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Customer reviews

Rating 4.8 out of 5 stars with 62 reviews

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  • Value

    Rating 4.4 out of 5 stars

  • Quality

    Rating 4.5 out of 5 stars

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    Rating 4.6 out of 5 stars

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95%would recommend to a friend

Customers are saying

Customers enjoy the PRO-G40 SSD for its durability, compact size, and Thunderbolt 3 connectivity. They appreciate the large storage capacity and reliable performance. Some customers have mentioned that the included transfer cable is a bit short.

This summary was generated by AI based on customer reviews.

The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.
Page 1 Showing 1-20 of 62 reviews
  • Pros mentioned:
    Speed, Storage

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Solid, fast, 2TB

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    Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I am using this external drive for Logic Pro project files for music production and to store large sample libraries for virtual instruments and it works well for those purposes. I copied many GB of files from another SSD in one minute or less.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Speed, Storage

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Excellent

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    Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Excellent Disk I connected it to a Mac mini M2 and it gave me a speed of 2700 mb/s writing.. I had read a review that said that it only reaches 1000 mb/s but I discovered that changing the cable for a Thunderbolt 4 reaches 3000 mb/s and if it does not reach that speed you just have to exchange the ends of the cable and ready normally the cables bring a mark make sure it is Marce look up.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Speed

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Fast

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    Posted . Owned for 2 weeks when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Very fast speeds. Ready for storage and work. I use for music production!

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Good

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    Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Definitely has the transfer speed. Didn’t get recognized by Mac until reformatting tho

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Sandisc 2tb rugged drive

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    Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I had to download the instructions manual off the Internet . It wasnt recognized by windows ,it was formated for Macbook from factory . I had to go to device manager and follow instructions from sandisc website to format the drive for windows. Not very easy if you don't know how . Anyhow it's working and thunderbolt is working ,it's as though the drive is connected inside the laptop .

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Phenomenal speed

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    Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    If you are looking for a rugged Thunderbolt 3 external drive- look no further. This is the one. One M2 MAC write speeds exceed those advertised and are at roughly 2500 Mbp/s

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Durability, Speed, Thunderbolt 3
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    So far, so good

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Extremely pleased thus far with this drive. It's my first thunderbolt capable drive, and as can be seen from the included photo I'm actually getting faster read/write speeds than are estimated on the packaging. (2700mb/s Read, 1900mb/s Write) In actual use cases, I copied over 350GB of photos and 4k video to the drive in less than 15 minutes, easily. It's complete plug and play with MacOS and there's a short Thunderbolt 3 cable included in the box, which has caused no connectivity issues at all with my 2021 14" MacBook Pro. I also feel like I should point out that the official images don't really do the looks of this drive justice. I think it looks awesome and much less bulky in real life than the images suggest. You can see in the photo I uploaded that it's actually very small and has a nice gray/black color to it that almost perfectly matches a lot of recent peripherals from Logi. The top of the drive is a hard metal casing, but the bottom has an excellent rubber layer that will prevent the drive from slipping and sliding at all. It's just not going anywhere unless you move it. Should also hold up extremely well in a camera bag and while traveling. The 2TB capacity is perfect for my needs and will help with creating redundancies for data protection. Obviously, the real selling point here is probably the speed, but I try not to get too wrapped up in that. It's definitely fast; things blaze when editing in Lightroom. But lots of drives are fast. It's the whole package here that appealed to me. It looks great on a desk and tucks easily in any bag. It includes the Thunderbolt cable and doesn't skimp on capacity. It feels nice in the hand and I've had good experiences with SanDisk drives in the past. I think a lot of photographers/videographers will appreciate having another alternative to the Samsung SSD drives on the market.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Good produce

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    Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Good produce, i use it everytime when editting video or photo on my mac

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Compact, Durability, Speed
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Thunderbolt to shine! Excellent!

