Computer Shopper - UK (2019-10)

ISSUE 380|COMPUTER SHOPPER|OCTOBER 2019 33

MINIX NeoStorage

★★★★★

£90•From http://www.amazon.co.uk

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0% -50 Reference + 50 + 100

Seepage90forperformancedetails

CAPACITY240GB•COSTPERGIGABYTE37.5p•

INTERFACEUSBType-C•CLAIMEDREAD400MB/s•

CLAIMEDWRITE400MB/s•WARRANTYThreeyearsRTB•

DETAILSwww.minix.com•PARTCODENEOS2

SPECIFICATIONS

188MB/s

310MB/s

300MB/s

THINKOFACCESSORIESyou’d want fora
laptop and, after acase and amouse,two
that would probably pop intoyour head are a
USB hub and an external storage drive.
The former is becoming increasingly
necessary,asultraportables continue to ditch
full-size USB connectivity in favour of smaller
USB Type-C ports that can help keep chassis
dimensions slim. External storage also remains
acost-effective tool forensuring you have
adequatespace,asupgrading from a256GB
laptop to a512GB model can add hundreds
of pounds to the price.
Combining the two is therefore arather
brilliant idea, the kind that makes you wonder
why nobody thought of it before the Minix
Neo Storage showed up.This multiport hub
connects via USB Type-C and provides two
USB3 ports, an HDMI output capable of 4K
resolution at 30Hz and aType-C port of its
own, although this is only forconnecting
the laptop’s charging cable so you can refuel
while the hub is in use.You can’t use it to

connect or charge an external Type-C device.
All the while,itcontains your choice of a
120GB or 240GB M.2 SSD,touse exactly as
you would any other external SSD.

BOLTIT
The Neo Storage is “designed exclusively”
forApple’s MacBook and MacBook Pro
laptops, and it shows. The rounded corners
and grey, matt aluminium finish clearly evoke
more recent MacBook designs, and the
Type-C connector is aperfect fit: the
MacBook is notoriously devoid of full-size
USB ports, relying entirely on Thunderbolt 3
connectors instead.

VERDICT

AsanSSDalone,it’sslowandfartooexpensive,but
theNeoStorage’sbuilt-inportsmakeitoneofakind

EXTERNAL SSDAND MULTIPORTHUB

Youcan, however,still use the Neo

Storage with aWindows PC or laptop,

although functionality will vary depending

on what kind of Type-C port you’re using.

Astandard Type-C port will, as we’ve

discovered, let you use both USB3 ports and

the internal SSD as normal, but the HDMI

port becomes useless if the port can’t carry

video.Afull-fat Thunderbolt 3port is better,

as video support is guaranteed.

That the Neo Storage is only at its best

with Thunderbolt 3makes sense given its

inclusion of avideo port, although as a

storage device,this brings it intothe orbit

of exclusively Thunderbolt 3-compatible

drives such as the Samsung X5 (Shopper370).

This makes forsomewhat awkward

comparisons, as Minix itself only claims

maximum read and writespeeds of

400MB/s each. That’s afraction of what

the X5 can do,and that’s only the 240GB

model of the Neo Storage; the 120GB model

is rated at amaximum of 350MB/s.

In fairness, the 240GB Neo Storage came

decently close its advertised writespeed,

hitting 373MB/s in the CrystalDiskMark

sequential test. Its read speed result, on

the other hand, was avery modest

300MB/s, and switching to the more

demanding 4K test saw the SSD drop

down to a103MB/s read speed and a

100MB/s writespeed.

SIGNEDAND SEDATED

Interestingly,read and writespeeds swapped

around in our own file transfer tests, with

read taking the lead. Starting with the huge

file test, the Neo Storage averaged aread

speed of 343MB/s and awritespeed

of 277MB/s –faster than any

mechanical hard disk, but not

terribly rapid foranSSD.

At least the tougher large

files test caused only aslight fall

in pace,with an average read speed

of 333MB/s and awritespeed of

266MB/s. Even so,itwasn’t until the small

files test where the Neo Storage finally caught

up with budget SSD standards, averaging a

224MB/s read speed and a152MB/s write

speed. These results are,again, nothing

special, but theyare comparable with the

Adata SD600Q (Shopper378).

Sadly,this also raises anew problem: the

SD600Q’s mediocre speeds are forgivable

because it’s so cheap,with a240GB model

costing £38; the equivalent Neo Storage is

more than twice as expensive.Yes, this does

have Type-C connectivity and USB hub

capability,but you could buy aseparate

Mac-friendly hub along with the SD600Q

and still save about £40.

DOUBLE SHIFT

That said, the entire point of the Neo Storage

is to combine the two,saving you the trouble

of having to carry around multiple accessories

along with your laptop,oreven just saving

clutter on your desktop.Type-C port pickiness

aside,this means it has value outside of its

core SSD performance.It’s well made,too,

being light, stylish and slim all at once,and

there’s anice carry case included in the box.

We can’t recommend it on monetary

grounds, nor performance grounds, and if

you’re more concerned with adding

connectivity than storage,you could spend

alot less moneyonsomething with alot

more than two USB3 ports. With all that

in mind, however,this is atruly unique

storage product, and even if it is on the

slow side,that doesn’t entirely spoil the

convenience of its 2-in-1 concept.

JamesArcher

Combining aUSB hub and astorage driveisabrilliantidea;

it makes youwonder whynobody thoughtofitbefore