Crucial has reissued the external X6 Portable SSD with USB 3.2 Gen 2 in a 4 TB version. The new variant is not only twice as large as the largest one to date, it should also write and read faster. But that only applies to a limited extent. If you want to save huge amounts of data in one go, you still need a lot of patience.
The new Crucial X6 Portable SSD (4 TB) at a glance
The Crucial X6 Portable is the smaller, lighter and slower sister of the Crucial X8 Portable (test). In August of last year, the series was launched with two models with 1 TB and 2 TB storage capacity.
Since SATA was used internally with the X6 instead of PCIe as with the X8, the maximum data transfer rate was only 540 MB / s despite USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbit / s) - the X8 stayed with the internal PCIe interface on the same USB port twice as fast. On the other hand, the Crucial X6 Portable with dimensions of 69 × 64 × 11 mm and a weight of only 42 g is more compact and also cheaper.
New 4 TB model with more power
Now Crucial provides more performance with the 4 TB version. The manufacturer states that the X6 Portable 4 TB has a maximum data transfer rate of 800 MB / s when reading. According to US media, the native USB SSD controller Phison U17 is to be used in the 4 TB model, which is specified for reading at up to 1,000 MB / s and writing at up to 800 MB / s.
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| The Crucial X6 Portable SSD with 2 & 4 TB in the test |
In addition to the new 4 TB version, there is also a new 500 GB model. The latter should continue to read with a maximum of 540 MB / s, so it has obviously not been converted to the new basic structure.
| Crucial X6 Portable | Crucial X8 Portable | Samsung Portable T5 | Samsung Portable T7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dimensions (L × W × H) | 69 × 64 × 11 mm | 110 × 53 × 11.5 mm | 74 x 57.3 x 10.5 mm | 85 × 57 × 8.0 mm |
| Weight | 42 g | 100 g | 51 g | 58 g |
| Capacities | 500 GB (new) , 1 TB, 2 TB, 4 TB (new) | 500 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB (new) | 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB | 500 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB |
| Interface (external) | USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbit / s) | |||
| Interface (internal) | SATA, USB (4 TB) | PCIe / NVMe | SATA | PCIe / NVMe |
| connection | USB Type C to Type C | USB Type C to Type A / C | ||
| Max. Transfer rate | 540 MB / s 800 MB / s (4 TB) | 1,050 MB / s | 540 MB / s | 1,050 MB / s |
| Controller | k. A. Phison U17 (4 TB) | SMI 2263 | Samsung MGX | Samsung |
| NAND flash | ? | QLC | TLC | |
| Encryption | - | AES 256 bit | ||
| Protection class | - | |||
| Warranty | 3 years | |||
The new 4 TB version is available on the market from 490 euros. This means that the Crucial X6 Portable SSD is currently the cheapest external 4 TB SSD on the market. The surcharge compared to the cheapest internal 4 TB SSD in a 2.5 inch housing is around 100 euros. The external USB 3.2 Gen 2 SSD SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD with 4 TB costs over 400 euros more.
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| The adapter to USB type A is only included with the X8, not the X6 |
Test system and test methodology
The benchmarks on the following pages were carried out on a system with AMD Ryzen 7 3800X (test). M.2 SSDs are operated in the top M.2 slot of the Gigabyte Aorus X570 Master between AMD's Wraith Max cooler and an MSI Radeon R7 370. If the SSD itself does not have a cooler, the cooler on the mainboard is used.
The 120 mm fan in the rear and the two 140 mm fans in the front of the Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact case provide ventilation. This represents a change compared to previous tests. The fans in the front rotate constantly at 500 rpm, the one in the rear and that of the CPU cooler with 900 rpm.
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| The SSD test system in the fractal design Meshify 2 Compact |
Because the RAM blocks the airflow from the front fans and the Wraith cooler hardly releases any air to the M.2 slot, the thermal demands on the SSD are high. With the old case and the Wraith Spire cooler with more convection on the M.2 slot, it was still different. However, this is an advantage for the informative value of the temperature tests, because computers with a tower cooler or AiO also ventilate the first M.2 slot similarly weakly. In order not to let the temperature issue prevail in the benchmarks, the SSD is additionally actively ventilated in these tests.
Windows 10 version 1909 with all current updates is installed. Write cache is enabled.
As an exception to this rule, the Samsung Portable X5 SSD was operated on a Razer Blade 15 2018 with an Intel Core i7-8750H (Windows 10 1909), which, in contrast to the AMD system, has a Thunderbolt 3 port. The write cache was also activated here.
At a price of just under 500 euros, the Crucial X6 Portable SSD with 4 TB is currently by far the cheapest drive of its kind . 4 TB 2.5-inch SSDs with QLC-NAND cost just 100 euros less, while the external competitor model from SanDisk, the Extreme Pro Portable SSD, costs almost twice as much. The performance on the datasheet and in CrystalDiskMark is high - what else stands against a recommendation?
Well, whether reaching for the very compact X6 with 4 TB is worthwhile or even advised against depends heavily on the intended use and in particular on the upcoming write volume. Standard tests do not show this.
As with other SSDs with QLC-NAND, the high write performance of up to 800 MB / s is only available as long as the memory is written with just 1 bit instead of 4 bits. This is the case with the X6 Portable SSD with 4 TB in the unwritten delivery state for a generous 800 GB. If this SLC mode is exhausted, the write performance drops by 90 percent to 80 MB / s. If the data volume written in SLC mode has to be consolidated with 4 bits per cell at the same time, only 50 MB / s are available. Shifting significantly more than 800 GB to the drive is not an option. In extreme cases, if the drive is written to in one go, 800 GB can be written to in under 20 minutes by another 3.2 TB in over 15 hours.
If the drive is half full, the SLC mode is only 100 GB; if it is 80 percent full, it is 80 GB. Transferring 200 GB “just once” becomes a test of patience. If you fill the drive piece by piece and don't exhaust the SLC mode that is still available, you will still experience the X6 Portable SSD as a very fast 4 TB drive.
Even the reading performance stated by Crucial shouldn't be seen by buyers of the X6 as set. 800 MB / s could only be seen in synthetic benchmarks in the test; the maximum when copying in Explorer was a little over 500 MB / s. When completely filled or after writing processes, when the controller was still rewriting the SLC mode, the read rates were below 400 MB / s - sometimes even significant.
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| Crucial X6 Portable SSD 4 TB in a compact plastic housing |
The Crucial X6 Portable SSD with 4 TB offers an enormous amount of storage space in a small volume at the lowest price on the market, but in the end not reliably high performance. Those who can cope with the restrictions can take the savings with them. Everyone else, however, will not find a bargain in the X6, but rather frustration very quickly and should dig deeper into their pockets.
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