• expired

Samsung T7 Portable SSD USB 3.2 (Titan Grey): 1TB $104.83, 2TB $197.45 Delivered @ Amazon UK via AU

790
This post contains affiliate links. OzBargain might earn commissions when you click through and make purchases. Please see this page for more information.

Product Details:

  • Speed: Performance of up to 1,050 MB/s, up to 9.5x faster than external HDD
  • Interface : USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Up to 10Gbps). Backwards compatible
  • Durability : Shock resistant up to 2 meters
  • Compatibility: WindowsⓇPC, MacⓇ, AndroidⓇ, mobile and tablet, Game console
  • Security: Password protection and AES 256 bit hardware encryption
  • Design: Solid metal casing, Sleek and Compact Style weighing in at a light 58g
  • What's in the box: Includes USB Type-C-to-C and USB Type-C-to-A cables
Price History at C CamelCamelCamel.

Related Stores

Amazon AU
Amazon AU
Marketplace
Amazon UK Store
Amazon UK Store

closed Comments

  • +2

    Are SSD prices expected to go much lower?

  • +3

    Thank you, just got one.

  • Holy moly, is it the first time 2TB fall below $200?

    • +2

      It has been as low as $178 before.

      • +4

        Was price error, and not honored

        • I see. I'm surprised by the lack of neg votes in that post.

          I guess ATL was $187.90 from Amazon then.

  • This should be cheaper given the recent SSD price crashes.

    • +1

      This is the best of the best, to my knowledge. It makes sense that it has a premium. With that being said, I’m excited to see how much further these prices drop. At $150 it’s a no brainer

      • +1

        Agree, I'm waiting for it to drop a bit lower. I know this is a good price, but I can wait.

      • T7 Shield is better actually, if you care about sustained write.

  • +1

    I have a 1TB model. It's a great drive, and i know it says "up to", but those stated speeds are not an accurate reflection of the real world performance.

    • What would you say the real world performance is?

      • +1

        600MB/s write, 680MB/s read on Blackmagic Speed Test, on M1 MBA (Thunderbolt/USB 4).

  • +2

    Thanks, ordered 3

  • Why don't people just get a regular m.2 like this:
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/776512

    And pair it with an enclosure like this:
    https://amzn.asia/d/edMnXgo

    Isn't this more bang for the buck and more versatile?

    • +5

      You can definitely do that, but you’re going to get less performance, and the enclosure isn’t as nice. The T7 is the nicest one around imo

      • +1

        Why would it be less performance? From what I can tell, the m.2 above is 3500 MB/s read, while T7 is only 1000 MB/s?

        • +2

          Ah good point, you’re correct. The case is limited to the same speed as the Samsung though, so performance would be similar. Personally I’d prefer the packaging and warranty of the whole unit by z Samsung rather then two separate parts made by two less reputable companies, but it’s cheaper so it’s your call really.

          • @Not Applicable: Is this a limitation of most external NVME drives, or just particular enclosures?

            • +1

              @dottjt: It would be the connector/cable used etc that decides the connection when you get to speeds this high. A higher speed collection could be used, but over a certain speed, what’s the point? The reality is for almost all applications you’re not going to notice speed differences. Files will copy with incredible speed etc

              • +1

                @Not Applicable: Cool, thanks for the information!

                • @dottjt: The people below have articulated my thoughts a little more clearly, have a scroll through :)

        • You can't get near that, it's 10Gbps so it's max 1000MB/s as the description says. It's that speed when internal or using a very high quality enclosure.

          • @joshx: Or you shell out for a thunderbolt enclosure, and of course, your machine would need a thunderbolt port. For most people though, USB-c and max 10 Gbps is plenty.

    • +3

      You're saving $40 for 2 components to potentially fail (this is a nightmare warranty wise), vs a likely better enclosure and trusted brand as well as ease. Not everyone has the knowledge or ability to put an m.2 SSD into an enclosure.

      Most people often aren't disciplined with backup either and would rather a brand they know and trust vs asking cousin Joe to come over and have a look at it.

      I've done both, each to their own there are pros and cons.

    • +5

      Having gone through this process, I can tell you that NVME + Enclosure = Thermal Throttling unless the SSD is a perfect fit for the enclosure.

      With the T7 its designed to not throttle under sustained read/write so for a backup drive its more performant. The T7 IMO is better in every way except that it has a soldered connector, so that if the drive inside dies you can't just transplant it into a new one.

      • +2

        I guess those are all fair points, being someone who is "tech savvy" I forget how people just want things that work out of the box, can claim warranty with no hassle. My mind always goes to "yeah I can just get this combo, and later if I wanna put it on my PC and use it as a drive I can do it". But you all make very sound points as to why one would get a T7 over a combo like above.

        • +2

          I had the same thought, thinking that I could get better speed and value out of a DIY combination. Most of the drives with 'heatsinks' wouldn't even touch the SSD itself and worked more as an incubator.

          So after a lot of research I realised it was like putting an Audi engine into a Ford Fiesta frame. You just wouldn't see the benefit and it would bring issues.

          • @JSONBourne: USB 3.2 gen 2 only supports PCIe gen 3 x2. A bit surprised USB 3.2 gen 2 enclosures would thermal throttle that badly. I know there are 3 chipset groups for USB 3.2 gen 2. T7 uses ASMedia chipset. For branded external SSDs, ASMedia chipset is a popular choice and those would have decent thermal design. For DIY, the Realtek chipset is preferred. JMicron, especially old batches, are the least desirable.

