Transcend ships Mac-ready ESD350C portable SSD with USB 3.1 Gen 2 speeds

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware
Memory specialist Transcend has launched the ESD350C, a Mac-compatible portable SSD with USB-C, most significantly able to operate at USB 3.1 Gen 2 speeds.

Transcend ESD350C


By way of UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol), the 350C can write at up to 1.05 gigabytes per second, Transcend said. That may be particularly useful for video editors working with 4K or 8K files, which can take extremely long to transfer even over USB 3.1 Gen 1.

For durability the drive is sheathed in a silicone rubber case, meant to absorb the impact of drops and bumps.

To ensure maximum compatibility, meanwhile, the drive comes formatted in exFAT -- supporting both macOS and Windows -- and with both USB-C and USB-C-to-USB-A cables.

240-, 480-, and 960-gigabyte capacities are available, priced at $99.99, $129.99, and $209.99 on Amazon.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    deminsddeminsd Posts: 143member
    Not really available, as stated on Amazon "Usually ships within 1 to 3 months."
  • Reply 2 of 12
    coolfactorcoolfactor Posts: 2,243member
    That keyboard has a Windows key on it?

  • Reply 3 of 12
    deminsddeminsd Posts: 143member
    coolfactor said:
    That keyboard has a Windows key on it?

    Windows computers have USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports too.  ;)
    chia
  • Reply 4 of 12
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,727member
    Nice but it seems a lot of cost for a case.  A bare 1 TB SSD can be had for just over a hundred bucks and a SATA to USB-c adapter for $15.  I have several of these mashups and they work perfectly on my Macs and PCs.
  • Reply 5 of 12
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,861administrator
    MacPro said:
    Nice but it seems a lot of cost for a case.  A bare 1 TB SSD can be had for just over a hundred bucks and a SATA to USB-c adapter for $15.  I have several of these mashups and they work perfectly on my Macs and PCs.
    FWIW, SATA SSDs are limited to 6gbit/sec. These are not. If this matters or not depends on use cases.

    But, there's always the option to go for a USB 3.2 10gbit USB-C drive enclosure that works with a NVMe drive.
    edited May 2019 chiacaladanian
  • Reply 6 of 12
    lorin schultzlorin schultz Posts: 2,771member
    MacPro said:
    Nice but it seems a lot of cost for a case.  A bare 1 TB SSD can be had for just over a hundred bucks and a SATA to USB-c adapter for $15.  I have several of these mashups and they work perfectly on my Macs and PCs.
    What you're describing is only half the speed of the device in the article. To evaluate the value, we have to compare the price to something with similar performance.

    I just picked up a 1TB Crucial m.2 of comparable speed -- about 1000 mb/s -- and put it in a Gen2-capable case. The cost was about USD$187.00. The Transcend is only $22 more and includes a pair of USB-C cables. That seems reasonable to me.
  • Reply 7 of 12
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,727member
    lorin schultz said:
    MacPro said:
    Nice but it seems a lot of cost for a case.  A bare 1 TB SSD can be had for just over a hundred bucks and a SATA to USB-c adapter for $15.  I have several of these mashups and they work perfectly on my Macs and PCs.
    What you're describing is only half the speed of the device in the article. To evaluate the value, we have to compare the price to something with similar performance.

    I just picked up a 1TB Crucial m.2 of comparable speed -- about 1000 mb/s -- and put it in a Gen2-capable case. The cost was about USD$187.00. The Transcend is only $22 more and includes a pair of USB-C cables. That seems reasonable to me.
    True.  However, for my use of the SSDs the 6gbit/s is more than adequate as I use two 12 TB RAID zeros for speed and the wee SSDs more like we used to use a few spare floppies.  My how times have changed!
  • Reply 8 of 12
    BrettOlbrysBrettOlbrys Posts: 1member
    I'm getting a new 27" iMac and want an external SSD.  Will store Photos library on it and write to it when doing video editing.  Any recommendations?

    Thanks
  • Reply 9 of 12
    lorin schultzlorin schultz Posts: 2,771member
    BrettOlbrys said:
    I'm getting a new 27" iMac and want an external SSD.  Will store Photos library on it and write to it when doing video editing.  Any recommendations?

    Thanks

    Personally I roll my own. I use middle-of-the-road m.2 units (Crucial brand) in USB3.1 Gen2 enclosures. That gets me a terabyte of ~1000 mb/s for under USD$200 per unit. That's fast enough for most 4K workflows at a reasonable cost. There are faster m.2 cards, but the price... There may also be Thunderbolt enclosures, but I haven't looked into it.

    I've been using Crucial drives for years and have yet to have a failure.

