The Fastest External SSD: GigaDrive, Disk with USB4 and Thunderbolt 4

Being able to copy large amounts of data in a matter of seconds is the dream of everyone who works, especially with audiovisual material. And it is true that there are already very fast solutions on the market, but GigaDrive claims to be the fastest external SSD in the world.

A high-performance, rugged SSD

GigaDrive, Disk with USB4

Solid storage drives have been evolving at a great rate in recent years, so much so that we already enjoy really fast solutions. A clear example is the SSD drives of the latest Apple computers. In the Mac mini M1, for example, very high transfer speeds are achieved with which it does not matter if there are many files or just large ones. You won’t suffer from bottlenecks like conventional HDD drives.

However, when it comes to external drives, things change. Mainly due to a connection standards problem that fortunately we are also solving little by little. Soon we will begin to see more solutions based on USB 4 / Thunderbolt 4 and one of them is this external drive from GigaDrive that its creators say will be the fastest on the market. At least, if we take into account that they refer to external SSD drive.

What speed of reading and writing are we talking about? Well, up to 2,800 MB / s in reading and 2,500 MB / s in writing . That is, some really promising data if we take into account other options already available such as the G-Drive Mobile Pro SSD or the aforementioned Mac units, although there it is clear that they are the internal ones.

How do you get it? Well, with a controller (JHK8440) capable of operating as if it were an internally connected unit and a cooling system that is capable of dissipating heat in a bristly way to avoid decreases in performance. Because the drive itself it uses appears to be a WD Black NVMe M2.

Of course, it is not the only thing that GigaDrive wants to make a difference. As an external unit, another of the values of this proposal will be its IP67 protection , so that you can be calm in case it gets wet or is exposed to dust.

So, for all this and together with a design that is also an interesting claim thanks to a form factor that favors its use with other devices such as Blackmagic Pocket-type video cameras, they make it quite interesting if it is capable of complying with everything. that promises.

An SSD with a future or simple promises?

There is no doubt that the way the company behind its development sells it and at the price they want to put them on the market seems almost impossible to believe. The 4TB unit would have a cost of 302 euros and the 1TB and 2TB therefore 129 and 184 euros correspondingly. At least for the duration of the Indigogo campaign, we will see when it reaches stores if it is maintained or not.

In case they fulfill the promises of speed, durability and the price does not skyrocket, it is true that we could be in front of the SSD for which many would bet for all kinds of usual, from extra storage for video editing work, storage of games on new generation consoles or even to record directly from HD cameras that support this type of media instead of SD cards.

But until it is on the market and can be bought and tested, it will be necessary to be cautious . The good news is that SSD drives are finally gaining more and more prominence compared to the classic HDDs. And, in addition, they offer more and more capacity which is always great. Because nowadays it is easy to generate several hundred gigabytes of information even by recording video with a mobile phone.