INTRODUCTION

   Portable storage media are probably the most interesting storage devices for me, mostly because thanks to both all the different types (HDDs/SSDs/Flash Drives/Memory Cards) and available connectivity options they can easily cover every single user in the market from casual consumers to professionals. Yes, they may still not be able to achieve speeds of 6-7000MB/s and above like internal PCIe 4.0 Gen 4 M.2 NVMe drives but just the fact that in the market today one can find USB 2.0/3.2/3.2 Gen2/3.2 Gen2x2, Thunderbolt 3/4 and even eSATA compatible portable storage media with capacities ranging from 4GB and all the way up to 16TB is a huge deal in terms of market coverage. Lexar recently released their fastest portable SSD to date called the BLAZE SL660 and that's exactly what i have here with me today.

   For more than 25 years, Lexar has been a trusted leading global brand of memory solutions. Our award-winning lineup includes memory cards, USB flash drives, card readers, solid-state drives and DRAM. With so many options, it’s easy to find the right Lexar solution to fit your needs. All Lexar product designs undergo extensive testing in the Lexar Quality Labs with more than 1,100 digital devices, to ensure performance, quality, compatibility, and reliability. Lexar products are available worldwide at major retail and e-tail stores. For more information or support, visit www.lexar.com.

   The BLAZE SL660 is currently available in 512GB/1TB capacities and is based on the USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 standard which allows it to hit performance numbers of up to 2000MB/s in reads and 1900MB/s in writes. To achieve such performance Lexar has combined the quad-channel (32 CEs) SM2320G NAND flash controller by Silicon Motion (supports their latest NANDXtend ECC end-to-end data path protection together with real time AES 256-bit encryption for full compliance with the Trusted Computing Group - TCG - Opal 2.0 specification) with their very own NAND flash (probably 3D TLC but could also be 3D QLC). This time over Lexar has also used a sandblasted aluminum enclosure complete with its very own RGB LEDs and a detachable stand. Well USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 USB flash drives are not very common so let's see how the latest BLAZE SL660 by Lexar does against the rest.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Lexar uses a small box that has a product picture at the front right beneath their logo and above the performance numbers and capacity.

The package contents, system requirements and a few words about the product in 11 languages are all printed at the rear.

Once you open the box, you'll see that the BLAZE SL660 is placed in a formed piece of black foam.

Along with the BLAZE SL660 inside the box you'll also find its detachable stand, carrying/storage pouch, USB-A and USB-C cables and the quick start and warranty guide.

THE BLAZE SL660 1TB EXTERIOR

The aluminum enclosure of the BLAZE SL660 weighs just 80g and measures 112.6mm in length, 57.4mm in height and 10.6mm in thickness.

As always to have a better understanding about its size i placed the Lexar BLAZE SL660 right next to the Sabrent Rocket XTRM-Q (review soon), Mushkin CarbonX, Crucial X6 and Samsung T1/T3 portable SSD drives.

At the rear of the drive, we find a handle like section which features several RGB LEDs inside.

Moving at the front of the drive we find the USB-C port.

The serial number, capacity and several certifications are printed on the other side of the enclosure.

Lexar ships the BLAZE SL660 with an carrying/storage pouch which has enough room for the drive, its stand and both of its cables.

This is how the BLAZE SL660 looks with the detachable stand.

The RGB LEDs certainly look nice (too bad these are not ARGB ones).

Worth pointing out is that Lexar provides their DataShield software with the BLAZE SL660.

THE BLAZE SL660 1TB INTERIOR

Opening the enclosure is very easy and as you can see the SSD is covered with a black sticker.

On this side of the PCB, we find two Longsys NAND flash modules and what seems to be the RGB LED controller.

Turning the PCB over we find the Silicon Motion SM2320G NAND controller and two more Longsys NAND flash modules.

One side of the aluminum enclosure features a thick aluminum plate on the interior which is also used to dissipate heat from the NAND flash controller.

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 the X299 test rig.
** For USB 3.2 Gen2x2 portable SSDs I’ll be using the Z590 DARK based test rig.

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA TITANIUM / CRYSTAL DISK MARK

CONCLUSION

   By using the same basic configuration as other USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 portable SSDs like for example the Kingston XS2000 the BLAZE SL660 was a safe bet long before it ever reached my lab. Still, you never know so it’s always good to have results that show exactly what it is you’re getting and the BLAZE SL660 is indeed a blazing fast SSD. But that’s not all since it does well in terms of both build quality (sandblasted aluminum enclosure) and looks (design, RGB LEDs) something that really can’t be said for all similar models. Of course, the BLAZE SL660 is clearly not the smallest USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 model in the market but it’s not large either and if you’d like an RGB illuminated one it’s probably the only one right now.

   At the time of my review the Lexar BLAZE SL660 1TB Gaming Portable SSD retails for USD179 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 185Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which is obviously a tad higher than other similar models. Still Lexar did use a higher quality enclosure (aluminum vs plastic in most cases) and RGB LEDs (not to mention the stand and carrying pouch) so charging more for those was to be expected. Price aside however the BLAZE SL660 delivers on everything one would want from a portable SSD and for that it deserves the Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality (Sandblasted Aluminum Enclosure)
- Near Excellent Performance (USB 3.2 Gen 2x2)
- RGB Lighting
- DataShield Encryption Software
- 5 Year Limited Warranty
- Bundle (Detachable Stand / Carrying Pouch)

CONS

- Motherboard Compatibility (USB 3.2 Gen 2x2)
- Price (For Some)
- Available Capacities (512GB/1TB)