INTRODUCTION

   The leaps made in the computer industry never cease to amaze me and even though this is true for most things including graphics cards, motherboards and CPUs there's no denying that storage is also something that has advanced a lot, even compared to just 10-15 years ago. This of course applies both in terms of capacity and performance and holds true for every type of storage media out there from hard and solid state drives to USB flash drives and memory/flash cards. I mean, who would had thought that in 2023 we could carry in our back pockets’ tiny portable SSDs with capacities up to and even exceeding 8TB? Crucial late last year updated their X8 portable SSD line to include a 4TB variant and since it's the only one i have yet to test from that said line this is what I’ll be doing today.

   We are an industry leader in innovative memory and storage solutions transforming how the world uses information to enrich life for all. With a relentless focus on our customers, technology leadership, and manufacturing and operational excellence, Micron delivers a rich portfolio of high-performance DRAM, NAND and NOR memory and storage products through our Micron® and Crucial® brands. Every day, the innovations that our people create fuel the data economy, enabling advances in artificial intelligence and 5G applications that unleash opportunities — from the data center to the intelligent edge and across the client and mobile user experience. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), visit micron.com.

   The Crucial X8 Portable SSD is currently available in 1/2/4TB capacities and features a compact anodized aluminum enclosure with rubber pads on both sides which according to the manufacturer is temperature-proof, vibration-proof and shock-proof from a height of up to 7.5 feet. Under the hood of the X8 4TB variant we find the SM2251-17 (U17) native UFD controller by Phison together with Micron's 176-layer (N48R) 3D QLC NAND flash. The SM2251-17 is a DRAM-less NAND flash controller that features Phison's 4th Generation LDPC ECC protection and unlike other similar solutions in the market it does not require a bridge controller thus allowing it to achieve up to 56% higher electrical efficiency (something which previous X8 variants did have - i don't know however if the entire line has since been updated). Just like in the past Crucial covers the entire X8 line of USB 3.2 Gen 2 portable SSD with a 3-year limited warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Crucial uses the same package as in the past so once again at the front we find a product picture, advertised performance, capacity and the company logo (my sample arrived with a sticker at the front however).

A quick product description is available at the rear in 11 languages.

Along with the X8 portable SSD inside the box you'll also find a USB-C cable, USB-C to USB-A adapter and a quick start guide.

THE X8 4TB

The enclosure of the X8 Portable SSD is made out of aluminum and rubber, weighs roughly 98g and measures 110mm in length, 53mm in width and 11.5mm in height.

As always to have a better idea about the size of the portable SSD in my hands i placed the Crucial X8 right next to the Mushkin CarbonX, Lexar Blaze SL660, Sabrent Rocket-XTRMQ and Rocket Nano Rugged.

The capacity of the X8 is printed at the rear along with numerous certifications.

Crucial has placed the USB-C port on the far right side of the drive.

Opening enclosure is not hard so let's see what's inside.

On the top side of the PCB, we find the Phison SM2251-17 controller together with two Micron 176-layer 3D QLC NAND flash modules (1024GB in capacity each).

Moving on the opposite side we just find two more Micron 176-layer 3D QLC NAND flash modules (again 1024GB in capacity each).

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

   When I received the X8 4TB portable SSD by Crucial my only thought was that they had just increased its storage capacity something which wasn’t really the case since they also swapped both the Silicon Motion SM2263 NAND flash controller and the ASMedia ASM2362 PCIe host interface bridge chip found in the 1/2TB models I reviewed a while back (reviews here & here) with the Phison SM2251-17 controller. Crucial also upgraded the NAND flash end of the X8 series so instead of using Micron’s 96-layer 3D QLC NAND flash this time over they’ve used 176-layer (N48R) 3D QLC NAND flash. These changes don’t really amount to much in terms of overall performance since even the previous X8 drives almost maxed out the USB 3.2 Gen 2 standard (if this was a USB 3.2 Gen2x2 drive however I think we’d see a substantial gap in performance) but according to Phison their controller is up to 56% more energy efficient compared to what was used in the past so even just that is something I welcome (Micron’s 176-layer 3D QLC NAND is also up to 50% more energy efficient compared to their 96-layer 3D QLC NAND). My sole concern about the X8 is performance and capacity and even though USB 3.2 Gen 2 is still very fast and 4TB is plenty more and more drives seem to be available with USB 3.2 Gen2x2 and up to 8TB. Now, I’m probably nitpicking since both the performance and capacity of the X8 should be more than enough for 99% of the people out there (which is why i am not placing these in the cons) but I do feel that staying ahead of things matters.

   Thanks to recent price cuts the Crucial X8 4TB USB 3.2 Gen 2 Portable SSD currently retails for just 224.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 343.85Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). Once again things may not be as good over here as they are on the other side of the Atlantic but overall Crucial seems to be doing a great job in terms of pricing. Bottom line the X8 4TB by Crucial may not be the fastest or most compact portable SSD in the market today but it still is a very fast, high capacity and build quality model. On top of these add the very good price tag (especially on the other side of the Atlantic) and the Golden Award is well deserved.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Very Good Performance
- 4TB Capacity
- Temperature, Vibration and Shock Proof
- 3 Year Limited Warranty
- Updated Design
- Price (USA)

CONS

- None