Different World Computing, Inc. (OWC) has cultivated a strong reputation for making well-engineered {hardware} that performs on the highest stage.
Many understand OWC as being principally an Apple supporting {hardware} maker, however the evolution of USB and the broader acceptance of Thunderbolt know-how within the PC market has broadened its attraction.
Here we’ll be taking a look at OWC's newest exterior SSD, the Envoy Pro FX, which is designed for each PC and Mac customers that need the perfect efficiency.
Value and availability
The Envoy Pro FX is available in 4 capacities that begin at 240GB, and embrace 480GB, 1TB and 2TB choices. European pricing on OWCShop is €181.77, €223.27, €306.27 and €455.67 respectively, all unique of VAT.
US clients can discover them on Macsales.com for $219, $269, $369 and $549.
Even in contrast with OWC’s Envoy Pro Elektron design which isn’t low cost, the Envoy Pro FX is slightly costly at each capability.
As is now typical for OWC, the perfect worth is obtainable by the biggest 2TB capability and the worst by the smallest 240GB, with the bigger drives providing progressively more GBs per pound/greenback/euro.
Design and options
Eradicating the Envoy Pro FX from the field for the primary time, the all-metal development feels cool to the contact, like a bar of Gold-pressed Latinum or an ingot of uncommon Beskar metal.
The thick aluminium housing not solely protects the fragile SSD know-how deep inside but additionally acts as a passive radiator. Thermal administration could be a problem for NVMe drives, and this design appears well-prepared for the big quantities of warmth its efficiency may unleash.
Measuring 11cm lengthy, 2cm excessive and 6.5cm huge, the Envoy Pro FX will fortunately slot in a pocked, together with the connecting cable.
We’ve complained earlier than concerning the shortness of cables for most of these units, and OWC has addressed this difficulty with a good 70cm lengthy cable that comes with an built-in adapter to permit each USB-A and USB-C fashion connection.
In contrast to different designs within the OWC Envoy line, the Pro FX was designed to make use of a USB 3.2 Gen 2 connection or Thunderbolt 3 and extract the utmost efficiency from each interfaces.
At 244 grams, the enclosure weighs about the identical as a 6-inch show telephone, and most of that mass comes from the milled aluminium case.
In accordance with OWC, a third-party testing and certification service licensed that this drive might stand up to being dropped over 25 instances at each angle from a top of 4 ft by. The IP67 ranking signifies that it's water resistant for as much as half-hour at a depth of lower than a meter. Whereas this doesn’t assure the Envoy Pro FX will survive any clumsy proprietor or encounter with water, it does recommend it is higher positioned to deal with accidents than most.
{Hardware}
In earlier designs, OWC had used the Asmedia ASM-2362 controller to create a bridge between USB 3.2 and the NVMe NAND module. However the Envoy Pro FX makes use of the Intel Titan Ridge chip for the Thunderbolt communication and a Realtek RTL9210 for dealing with USB 3.2 Gen 2 mode.
All our testing was carried out underneath Thunderbolt 3 utilizing an Asus ThunderboltEX 3 card on our Intel check setting, and because of the elevated bandwidth over USB 3.2 Gen 2, that is easy methods to get the utmost from the Envoy Pro FX.
It should work with USB 3.2 Gen 1 (AKA USB 3.0) port, however with half the 10Gb/s that Gen 2 has to supply, this wouldn’t return the efficiency that justifies this stage of funding.
Benchmarks
Here’s how the OWC Envoy Pro FX moveable SSD carried out in our suite of benchmark checks:
CrystalDiskMark 8.0.4 Default profile: 2,676MBps (learn); 2,336MBps (write)
Atto: 2.56GB/s (seq learn); 2.23GB/s (seq write)
AS SSD: 2,095MBps (seq learn); 1,739MBps (seq write)
AJA: 2,263MBps (learn); 2,025MBps (write)
Inside is the OWC Aura P12 Pro NVMe drive that we’ve beforehand seen within the Envoy Pro Elektron, and the evaluate {hardware} had a 480GB capability drive put in.
