INTRODUCTION

   As data storage needs increase so does the need for higher transfer speeds so it's no surprise really that portable SSD sales have skyrocketed over the last 2 years or so. Granted portable SSDs can't really compete with the high price/capacity ratio offered by portable HDDs (many of which offer acceptable data transfer performance numbers) but thanks to several price cuts over the years consumers can now find relatively affordable portable SSDs with capacities up to even 2TB. Silicon Power has released several interesting portable SSDs to date and since consumers all over the world elevated the Bolt B75 model to one of their bestselling models (even though it was far from the fastest in the market) it was just a matter of time really before they updated it and released it back into the market. Well that update is finally here and so today's review is about the Bolt B75 Pro which we've been testing for the past week.

   Founded in 2003 by a group of enthusiastic data storage industry experts, Silicon Power is committed to delivering outstanding product and service quality. Headquartered and with our own state-of-the-art production site in Taipei, we have become a leading manufacturer of flash memory cards, USB flash drives, portable hard drives, solid state drives, DRAM modules and industrial-grade products. As an international player with four branch offices around the globe, we continuously strive to offer the perfect data storage solution for all requirements of modern digitalized life. With a strong focus on combining innovative technology and award-winning design, we live up to our brand promise to reliably preserve and protect your most valuable data. Because memory is personal.

   Although just like the anodized aluminum enclosure of the original Bolt B75 Portable SSD released back in mid-2018 the one used in the brand new Bolt B75 Pro (currently available in 256GB/512GB/1TB/2TB capacities) is also designed after the German Junkers F 13 all-metal transport aircraft this time over its painted black instead of silver. The anodized aluminum enclosure is once again shock proof (MIL-STD-810, 516.7 Procedure IV), scratch resistant (3D ridged design), offers superior heat dissipation (as expected from an aluminum enclosure) and features a type-C to type-C USB connection (USB 3.1 Gen 2) which allows it to achieve performance numbers of up to 520MB/s read and 420MB/s write (official numbers according to Silicon Power). Also just like with the Bolt B75 line Silicon Power covers the entire Bolt B75 Pro line with a 3-year limited warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Once again Silicon Power has used a white box that has the main product features at the front right next to a clear plastic section from where you can actually see the drive.

Printed at the rear are the product features, specifications, system requirements and the package contents.

Along with the Bolt B75 Pro you'll also get a USB to USB Type-C braided cable, Type-C to Type-C cable and the user manual.

THE BOLT B75 PRO 1TB

The 107g heavy black anodized aluminum body of the Bolt B75 Pro measures 124.4mm in length, 82mm in width and 12.2mm in height/thickness.

As mentioned in our previous Portable SSD review we decided to retest every portable SSD we've received to date with all the latest benchmark suite versions so we placed the Bolt B75 Pro next to most models to showcase its size (identical to the "regular" B75).

At the front of the drive we find the Type-C port right next to an L shaped activity LED (white).

Printed at the base/belly of the drive are its capacity, serial number and many certifications.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Solid state drives are basically the same as USB flash drives and so we’re using almost the same testing methodology to successfully record achieved read & write performance numbers in our charts*. The benchmark suites used are HD Tach RW (Read Speeds / Long Bench 32mb Zone Testing), HD Tune Pro (Read / Write speeds), Sisoftware Sandra Titanium 2020 (Read / Write speeds), AIDA64 Engineer Edition (Average Linear / Random Read & Write speeds), Crystal Disk Mark 6.0.2 (2GB Read / Write speeds) and finally ATTO 4.00.0F2 (Max Read / Max Write speeds). Every test is repeated a total of 6 times after which the average performance numbers are recorded into our charts (0 = we were unable to complete that test).

   All tests are performed with our main rig running Microsoft Windows 10 Pro installation on a CORSAIR MP510 960GB NVME SSD* with all updates installed up to the day we started tests.

* Since August 2019 for portable SSD tests i started using our primary test rig.

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA TITANIUM / CRYSTAL DISK MARK

CONCLUSION

   The original Bolt B75 may have been a success but at the time of its release it was the slowest portable SSD to reach our lab so we knew that Silicon Power would eventually either release a new model altogether or they'd update it which they obviously did (although we are expecting new portable SSD models from them soon so in reality they did both). However even though the new Bolt B75 Pro surpasses its predecessor in pretty much every single test we put them through since it's based on a 2.5" internal SSD (Silicon Power model) it can't match the performance of M.2 NVMe based models like for example the ORICO enclosures you see in our charts. That being said there aren't that many M.2 NVMe portable SSDs in the market today (it's easier to make your own) so that's not really something that matters much but still we do hope that Silicon Power releases one such model next. As for its anodized aluminum enclosure well not much to say about it, it looks nice, it's scratch resistant and is also shock proof (still not exactly what we'd call a very rugged enclosure).

   With a price tag set at USD124.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and at 129Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) the Bolt B75 Pro 1TB USB 3.1 Gen 2 Portable SSD is among the most affordable 1TB models in the market today. That being said it may not be the smallest one in terms of length and width (although very thin) nor is it the highest performance one but it does offer very good read & write numbers, features a nice looking and rather durable enclosure, comes with both USB to Type-C and Type-C to Type-C cables, is covered by a 3-year limited warranty and costs roughly 20% less than most portable SSDs in the market at the moment of this review so it’s certainly worthy of our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality (Anodized Aluminum Enclosure)
- Very Good Performance
- AES 256 Encryption
- Just 12.2mm Thick
- Scratch Resistant & Shock Proof
- 3 Years Warranty
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Overall Size (For Some)