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    The reliable 2tb I take with me! The 2 things important to me in an external hard drive is 1) how fast is it, and 2) is it reliable. That's all I really care about. If i'm bringing 2tb worth of data, this drive better be able to withstand a few things, and be able to maintain the advertised speed. With that said, I'm happy to report this is a reliable brand and the product is reliable. I've uploaded some photos to give people a sense of the size of this thing, fits in the palm of my hand, smaller than a PS5 controller. And I posted the speed. The speed is where it gets interesting. I'm able to get USB-C speeds on the PC, which was just over 1000MB/s but the Thunderport is where it shines, you can see the write >3000MB/s and read >2400MB/s. This was just a quick plug and play, I didn't do any optimization, tinkering, etc. Just plug and go. I would caution that if you do plan on using this with the thunderbolt on Mac computers, it's just a plug and play. If you are using this on a PC, make sure you have the Thunderbolt drivers if you plan to use the thunderport, if not it will default to USB-C speeds, which is a little slower. Double check your computer, double check your drivers. As for reliability, I do some drone film editing, always on the go. I've dropped this once. It's sat in the heat >92 F degrees that day, still a speedy little hard drive. Love it. Trust Sandisk!

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Durability, Speed
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Faster than internal SSD on M2 MacBook Air

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    The SanDisk Pro-G40 Thunderbolt SSD is an external drive for those who need uncompromising performance from their storage devices. Connected to my M2 MacBook Air, performance is simply astonishing and up to 50% faster than the internal SSD that my Mac came equipped with from Apple! Thunderbolt enables PCIe performance so it shouldn't be a surprise that the drive can hit 2700 MB/s reads. What I love about the PRO-G40 is that it also offers regular USB-C 3.2 backwards compatibility for use with devices that don't have open Thunderbolt ports. It does come with a short TB3 cable in the box which is a plus. As a byproduct of having internal NVMe level performance, the SanDisk Professional drive is a great choice for those who work on UHD+ video projects. My previous external SSD was a USB-C 3.2 model which seemed pretty fast at 900 MB/s R/W performance when I got it about 2 years ago. However, when working on video projects I often found myself copying the input files to my internal storage when possible, so I was working off my internal drive with its higher performance and maximizing the speeds when it came time to export the finished video to my larger external SSD. With the PRO-G40, this extra step is eliminated as the drive is both larger and faster than my internal storage. Especially when stitching dozens of small clips, this drive can easily handle anything you throw at it. The PRO-G40 is also built like an absolute tank and can easily survive being tossed in a camera bag for an outdoor trip. The case seems to offer substantial heat dissipation capability as well. I say this because it gets warm quite quickly and doesn't seem to drop performance by much when hitting it with lots of writes. Finally, the drive comes formatted to work with Macs for Time Machine and is thus incompatible with non Apple devices out of the box. I've left mine formatted as APFS as I haven't used Time Machine for a few years, but I may eventually reformat for compatibility with my Android phone and Windows PCs. Just something to keep in mind if you plan to use this drive with a Windows computer.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Durability, Speed, Thunderbolt 3
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    FAST!!!!!

