Lexar’s SL660 Blaze is the corporate’s newest transportable drive for gaming and is available in 512GB and 1TB capacities. The drive comes with resplendent RGB lighting and consists of software program help mixed with a collection of supplies and styling to promote as a ‘gaming’ drive that can compete for a spot on our checklist of greatest exterior SSDs.
The SL660 Blaze reminds us lots of the Kingston XS2000, they share the identical {hardware}, but it surely comes with some further options. It additionally competes with the ADATA SE900G, which additionally comes with RGB lighting however has a bulkier bundle.
As with the XS2000, SE900G, and different transportable drives, comfort is the secret. Alternatively, you may buy your personal drive and enclosure independently and lower your expenses by combining the 2 your self. After all, SATA-based choices of each sorts additionally typically stay viable, however typically it’s good to have 2GBps of bandwidth at your fingertips.
Let’s see how that works out right here.
Specs
| Product | 512GB | 1TB |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $119.99 | $189.99 |
| Capability (Consumer / Uncooked) | 500GB / 512GB | 1000GB / 1024GB |
| Type Issue | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
| Interface / Protocol | USB-C / USB Gen3 2×2 | USB-C / USB Gen3 2×2 |
| Included | USB Sort-C to Sort-C, USB Sort-C to Sort-A cables Removable Stand | USB Sort-C to Sort-C, USB Sort-C to Sort-A cables Removable Stand |
| Controller | SM2320 | SM2320 |
| DRAM | N/A | N/A |
| Reminiscence | Micron 96L TLC | Micron 96L TLC |
| Sequential Learn | 2,000 MBps | 2,000 MBps |
| Sequential Write | 1,900 MBps | 1,900 MBps |
| Random Learn | N/A | N/A |
| Random Write | N/A | N/A |
| Safety | 256-bit AES (Software program) | 256-bit AES (Software program) |
| Energy | Bus-powered | Bus-powered |
| Endurance | Shock resistant | Shock resistant |
| Endurance (TBW) | N/A | N/A |
| Dimensions | 112.6 x 57.4 x 10.6mm (w/o stand) | 112.6 x 57.4 x 10.6mm (w/o stand) |
| Weight | 80g | 80g |
| Half Quantity | LSL660X512G | LSL660X001T |
| Guarantee | 5-12 months | 5-12 months |
The Lexar SL660 Blaze has simply two capacities: 512GB and 1TB. The worth per gigabyte on the time of writing, which is for pre-orders, is round $0.20 per gigabyte. That is extra expensive than the Kingston XS2000, which has fewer frills whereas being smaller and weighing much less. The SL660 Blaze is rated for as much as 2.0/1.9GBps for sequential reads and writes, in keeping with the XS2000. We’d anticipate these write speeds to dip with prolonged writes as soon as the SLC cache is exhausted.
As with the XS2000, the SL660 Blaze has a five-year guarantee and is rated for shock resistance. As well as, the controller itself has typical knowledge safety with SMI’s NANDXtend, a patented know-how that is analogous to strategies used on different controllers. This will get essentially the most endurance out of the flash by way of LDPC error correction and might right errors by way of RAID parity. Lexar additionally affords 256-bit AES encryption, however that is software-based, so it will not be as performant.
Software program and Equipment
The SL660 Blaze comes with quite a lot of gadgets. It has each Sort-C to Sort-C and Sort-C to Sort-A USB cables and a removable stand. These are each handy as you possibly can dock the drive when close to your laptop, and the drive can be appropriate with two widespread kinds of USB ports. The drive additionally comes with a pleasant pouch for added comfort and safety, though this will enhance total bulk. The competing Kingston XS200, for its half, did embody a rubber sleeve.
The drive additionally comes with an SSD toolbox, the Lexar SSD Sprint, and help for software program encryption by way of Lexar’s DataShield. We’ve beforehand said that {hardware} encryption with a Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) tends to not be a precedence for client drives and is in any other case doubtlessly inconsistent. Lexar affords a software program resolution as a checkbox for his or her function checklist, however it’s really usable and helpful even when it’s one thing you may do your self on different drives with the suitable software program. Likewise, we prefer to have a SSD toolbox even when it’s usually pointless.
A Nearer Look
The USB interface can be its personal bottleneck whatever the inner SSD. Transportable drives are additionally normally streamlined and made to be environment friendly, which in different phrases means they typically have a DRAM-less design that may profit from the performance-boosting Host Reminiscence Buffer (HMB) tech — however that does not work over the USB interface. Each of those points current challenges for exterior drives: Most customers use these kinds of drives for big recordsdata or picture backups, that are basically massive, sequential file transfers. One of these work will be restricted by the interface or by the sequential write velocity of the drive, with the latter being impacted by the shortage of HMB.
Most earlier transportable drives got here with ASMedia’s bridge chips, such because the ASM2362 and ASM2364 for 10Gbps and 20Gbps, respectively. Transportable items are likely to have an impartial drive with its personal controller and a separate bridge chip to deal with communication with the host, for instance, with two lanes of PCIe 3.0 on one aspect and USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, at as much as 20 Gbps, on the opposite. The newer SM2320 chip from Silicon Movement, as used on the SL660 Blaze and XS2000, as an alternative supplies an embedded or hybrid design with the whole lot in a single bundle. This pairs very nicely with the streamlined intentions of a conveyable SSD.
The SL660 Blaze has a smooth, aluminum exterior that definitely lends itself to the gaming aesthetic, even with out RGB enabled. It’s in any other case clear, with the rear aspect itemizing the capability/mannequin and serial quantity. The inside shares the black coloring with a little bit of safety. After all, this isn’t a drive you would need to shuck, given the character of the distinguished SM2320 controller. The black PCB has no DRAM however has 4 flash packages with two on both sides.
The controller, labeled SM2320G, appears to have been manufactured a few yr in the past. SMI is pleased with this quad-channel design, in a position to handle as much as 4TB of flash in a good 9×9 mm bundle. Whereas there are disadvantages to having a single chip for a conveyable drive, the benefits of decreased measurement and value usually outweigh them. We additionally see the 4 LEDs on the sting of the board, which, as examined, weren’t controllable however moderately simply shifted between varied colours.
The flash modules are produced by Longsys and labeled 29F208EMLCER. From the “29,” we are able to inform that is Intel or Micron flash, as in MT29 from the IMFT days, at 2Tb or 256GB per chip in an 8-bit configuration for a complete of 1TB. It’s much like the 96-layer Micron TLC we noticed on the XS2000. That is an older flash however is completely appropriate for a quad-channel transportable drive.
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