For these questioning, there doesn’t seem like a simple strategy to get inside this enclosure, and even when you do handle that, we’ve no thought if the SSD is in a slot or instantly wired to the interface electronics.
Given the development, the Envoy Pro FX wasn’t meant to be user-upgradable, so it is best to imagine it isn’t.
Efficiency
Precisely what speeds you possibly can realistically count on is determined by quite a few elements, together with the efficiency of your PC/Mac, when you join with Thunderbolt or USB, gadget competition from different {hardware} on that bus, and the Envoy Pro FX the precise mannequin.
OWC has revealed a set of benchmarks that define the speeds that may be achieved with optimum configurations. Utilizing a MacBook Pro 16 M1, the perfect velocity achieved was 2,044 MB/s write 2506 MB reads on the 2TB capability drive.
The place on every capability, the learn velocity holds up properly, on the 240GB mannequin, the write efficiency is decreased to round simply 1,145MB/s.
This lower is because of the decrease variety of NAND modules that reduces the throughput when writing and is an inherent downside with smaller capability SSDs and the NAND packages they use.
We additionally found that on our Z170 chipset motherboard and Core i5-6500 check platform, this was insufficiently highly effective sufficient to feed the Thunderbolt bus on the 480GB capability evaluate drive with out enabling write caching. With out caching enabled, write speeds had been decreased to round 1,000MB/s, although learn speeds had been nonetheless near the theoretical 2,700MB/s limits.
As soon as write caching was enabled, a velocity of two,336MB/s was doable on the 480GB drive. Nonetheless, with this function energetic, some care must be taken when disconnecting the drive to keep away from corrupting it.
In the precise circumstances with a robust system, the Envoy Pro FX might be the quickest exterior drive we’ve seen thus far. However these expectations have to be adjusted when you’re utilizing it on an older or slower efficiency system, or you will have the 250GB mannequin.
The competitors
One credible competitor is the Sabrent Rocket XTRM-Q, a much less strong design that undercuts the pricing of the OWC Envoy Pro FX by not less than $200 for the 2TB mannequin. It’s additionally value noting that Sabrent makes XTRM-Q drives as much as 16TB in dimension when you want the additional area.
The Sabrent possibility doesn’t have the identical IP67 ranking because the Envoy Pro FX and is solely for Thunderbolt ports, however the efficiency ranges are comparable for considerably much less cash.
Alternatively, Plugable additionally has a Thunderbolt solely exterior SSD with related efficiency, however the pricing isn’t any higher than OWC.
As these two selections trace, the choices for people who need Thunderbolt 3 efficiency on exterior SSDs is restricted right now. The restricted choices may also clarify why these few out there are nearly all on the costly facet.
Last verdict
When you've got Thunderbolt 3 ports or intend so as to add this performance quickly, then the Envoy Pro FX may properly be value your money and time.
For USB 3.2 Gen 2 connecting customers, OWC makes a couple of cheaper choices which can be equally strong, and these ship related efficiency ranges to the Envoy Pro FX on that interface.
However, it’s additionally value saying {that a} fashionable system with Thunderbolt 3 ports and a strong CPU is important if you wish to get the perfect write speeds from this gadget.
Because of the excessive price per GB, we are able to’t advocate the 240GB or 480GB choices. The 240GB is a whopping $0.91 per GB, and the 480GB is $0.56 per GB, which is loopy.
These costs make the $0.38 and $0.29 of the 1TB and 2TB fashions appear nearly a cut price, however a sturdy 1TB USB-C drive, just like the Essential X8, is nearer to $0.14 per GB to place issues in perspective.
For people who need fantastically engineered exterior storage that may present distinctive efficiency in the precise circumstances, the OWC Envoy Pro FX is good.
However provided that you don’t have to pay for it your self.
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