            Time for me to do more tests with Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.2 gen 2x2 enclosures. If USB 3.2 gen 2 enclosures already cause thermal throttle, those one would have bigger problems (PCIe gen 3 x4). Generally, I feel that heat wise, SSDs running in Thunderbolt or USB 3.2 gen 2x2 mode produce more heat than USB 3.2 gen 2. My USB 3.2 gen 2x2 enclosure is a bit bulky so I guess it has more space to keep the SSD cool.

            The way I see USB 3.2 gen 2 with NVMe is that you remove 50% of the cylinders in the engine. T7's sustained write is not impressive. Most, if not all my m.2 SSDs would beat T7 in sustained write. T7 Shield, on the other hand, is a different class.

            • @netsurfer: Its not the enclosure but the NVME that throttles. These cases are designed to be heatsinks but if they don't contact the SSD then all they are doing is creating an oven effect. Some of these cheaper SSDs are not designed for sustained read/writes either, so if you are using it as a backup drive they throttle.

      • I can tell you that NVME + Enclosure = Thermal Throttling unless the SSD is a perfect fit for the enclosure.

        So, are you saying that if I get any NVME SSD
        and then buy any enclosure, that unless the SSD is perfect match,
        then there will be heat-related issues?

        I found many brands (eg. Orico, etc.) but how to know what's a good match or not ?

        I'm looking at NVME, because I would like to take a 2TB SSD on travels and use it,
        but I don't want such 'thermal throttle' issues either.

        • +1

          I think it depends on the enclosure. Cheap USB 3.2 gen 2 DIY enclosures, they tend to be quite small, so there is little room for the SSD inside to be kept cool. Generally, people prefer to go for Realtek chipset (as it seems to deal with heat a bit better than the other two). Checking my USB 3.2 gen 2x2 and Thunderbolt enclosures, they tend to be bigger and often come with heat spreaders (since you can put heat spreaders, there is obviously more space inside). They are 3 to 4 times bigger. There are even bigger ones (more expensive).

          I don't recall experiencing severe thermal throttle with the USB 3.2 enclosure I use most often. However, I did put in a PCIe gen 3 x2 NVMe in it (yes, those SSDs do exist) so it isn't exactly a fast SSD. I don't really stress that SSD that much though. If I need speed for an external SSD, I would use my Thunderbolt enclosure.

          NV2 1TB in Thunderbolt 3 enclosure
          NV2 1TB in USB 3.2 gen 2 enclosure - Realtek chipset - This is the cheapest enclosure I can find from AliExpress ($16, but lately the price of these seems to have gone up).

          It's not just the sequential read/write differences. The random read/write differences are also significant (perhaps more important in general day to day use).

          NV2 formatted to APFS (not FAT32, which runs really poorly on Mac and PC), with Thunderbolt, due to better support, the app can detect the actual SSD inside. You can see USB 3.2 gen 2 protocol conversion penalty is heavier. Just an FYI, Thunderbolt on PC runs a bit faster than Mac. So, think of the results I posted being inferior to PC results. Mac M1 Pro/Max/Ultra are known to suffer additional performance degradation with USB 3.2 gen 2. Dunno about M2 (don't have one).

    • For starters your case suggestion may weight more than twice this entire SSD, and as this is all designed to work together you're less likely to hit heat or other build issues. That being said build your own has always been a better way to go for a lot of PC parts.

    • ive done the numbers as i was looking at this the last week..
      using a quality 1tb NVME Samsung 970 for $79 + a cheap but reliable orico case for around $30 gets you to $109. obviously a cheaper and less reliable SSD will drop it by around $15-20..

      so the samsung option is cheaper but unfortunately for me, i need it pretty urgently so may not have the choice of waiting for amazon uk. will try my luck at JB tomorrow.

    • Thanks for asking this question. The great answers below have been educational.
      Will jump the gun and order a t7 shield whenever it is on a sale like this now.

      • I ended up getting a Samsung Evo 970 nvme and putting it in an orico case..I do like how small it is compared to my Samsung T5. Speeds are better than the T5 and T7 from what Ive seen as well

        • If your Orico case is this one then your set up is exactly the same as mine and I couldn't be happier. Looks very sleek and thermal performance has been excellent.

  • 1 TB or 2 TB? Pros Cons?

    • +3

      Pros:

      • More storage

      • More TBW

      Cons:

      • Your wallet is a little lighter

      • Your partner may yell at you

      • +3

        Can't yell if you don't tell 😉

        • …unless partner sets up auto-notification of bank spends.

      • There is no official TBW, just three years warranty.

        • That TBW is spread across double the chips so it will be twice as much.

  • How's the T5 compared to the T7?

    • +2

      Slower and older

  • +2

    Thanks, got one for the PS5

  • Make sure you double check the cable for this, as the one that came out of the box (USBC) for me gave me 50mb/s. Apparently a known issue with the T7's.

    Also it's fast until you hit the write cache limit.

    Apart from that, it's a solid drive.

    • If sustained write speed (after SLC cache is depleted) is an important factor, get T7 Shield. That one the TLC NAND speed is rated 1000MB/s.

    • supposedly the type of file format also affects this. exfat/ntfs/fat32 people had different issue. Did you use an adapter as well?

  • Anyone with one of these doing video editing from one? Curious to see if you even notice much performance impact. (Laptop and T7 a mobile video editing solution)

    • If it is for work type of video editing, get T7 Shield (sustained write on that one is great for USB 3.2 gen 2).

  • Anyone confirm if these will be covered under any warranty by Samsung AU?

  • would JB price match this?

    • Would like to know too.

    • I've tried with similar amazon deals. They only do it if it ships from AU, not overseas

      • Tried JB and office work and both said needs to be Amazon Aust ..damn

  • not going to lie its a good price but amazon UK ….. don't wanna risk it on warranty.

Login or Join to leave a comment