SSD by stefan @ 2022-07-25
The Rocket Pro drive, while not as speedy as the XTRM-Q TB3 model, offers enough performance for most applications while protecting itself from damage due to overheating thanks to its aluminum chassis. When continuously writing to the drive, it will become quite warm so if you do plan on working with very large projects, we recommend placing its chassis in a well-ventilated environment.
At first, we would like to thank Sabrent for offering a sample of their Rocket Pro 2TB USB 3.2 External SSD for testing and reviewing.
“At Sabrent, we create products that help people realize the power of technology and make people’s lives easier and better.
We have a proven track record to consumers and distribution partners, who are part of the rapidly growing Sabrent family.
Deliver the latest technology at an affordable price.
offer a broad product selection, specializing in items that sell.
Maintain large inventory levels and provide same day shipping.
Attractive retail packaging.
Instant live customer service and technical support, including remote access sessions.
No-nonsense product exchanges.
Sabrent’s commitment is to offer the latest technology and the highest quality consumer electronic products at an affordable cost to everyone. Since its founding, Sabrent has consistently delivered to market a full line of computer peripherals and accessories that incorporate style, quality and the latest technologies available.”
Speed - With USB 3.2 interface, the Rocket Pro provides speeds of up to 1000MB/s. Transfer and backup large-sized data files and 4k videos within seconds. Backward compatible with USB 3.1 and USB 3.0 at respective speed limits.
Heat Management - Professional Aluminum Case. Designed for optimal heat Dissipation and reduced power consumption.
Supports SMART and TRIM commands. Supports ONFi 2.3, ONFi 3.0, ONFi 3.2 and ONFi 4.0 interface.
Advanced Wear Leveling, Bad Block Management and Over-Provision.
Brand: Sabrent
Series: ROCKET Pro
Form Factor: M.2 2280
Capacity: 2TB
Memory Components: 3D TLC NAND
Interface: USB 3.2
Color: Space Gray
Max Sequential Read: Up to 1000 MBps
Max Sequential Write: Up to 1000 MBps
Sabrent has sent us another interesting SSD-based storage device, sporting the Rocket Pro name, and functioning on the USB 3.2 bus to achieve speeds up to 1000MB/s. The drive is based on 3D TLC NAND Flash and uses a machined aluminum case for heat dissipation.
The product has arrived inside a fully sealed casing:
The enclosure is quite stylish, as we have been already accustomed with products from Sabrent! The top layer is made of gloss paper, which highlights the appearance of the Rocket Pro External SSD, but also the internal used interface (M.2):
On the side, we will note the product name again, along with its code name:
The opposite area has a placeholder for the S/N:
On the back, Sabrent has included the list of product features, the package contents, system requirements but also the product serial number:
After removing the top layer, we will note the metallic casing and the additional sticker, which acts as a hinge for the two halves:
Inside, we will find the hardware bundle, while the Rocket Pro does sit in a separate compartment:
Let’s get the contents out of the box!
Speaking of the included bundle, Sabrent has included two data cables:
One of it is an USB-A to USB-C, for compatibility purposes:
The second one is USB-C to USB-C:
The machined aluminum body of the Rocket Pro looks professional:
On the top area we do have a Rocket logo, placed inside a circle shape:
The lower area houses a subtle Sabrent logo:
Near the USB-C logo we will find a small hole which houses the activity LED:
The Rocket Pro drive looks great from the sides as well!
On the bottom, we will find a serial number, the code name, the product name, a QR code but also two rubber feet. We tried to remove one of the feet but there are no screws for disassembly, telling us that the unit is sealed shut:
The activity LED is clearly visible….it stays lit when IDLE and blinks when data is transferred:
The test system did incorporate a Ryzen 5 5600X 6-core CPU, two Trident Z RGB 3200MHz 8GB memory modules with 16-18-18-38 XMP 2.0 timings, a PowerColor Red Dragon Radeon RX 5700 video card but also a Patriot Memory Viper VP4100 PCIe 4.0 SSD ; all these were connected to the BIOSTAR B550GTA motherboard. As a power supply we have chosen a Cooler Master 850W non-modular and the system was running the latest Windows 10 OS build as well.
The drive has arrived pre-formatted exFAT:
We did format it back to NTFS just before starting testing:
With the help of AIDA64, we could extract more information regarding the drive; not a lot of info is available due to presence of a pass-through (bridge) chip:
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Before getting to the second part of the tests, we needed to fill up over 50% of the drive. In the case of the Rocket Pro, the write rate remained about the same from start to finish, with very little variations when the chassis started to become quite warm. In the case of the Rocket Pro, we could not read the temperature sensors of the internal drive:
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The Rocket Pro drive, while not as speedy as the XTRM-Q TB3 model, offers enough performance for most applications while protecting itself from damage due to overheating thanks to its aluminum chassis. When continuously writing to the drive, it will become quite warm so if you do plan on working with very large projects, we recommend placing its chassis in a well-ventilated environment.
The internal drive is clearly capable of higher speeds, being a NVMe M.2 model, but due to the USB 3.2 bridge the speed is capped; there is also a benefit in this case, as we have seen in the continuous write test, when the drive succeeds to keep a constant write rate even after transferring over 1TB of data to it.
Here is also the HD Tune Pro write test screenshot, which shows no actual drops, but only a saw pattern:
The drive is available on Newegg with 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities; the largest capacity one, as tested, can be had for about $300.
We would like to thank again to Sabrent for making this review possible!