INTRODUCTION

   Even though USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 (USB 3.0/3.1 Gen 1 - 5Gbit/s) is probably the most popular external drive connectivity right now due to the fact that most motherboards released in the last decade or so have it there are faster ones aimed towards professionals and enthusiasts. I am of course referring to USB 3.2 Gen 1x2, 2x2 and Thunderbolt 3 which can reach theoretical speeds of up to 10Gbps, 20Gbps and 40Gbps respectively. Certainly, as many of you already know USB 4.0 (or USB4) is pretty much right around the corner and since it's also based on the Thunderbolt 3 standard you can expect it to deliver similar speeds of up to 40Gbps. For now, however Thunderbolt 3 products seem to be the "safest" choice and one such product is the latest TB2-T3 NVME SSD External Enclosure by Yottamaster.

   Yottamaster is a professional high-end storage brand, that aims to provide professional-grade storage solution for individuals, small and medium enterprises worldwide.

   The TB2-T3 External SSD Enclosure is part of Yottamaster's Y-Cube series line of products and features a rather compact anodized aluminum enclosure which houses an PCIe 3x4 M.2 NVMe (2280 B/M-key form factor) slot based on a electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG) PCB. The Intel JHL6340 Thunderbolt 3 controller (Intel certified) used for this specific model can support speeds of up to 40Gbps and is also compatible with USB 3.1 Gen 1 and USB 3.2 Gen 1x2 controllers. Thanks to a piece of copper foil paired with heat-dissipating silicone the aluminum body of the TB2-T3-GY acts as a passive cooler (heatspreader) which can keep the temperatures of any M.2 SSD in check. So, time to see what the Yottamaster TB2-T3 is all about.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

A product picture along with the company logo and the main product features are all placed at the front of the very small box.

The product specifications are printed at the rear of the box right over contact information for Yottamaster.

Bundled with the TB2-T3 are a small screwdriver, 50cm long TB3 cable, mounting screw and the quick start guide.

THE TB2-T3

Measuring 100.5mm in length, 44mm in width and 13.4mm in thickness the TB2-T3 is quite compact (for an M.2 2280 enclosure that is).

To have a better idea about its size i placed the TB2-T3 right next to the ADATA SE760, Netac Z7S, Lexar SL200, Silicon Power PC60 and the Lexar SL100 Pro.

The company and thunderbolt logos are printed at the top of the aluminum enclosure.

Several certifications are printed at the rear right next to the model and manufacturer names.

The Thunderbolt 3 port and the screw that keeps the enclosure together are both located at the front.

Opening the enclosure, we see the M.2 2280 slot and of course the copper foil.

The Intel JHL6340 TB3 controller is located on the other side of the PCB.

For this test i used one of the fastest PCIe 3x4 M.2 NVMe SSDs to arrive here to date, the UD70 2TB by Silicon Power.

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

   As evident from the charts in 4 out of the 6 benchmarks I use to test portable SSDs the TB2-T3 is clearly in the lead and that alone is enough to show just why the Thunderbolt 3 connectivity has been considered as a niche product in the PC industry, up until now anyways. Yes, some benchmark suites don’t seem to like TB3 connectivity as much as they do USB 3.2 but that’s something that always happens depending on the how they are setup to test a drive (this is also why HD Tune Pro and HD Tach RW are considered to be amongst the heaviest ones around). Performance aside there’s not much else one could ask from the TB2-T3, enclosure quality is excellent, drive mounting is very easy and in terms of size it’s quite compact.

   The TB2-T3 NVME SSD External Enclosure by Yottamaster currently retails for USD139.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 188.99Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de), a price tag which is on par with what I’d expect from a Thunderbolt 3 device. Still although far from affordable if you do own a TB3 capable system (either PC or MAC) and you’d like to have a blazing fast external NVMe SSD then the TB2-T3 aluminum enclosure by Yottamaster delivers exactly that which is why it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Very Durable Anodized Aluminum Enclosure
- Excellent Performance (Surpasses 2800MB/s)
- Design / Size
- Easy Drive Mounting

CONS

- Price (For Some)