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    The SanDisk Professional PRO-G40 SSD 2TB External Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C NVMe Portable SSD is an exceptional product with read and write speeds of up to 2700MB/s and 1900MB/s respectively via Thunderbolt 3, it provides lightning-fast data transfer, making it an ideal choice for creative professionals who work with video and photography. I was able to run some real-world tests as well as some synthetic load via the BlackMagic Application. All I can say is that IT IS FAST. Read speeds and write speeds exceeded the marketing specs. This may be the first drive I have ever used that exceeded its claims! I was able to really push this drive as I am a creative professional and I am always looking for fast external storage for the colossal file sizes I work with every day. The drive’s compact and portable design makes it easy to carry around and use on-the-go. It's perfect for those who need to transfer large files quickly and securely, without having to worry about the device getting damaged. With its P68 dust- and water-resistant rating, it can withstand harsh environmental conditions and accidental drops, ensuring your data remains safe and secure. The SanDisk Professional PRO-G40 SSD is an excellent investment for professionals who require fast and reliable storage for their creative projects. It's particularly useful for video editors, photographers, and other creatives who work with large files, as it allows them to transfer data quickly and efficiently, without sacrificing performance. One of the best features of the SanDisk Professional PRO-G40 SSD is its Thunderbolt 3 connectivity, which provides incredibly fast transfer speeds. I was able to hit almost 2900MB/s read and 2300MB/s write speeds—THAT IS NUTS. This makes it an ideal choice for professionals who work on tight deadlines and require quick turnaround times. Additionally, the USB-C NVMe interface ensures compatibility with a wide range of devices, making it easy to transfer files across different platforms. Another great thing about this product is its durability. It's built to last and can withstand rough handling, making it an ideal choice for professionals who work in the field. It's also compact and lightweight, making it easy to carry around in your bag or pocket. Overall, the SanDisk Professional PRO-G40 SSD 2TB External Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C NVMe Portable SSD is an outstanding product that delivers on its promise of exceptional performance and durability. It's an excellent investment for creative professionals who require fast, reliable, and portable storage for their work. I would highly recommend this product to anyone looking for a top-quality portable SSD. From one professional to another, this drive slaps.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Compact, Speed, Thunderbolt 3
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Blazing Fast Read/Write Speeds

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    The PRO-G40 supports both Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C 3.2 Gen 2. It's small and doesn't require a power supply which makes it easy to carry on the go. The speeds are the highest I've seen from an external SSD. With such high speeds, the SSD can heat up, so SanDisk built the main part of the enclosure to help with heat dissipation. This added a little extra weight to it, but in my testing, it did keep the SSD at a reasonable temperature. It ended up getting warm, but not hot. In the box: In the box you get the SSD and a Thunderbolt 3/USB-C cable. Construction: The enclosure is well made. The enclosure is aluminum and the sides and bottom are surrounded by non-slip rubber. There is an activity light on the top and a Thunderbolt/USB-C port. The cable isn't loose in the port, so no worries about it easily being disconnected. Speed: I was able to very high speeds from it when connected to my Mac's Thunderbolt 3 port. It comes formatted in APFS. Speed tests with it formatted APFS reached over 2300MB/s for both read and write. I reformatted the partition in exFAT so I could also use it on both my Mac and windows system. On my Mac, with it formatted exFAT, I saw similar speeds for read and write. With the PRO-G40 being small and the read/write speeds being what they are, you shouldn't have any problem editing RAW video (ProRes RAW, BRAW, etc.) directly off the SSD. This is a simpler alternative to upgrading your laptops internal SSD in order to get the high read/write speeds typically seen in internal SSD. Now you can simply add one of these and drop it into your laptop bag for on-the-go video editing. This is also a good option for those of you who are gamers and need additional storage with high throughput. In my use of the PRO-G40, I haven't come across any downsides to it. Its incredibly well constructed and has such a small form factor that I'll always have this with my laptop when out shooting video. I would recommend considering the PRO-G40 if you need a small fast external SSD or if you are needing to edit video off an external SSD while out in the field.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Durability, Speed
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    FAST!!!!

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    The SanDIsk PRO-G40 is a must have for anyone, this thing is built like a brick and is ridiculously fast. I used this connected to my Mac Mini M1 with 16 GB of ram and the devices not only delivers its stated read speed but over delivers on its write speed. This is a rarity when comes to products, usually manufacturers give you best case scenarios which the average user isn't able to duplicate. Now I know the numbers or speed/bench mark test are one thing and actual use is a totally different thing so I put it through its paces with some video editing and used it on 3 different edits making sure they were identical (speed/transitions/affects/color adjustments/text/audio). After the test I am happy to report that the PRO-G40 was only slower by 3 seconds on a 3 minute export and it was 1 second slower on a 6 min export and 8 seconds slower on a 15 minute export in comparison to the local NVMe on the Mac mini. Basically the PRO-G40 is just as fast as the internal NVMe and as they say the best products are the ones you dont even know your using. Besides the PRO-G40 delivering on what it promises in terms of raw performance it is a super solid made product that feels like it can stand up to the elements or being tossed around in your bag or by your kids. I would highly recommend this to anyone because with the amount of data we have for work/business/personal not only do you want a product that is build to last but you want to be able to access that data that is saved as quickly as possible.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Durability, Speed
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Creator's Dream Drive - Performance and Protection

