70 PCWorld MARCH 2020REVIEWS SAMSUNG PORTABLE SSD T7 TOUCH
fast compared to most external
2.5-inch hard drives, though the
best modern 3.5-inch hard drives
write at 250MBps.
The T7 ran only slightly warm
during long transfers. That’s nice
when you need to grab it and
skedaddle as soon as an operation is
over. Samsung talks about using
encapsulated phase change
materials (ePCM), which is a fancy
way of describing stuff that radiates
heat in a controlled, gradual fashion.
Whatever the company is doing, it works.
For everyday use, the T7 is clearly
superior to the T5. The deficit in speed on
long writes is a minor factor for most users
and shouldn’t be an issue at all with the
larger-capacity drives.
Testing is performed on Windows 10
64-bit running on a Core i7-5820K/Asus X99
Deluxe system with four 16GB Kingston
2666MHz DDR4 modules, a Zotac (Nvidia)
GT 710 1GB x2 PCIe graphics card, and an
Asmedia ASM2142 USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10Gbs)
card. Also on board are a Gigabyte
GC-Alpine Thunderbolt 3 card and
Softperfect’s Ramdisk 3.4.6, which is used for
the 48GB read and write tests.BOTTOM LINE
There’s a whole lot to like about the Samsung
Portable SSD T7 Touch. It’s the fastest
portable USB SSD we’ve tested, andincredibly affordable for a secure drive, albeit
one that’s not FIPS-certified for government or
enterprise use. That fingerprint scanner is
there if you need it, and not in the way if you
don’t. I like it.Samsung Portable SSD T7 Touch
(500GB)PROS- Fast everyday reader and writer.
- Fingerprint scanner (optional use).
- Extremely affordable for a secure drive.
- Runs only warm to the touch.
CONS - Slightly slower during long-sustained writes than
the T5. - Three-year warranty is on the short side.
BOTTOM LINE
The Samsung Portable SSD T7 Touch is faster
(mostly) and lighter than its T5 sibling. It also sports a
fingerprint scanner for both biometric and password
security while avoiding the high cost of FIPS-certified
secure drives. Sweet.
$129
In our 48GB write test, our Samsung T7 drive slowed from
over 500MBps to around 325MBps at around the 20GB mark.