for $120 on Amazon (go.pcworld.
com/500g) and 1TB for $230 on Amazon
(go.pcworld.com/b1tb). The five-year
warranty is in effect no matter where you buy.SanDisk’s
Extreme Pro
Portable
SSD has an
aluminum (the
orange parts)
chassis with a
dimpled ABS
cover.