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    The SanDisk Professional PRO-G40 drive is a content creator's dream. Offering reliability, aesthetics, performance, and protection all in one package, I can honestly say this is my go-to drive from now on. It is built for ever-changing work life, has speed and space for editing/recording projects, and adaptability for iOS and PC users. Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C 3 handle iOS and PC operating systems flawlessly when you reformat the drive as exFAT. The drive looks good, has rubber for both grip and shock absorption, and a dual interface with a single cable, what more can I say? Inside this really solid housing, you will find a WD _Black SN750E 2TB drive which is super speedy! Performance is snappy and handles my professional workload without issue. I edit BlackMagic RAW (bRAW) on Da Vinci Resolve and Premiere Pro between Mac and PC without issue. The drive gets hot after prolonged use and gets warm just being plugged in without any load. Nevertheless, it handles the workload just fine. iOS offers the best speeds using Thunderbolt 3 after moving a 137GB bRAW file in under 4 minutes. On PC, performance was significantly reduced moving the same file in almost 5.5 minutes. Thunderbolt 3 interface is definitely the best way to go here with better read and write speeds. I highly recommend the drive to anyone wanting a drive that can take a drop, who is on the go, and demands performance for efficient editing time!

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Durability, Speed
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Works Like an Internal SSD

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    The SanDisk Pro-G40 SSD is an excellent, portable drive for on-the-go and home needs. I use Adobe Premiere Pro for video editing on my Mac, and I was very well pleased with the speeds when I needed to open or transfer files. One thing that's often overlooked is the ability of external hard drives to sustain speeds. The speed rate I hit when I first connected the drive only curtailed off by a few 100 mbps after working for at least 45 minutes which is pretty good in my opinion. One of the best things that the PRO-G40 does is save you from yourself. I've been guilty of carelessly dropping my backpack down to the floor that happens to contain my drive. I did perform a water resistance and drop test. I can attest that the SSD was still functional. I did not have the ability to conduct a crush resistance test near the limit specified in the description, but the grade A+ build quality caused me not to doubt the claim. The only complaint that I can register for the drive is that it is slightly warm after about 1-2 hours of usage, but it is cooler than the average external SSD and cell phone especially. Also, this drive is more optimized (as it relates to speed) for Mac devices, but will work properly for Windows computers. Overall, I feel that my data is safe, protected, and that my editing workflow is unimpeded.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Durability, Speed
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Astoundingly fast, and sustains transfer rate. WOW

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    There is no downside to this drive, whatsoever. Literally. I have a couple Type C flash drives and another Thunderbolt 3 (TB3) drive, and they don't even come close, and I've got an older generation TB3 laptop that I've been using it with. I tested it with a longer cable that is rated for USB-C 3.2, and didn't notice any degradation in throughput or response. I'm sure this wouldn't be the case for all cables, but I think I'll try to stick with the cable that came with the drive since it's most definitely rated for TB3. Physically, the drive is pleasing with the rubberized shell and chamfered corners. It feels solid, and such that heat dissipation should be good. I've not had an issue of a "hot drive" from sustained read or write. I took some pics of packaging. It was shipped in a padded envelope, which is sufficient. The drive is nestled in an inner cardboard shell with the documentation and Thunderbolt cable. I didn't have any issues getting into the package, which is a plus. The other photos are to show how small the drive is, as it will fit in a shirt pocket or the little pockets in my backpack quite easily. .

