PC World - USA (2020-05)

92 PCWorld MAY 2020

REVIEWS CRUCIAL X8 PORTABLE SSD

basically since the dawn of TLC. Note, too,

that this was the 1TB capacity drive. The

500GB model will likely drop out of cache at

the 90GB mark.

The Crucial X8 Portable SSD isn’t doing

anything weird. Any time an SSD runs out

of cache, performance will suffer until the

data is moved to the normal NAND, a

process that can take several minutes or

more. But it’s doing it sooner than

expected in the write process. Remember,

however, that there are few scenarios

outside of the video world where you’ll

ever write such large files or amounts of

data to the drive.

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

I like the look and feel of the Crucial X8. It’s a

great performer the vast majority of the time,

and as much as I’m bound to inform you of

the slow performance off cache, I can also

tell you that I wouldn’t hesitate to use the

drive myself.

However, if you use your external

SSD to store large video files (raw high-

resolution, Ultra Blu-ray rips), better-suited

drives include SanDisk’s Extreme Portable

Pro and the Samsung T7 (go.pcworld.com/

sgt7), which is a fast drive with fingerprint

security.

Crucial X8 Portable SSD (1TB)

PROS

• Comparatively affordable.


• Fast for everyday operations.


• Long warranty and high TBW rating.
  CONS


• Slows drastically writing off cache to 80MBps.
  BOTTOM LINE
  The Crucial X8 Portable SSD is an affordable
  alternative to Samsung’s T5 and SanDisk’s Ultra
  Portable. Because it slows down drastically during
  long writes, it’s not a good choice for video or other
  data-intensive work.
  $166

The Crucial X8 Portable SSD’s long copy rate was

good for the first 180GB or so, then it fell off the

cliff. Its subsequent pace, barely above 80MBps,

was slower than a hard drive.

450GB write

450GB write

Seconds

794

3,619

Crucial X8 Portable PNY Pro Elite

SHORTER BARS INDICATE BETTER PERFORMANCE

Samsung T7 SanDisk Extreme Portable Pro SSD

872

1,366