    I'm sure you already know this, but just in case: Whatever you buy, pay attention to the WRITE speed. Most only tell you the READ speed, which is often double the write speed.
  • Reply 10 of 12
    lorin schultzlorin schultz Posts: 2,771member
    MacPro said:
    lorin schultz said:
    MacPro said:
    Nice but it seems a lot of cost for a case.  A bare 1 TB SSD can be had for just over a hundred bucks and a SATA to USB-c adapter for $15.  I have several of these mashups and they work perfectly on my Macs and PCs.
    What you're describing is only half the speed of the device in the article. To evaluate the value, we have to compare the price to something with similar performance.

    I just picked up a 1TB Crucial m.2 of comparable speed -- about 1000 mb/s -- and put it in a Gen2-capable case. The cost was about USD$187.00. The Transcend is only $22 more and includes a pair of USB-C cables. That seems reasonable to me.
    True.  However, for my use of the SSDs the 6gbit/s is more than adequate as I use two 12 TB RAID zeros for speed and the wee SSDs more like we used to use a few spare floppies.  My how times have changed!
    That's perfectly reasonable, but wasn't the point you made. You said the price of the Transcend is "a lot of cost for a case." At twice the speed of the SATA unit you used for comparison, the higher cost of the Transcend gets the buyer quite a bit more than just a case.
  • Reply 11 of 12
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,727member
    MacPro said:
    MacPro said:
    Nice but it seems a lot of cost for a case.  A bare 1 TB SSD can be had for just over a hundred bucks and a SATA to USB-c adapter for $15.  I have several of these mashups and they work perfectly on my Macs and PCs.
    What you're describing is only half the speed of the device in the article. To evaluate the value, we have to compare the price to something with similar performance.

    I just picked up a 1TB Crucial m.2 of comparable speed -- about 1000 mb/s -- and put it in a Gen2-capable case. The cost was about USD$187.00. The Transcend is only $22 more and includes a pair of USB-C cables. That seems reasonable to me.
    True.  However, for my use of the SSDs the 6gbit/s is more than adequate as I use two 12 TB RAID zeros for speed and the wee SSDs more like we used to use a few spare floppies.  My how times have changed!
    That's perfectly reasonable, but wasn't the point you made. You said the price of the Transcend is "a lot of cost for a case." At twice the speed of the SATA unit you used for comparison, the higher cost of the Transcend gets the buyer quite a bit more than just a case.
    You are right, I omitted to say "Nice but it seems a lot of cost for a case... for my use and probably many others if double the speed isn't required ..'
  • Reply 12 of 12
    lorin schultzlorin schultz Posts: 2,771member
    MacPro said:
    MacPro said:
    MacPro said:
    Nice but it seems a lot of cost for a case.  A bare 1 TB SSD can be had for just over a hundred bucks and a SATA to USB-c adapter for $15.  I have several of these mashups and they work perfectly on my Macs and PCs.
    What you're describing is only half the speed of the device in the article. To evaluate the value, we have to compare the price to something with similar performance.

    I just picked up a 1TB Crucial m.2 of comparable speed -- about 1000 mb/s -- and put it in a Gen2-capable case. The cost was about USD$187.00. The Transcend is only $22 more and includes a pair of USB-C cables. That seems reasonable to me.
    True.  However, for my use of the SSDs the 6gbit/s is more than adequate as I use two 12 TB RAID zeros for speed and the wee SSDs more like we used to use a few spare floppies.  My how times have changed!
    That's perfectly reasonable, but wasn't the point you made. You said the price of the Transcend is "a lot of cost for a case." At twice the speed of the SATA unit you used for comparison, the higher cost of the Transcend gets the buyer quite a bit more than just a case.
    You are right, I omitted to say "Nice but it seems a lot of cost for a case... for my use and probably many others if double the speed isn't required ..'
    Whether or not double the speed is "required" is an interesting question. I now have five different classes of storage speed going in my daily routine; a NAS RAID at around 100 mb/s, a SanDisk Extreme portable SSD that runs about 250 write/500 read, a 2014 Mac mini at around 700 mb/s, a couple m.2 units in Gen2 enclosures at about 1000, and a 2016 MacBook Pro that does over 2000. It's surprising how quickly the fastest becomes the "expectation." I get impatient waiting for the slower devices. Now I'm spoiled!

    Since it's easy to get caught up in either spending excessively to squeeze out a little extra performance or sacrificing too much to save a few bucks, I now use the threshold of diminishing returns to guide my external storage purchases. From cheapest to middle of the road, the performance usually increases more than the cost. Above a certain point, the performance gained is not proportional to the dollars spent. Somewhere in the middle is the sweet spot of maximum performance per dollar.
Sign In or Register to comment.