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Durability, Thunderbolt 3
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Rigid SSD With Lightning Faster Data Transfers

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    As a professional for very long time, I have used multiple external hard drives over the years. But I have to say this Sandisk Professional PRO-G40 SSD 2TB External drive is easily one of the best I ever had the pleasure of using this is a high-end external storage device designed to cater to the needs of professionals who require fast and reliable data transfer speeds. First of all the design is sleek, modern and very rugged. This ssd light-weight form factor makes it very easy to carry around with me wherever I go, whether Im at work or traveling to different locations, with a rubberized finish it provides a secure grip and protects the device from scratches and damage. The SanDisk Professional - PRO-G40 SSD has two connection options, Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C. Thunderbolt 3 provides the fastest data transfer speeds, while USB-C provides more backward compatibility with a wider range of devices. This model comes with a latest 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 /Gen 2 USB 3.2 compatible cable, which makes it easy to transfer large amounts of data without much hassle. The PRO-G40 SSD boasts impressive performance that is ideal for professionals who require fast data transfer speeds. This device is equipped with latest Nonvolatile Memory Express (nvme) tech, which delivers the highest throughput with fast read and write speeds. This device claims that it has a read speed of up to 2700MB read and 1900MB write through Thunderbolt 3 and 1050MB read & 1000MB write with USB 3.2 Gen 2, in reality most of the times it achieved that speeds which makes this SSD a great choice for transferring large files quickly. But what really sets this external SSD apart is its durability. As someone who's always on the move, my gear takes a lot of beating. But the PRO-G40 is built to withstand extreme temperatures, drops, and even water and dust. With this ssds rugged nature I never have to worry about my precious files being lost or damaged, no matter where my adventures take me. This SSD is compatible with devices, including laptops, desktops, and gaming console with Mac and Windows operating systems via reformatting. This makes it a versatile storage solution for professionals or gamers who need to transfer files across different devices And let's talk about capacity, With a vast 2TB of storage space, you can store lots photos, videos, and projects in one place without sacrificing speed or reliability. I never have to worry about running out of storage space or juggling between multiple external storage drives. It's a real game changer for my multiple storage requirements and saves me so much of time and hassle. SanDisk PRO-G40 comes with a 5-year limited warranty. Which gives me a peace of mind for very long time knowing that if anything were to happen to this ssd drive, I can count on manufacturer to make it right whenever needed Overall I'm extremely impressed with this SSD which built with A Grade materials with water and dust protection and has a sleek and compact design that is easy to carry around. It's a very powerful, most reliable, and durable storage solution that makes my life as a professional so much easier. If your in the market for a versatile external hard drive, I highly recommend this giving a try.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Durability
    Cons mentioned:
    Price
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Ultra-rugged, Durable/Versatile SSD for Pro’s

