When OWC sent me an OWC Envoy Pro Mini SSD, I was expecting an SSD – not a very fast USB-A SSD.
And that is perhaps the best way to start this review because I have never seen what amount to a USB stick – OWC Envoy Pro Mini SSD – achieve up to 450Mbps (claimed).
The trick is that OWC Envoy Pro Mini SSD is not a flash drive, but a fully-fledged SATA 6 (6Gbps) drive over a USB-A interface.
OWC Envoy Pro Mini SSD USB 3.1 Gen 1
240GB model tested P/N OWCENVMKU3S240
Also, in 120GB, 490GB and 1TB.
Website here
Price: Approx A$130 (240GB – 54 cents per GB) and $160 (480GB – 33 cents per GB) – search online or contact MacFixit Australia.
What is it?
Well, we have already revealed it is a USB-A 3.1 Gen 1 5Gbps SATA 6 SSD. It looks like a flash stick but outperforms that by a huge margin. It works with a USB-A female to USB-C male adapter so it will work on USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 as well.
Speed
On our test Surface Pro is achieved 461/371 sequential read/write speeds which are impressive because USB is half-duplex and maxes out at 3.2Gbps (500MBps).
But interestingly its random reads/writes of larger files are very fast too.
Bootability – EXCEED
You can format it as as a boot drive in Windows (on the go) and macOS.
In the box – EXCEED
- The drive – an alloy USB-stick form factor (9.4 x 2.4 x 1.1cm x 42g)
- A lanyard
- USB-A female to USB-A male cable
- Software for Windows and macOS formatting (you don’t have to use this, but it is easy). Allow works on Linux
- 3-year warranty
Build – EXCEED
Aluminium case and drop-proof
GadgetGuy’s take – OWC’s Envoy Pro Mini SSD is very fast – throw away the flash drive!
Every geek needs one for Xmas – so buy the 480GB, so you don’t insult them.
This achieves maximum speeds over USB and using SSD quality storage instead of low speed, and lower reliability eMMC flash ram. It is what you need.
If you need more space, then the Samsung T5 SSD or LaCie up to 2TB are our picks.
