INTRODUCTION

   Size, storage capacity, speed/performance and cost, these are undeniably the 4 things people focus on when out to buy a brand new portable SSD. Still some things in the electronics market advance faster than others and so even though size and cost have been reduced significantly storage capacity and, in some cases, even speed/performance have all but remained the same for the past 3-4 years or so. Currently the fastest portable SSDs might be Thunderbolt 3/4 models but thanks to its out of the box compatibility with many modern motherboards USB 3.2 Gen2x2 is far more popular among gamers, enthusiasts and even professionals. Since nothing beats USB 3.2 Gen2 in terms of popularity (not everyone out there owns a modern motherboard) and having recently released both the X9 Pro USB 3.2 Gen2 and X10 Pro USB 3.2 Gen2x2 portable SSDs Crucial clearly aims to grab a large piece of the global market.

   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. http://www.micron.com/

   Both the X9 Pro and the X10 Pro by Crucial are currently available in 1/2/4TB capacities and are based on the quad-channel (32 CEs) SM2320G NAND flash controller by Silicon Motion together with 176-layer 3D TLC NAND flash by Micron (B47R). Yes, the Silicon Motion SM2320G NAND flash controller is a native USB 3.2 Gen2x2 model but just like with Kingston and their XS1000/XS2000 portable SSDs Crucial also configured it as USB 3.2 Gen2x1 (10Gb/s) in the case of the X9 Pro and USB 3.2 Gen2x2 (20Gb/s) in the case of the X10 Pro. In terms of technologies featured the SM2320G controller once again fully supports Silicon Motion's 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. Finally, both the X9 Pro and X10 Pro portable SSDs by Crucial are dust and water (IP55) resistant and are covered by a 5-year limited warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

Both the X9 PRO and X10 PRO portable SSDs are shipped inside blue and white boxes the front of which is taken by a product picture, the company logo, product name, advertised performance, capacity and the main product features.

The serial numbers, barcodes and the OS compatibility are printed on the right side.

Mentioned at the rear of the box are two of the product features in 8 languages.

Inside both boxes Crucial has placed USB-C cables and the quick start guide.

THE X9 PRO 2TB & X10 PRO 2TB

Crucial has used anodized aluminum enclosures for both drives that measure 65mm in length, 50mm in width and 10mm in height.

To have a better idea of their size i placed both drives next to the XS1000 portable SSD by Kingston and the Exceria Plus by Kioxia (review soon).

Both drives feature a lanyard hole on the top right corner which also doubles as the activity LED.

The rear of both drives is rubber coated and has the capacity and several certifications printed on it.

On the left side of the drives, we find their USB-C port.

Worth pointing out is that Crucial preloads several applications with the X10 Pro model.

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

   Today’s review made 2 things clear, 1^st that current portable SSDs are still fast enough to cover the majority of users out there and 2^nd that there’s not much “variety” in regards to portable SSD controllers currently in the market. Phison just like Silicon Motion has an USB 3.2 Gen2x2 controller available (actually i think they have 2?) but for reasons I’m not aware that’s not what storage manufacturers are choosing to go with lately (although cost is what it all comes down to in the end). With that small parenthesis out of the way there’s no doubt that the SM2320G controller by Silicon Motion together with 176-layer 3D TLC NAND flash by Micron delivers as advertised and that’s what really matters. In terms of size well both the X9 Pro and X10 Pro can easily fit in your pocket and as for build quality although not rugged the anodized aluminum enclosures should handle pretty much anything.

   Recently Crucial sliced prices for their entire product line and so currently the X9 Pro 2TB retails for USD129.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 135.46Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) while the X10 Pro 2TB retails for just USD152.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 218.81Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). On top of their performance, size and build quality if you also add the very aggressive pricing (especially on the other side of the Atlantic) both the X9 Pro and X10 Pro deliver high marks well worth of the Platinum Award.

PROS

- Excellent Performance (X10 Pro)
- Very Good Performance (X9 Pro)
- Very Compact & Lightweight
- IP55 Certified Anodized Aluminum Enclosures
- Price (For Some)
- 5 Year Limited Warranty
- Bundled Software (X10 Pro)

CONS

- None