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    SanDisk PRO- G40 is a solid-state drive (SSD) designed for high performance computing, content creation and gaming. It uses 3D NAND technology to offer supercharged speeds for both read and write. Its unique ultra-rugged enclosure and NVMe 1.3 interface makes this device stand out from the competition. What’s in the box: Pro-G40 SSD, Thunderbolt(40Gbps) cable, Quick start guide. It measures 4.36in x 2.28in x 0.47in. Its longer and thicker than T7 touch(see picture) due to its ultra-rugged design with metal core wrapped with silicon bumper edges. This design is great for protecting the device from accidental drops and keeping the internals cool. Its one of the fastest portable SSD that was tested ever with Thunderbolt 3 and is designed for professional who need great performance and speed. It uses DRAM DDR4 and SanDisk 96-layer BiCS4 for memory with sequential read speed of 2700MBps on thunderbolt 3 / 1050 MBps on USB and 1900 MBps on thunderbolt 3 /1000 MBps on USB 3.2 Gen2. What sets this from other brands is this one, has a got a very high level of reliability and durability as its mean time between failures is rated for up to 2 million hours. It uses lower power consumption due to its 3D NAND technology and has a status light indicator on the front for ease of use. It also uses a large SLC cache to improve performance during heavy work loads. It works best on thunderbolt3 devices and has dual-mode interface compatibility for convenient, multi device versatility (supports USB 3.2 Gen 2 & TB3). It does come formatted APFS and need to be reformat if using on Windows 10 or 11 device. Since it has a cooling aluminum core and built to last, it is rated for IP68 dust/water resistance, 3m drop protection and 4000lb crush resistance to withstand all elements for professional use. Device is very portable, weighing around 120 grams. Comes with a 5-year warranty. During our testing, this 2TB is the top performer in the test in Thunderbolt mode. We recently got Samsung T7 touch 2TB and this one beats in performance, speed and is great for gaming. We tested using DiskBench storage benchmark tool to transfer 40GB data to backup my files that contains videos, pictures, pdfs, office documents. This drive is excellent and outperforms other drives. Pro: Ultra-rugged design, Dual mode interface compatibility for multi-device versatility, high speed performance for both read/write, IP68 dust/water resistance. Cons: High price compared to other SSDs on market, shorter transfer cable length. Overall, the Sandisk Pro G40 SSD is an excellent choice for anyone who needs a high-performance drive for heavy workloads, games, content creation or any demanding tasks that is highly reliable and durable with generous warranty.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Compact, Speed
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Definite Performace Boost Over Portable Sata SSD's

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    TLDR: Build quality and performance is excellent. Extremely fast speeds which save you a ton of time. Much faster than traditional sata SSDs. This NVMe is worth it and an easy recommendation. I tested it on PC, Mac, and iPad. COMES WITH: The SSD and a small thunderbolt 3 cable. BUILD QUALITY: Excellent. I’m assuming a metal encloser. But it is hard to tell as it is covered in a matte rubber that feels high quality. There is an LED that lights up to show it is powered. It is compact and thin. Gets slightly warm to the touch during heavy use. Otherwise isn’t warm. You can open the encloser with specialized screws. I didn’t do that. Overall, looks and performs at a high level and I am very satisfied. OTHER NOTES: When I plugged it in it immediately came up and asked if I wanted to use it as a Time Machine back up. Also, immediately showed on my MacBook and my iPad Pro. Additionally, when plugged into my Windows PC it showed up, but in order to retrieve or add data I had to format the drive. MY TESTING: - 44.72 GB worth of data. That was mixed with normal computer files (pictures, videos, settings, word documents, etc.). The sata PNY was 1TB and probably 30% of it was used. Where the SanDisk NVMe was fresh 2TB. 1.95 TB of that drive are available on Mac. MacBook Air M1: - PNY CS900 SSD connected via USB 3.0 to Dock w/ 3.0 USB to USB-C to Mac/PC/iPad Thunderbolt Port: - SanDisk Pro-G40 connected via USB-C to Thunderbolt Port: Transferring FROM Portable SSD to Mac: 44.72 GB via PNY sata SSD = 3:28 min 44.72 GB via SanDisk NVMe SSD = 1:00 min (or 2:28 min faster). Transferring TO Portable SSD from Mac: 44.72 GB via PNY SSD = (Didn’t test as I would have had to format) 44.72 GB via SanDisk SSD = 0:54 seconds. iPad Pro Gen 5 12.9 inch 256 GB: Same setup as above: Transferring FROM Portable SSD to iPad: - 44.72 GB via PNY SSD = 5:28 - 44.72 GB via SanDisk SSD = 2:38 - For both SSD’s it appeared to be repeatedly disconnecting while transferring. Which slowed it down tremendously. Then it would lock on and transfer crazy fast then slow again. Unsure if this was an SSD issue or iPadOS. I’d go iPadOS. Especially, since it happened on both. Transferring TO Portable SSD from iPad: - 44.72 GB via PNY SSD = (Didn’t complete as would have to format) - 44.72 GB SanDisk SSD = 1:00 min - Didn’t have the issue above where it appeared to be connecting and disconnecting multiple times. Windows PC: Same setup as above. But cannot confirm Thunderbolt port. As I think it is USB-C 10 GB/s port instead of 40 GB/s. The laptop that I know has thunderbolt ports is currently broken and not working so couldn’t test it. Transferring FROM Portable SSD to PC: - 44.72 GB via PNY SSD = 2:48 - (Max Speed of 311 MB/s which it sustained the majority of the time) - 44.72 GB via SanDisk SSD = 1:39 - (Max Speed of 759 but constantly fluctuated from 500 – 700 80 percent of the time) - I did have to format and delete everything on the drive first in order for Windows to be able to use it. Otherwise I could see that it was attached but couldn’t do anything with it. As all options were greyed out. Transferring TO Portable SSD from PC Gen 3 SSD: - 44.72 GB via PNY SSD = 6:08 - (Max speed of 275 MB/s which it sustained about 40% of the time. Then dipped to about 88 MB/s). - 44.72 GB via SanDisk SSD = 1:44 - (Max speed of 605 MB/s which it sustained for 90% of the time. It had some dips but then would go back up to speed. Which is normal behavior. The other filled up the buffer and then throttled.) - I did have to format and delete everything on the drive first in order for Windows to be able to use it. Otherwise I could see that it was attached but couldn’t do anything with it. As all options were greyed out.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Durability, Speed
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Wickedly Fast External SSD

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Sandisk's latest Pro G40 External SSD brings Thunderbolt 3 speed along with durability and portability. With external storages becoming smaller, lighter, and more reliable, what distinguishes each is their speed and features. Sandisk's external SSD supports Thunderbolt 3's technology and allows for faster transfer speeds through its USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface. Having an SSD over a standard HDD gives you faster read speeds and portability (among other features), but having a drive that supports Thunderbolt 3 provides quicker speeds when using it with a computer or device that also supports Thunderbolt 3. When not using it with a device that supports Thunderbolt 3, the USB 3.2 Gen 2 speeds will also keep read and write transfer speeds quick. In one simple test I ran using my Mac's Thunderbolt 3 interface, I copied 10 half gig video files and it took less than 3 seconds for the copy to complete. When testing the transfer speed with more files (2,500 files of pictures and videos), it was able to transfer them in 11 seconds! Since the Pro G40 is formatted in APFS (for use in Mac computers), it cannot be used simultaneously on Windows computers. This is not a defect but how all drives operate (needing a file system, in this case APFS). If you prefer to use the drive with a Windows computer, it would need to be reformatted and can be done so using Windows’ built in Disk Management utility. Keep in mind, if you reformat the drive, all data on it will be deleted and it is recommended for the data to be copied onto another device temporarily. In addition to the super quick transfer speeds, the rubber type enclosure (on the sides and back of the enclosure) of the SSD offers durability being able to survive drops of up to almost 10 feet as well as having a crush resistance of two tons (4,000 lbs)! While I don’t expect to run over it with my car, it is nice knowing that if I dropped it and it gets run over, my data will survive. Along with drop and crush protection, the G40 is also water resistant up to 1.5 meters (a little under 5 feet) and dust resistant (IP68 rating). As for the cons, I’m a little disappointed it doesn't include the latest iteration of Thunderbolt, which is 4. This would help for future proofing, competition against similar drives, and the speed that Thunderbolt 4 adds. The Sandisk Pro G40 2TB version, unlike the 1TB version, did not get too hot in my testing and can say I didn’t experience any performance drops while using it throughout my day. Overall, the Sandisk Pro G40 is a great external drive for long term or short term storage of your data. It is wickedly fast and is great when moving over lots of files or when you’re simply attempting to load up files (such as when video editing or loading up a stored video game). I would recommend this to anyone looking to find a small, durable, and quick external SSD drive for storing and backing up their data.

    I would recommend this to a friend
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