Digital Lifestyle > All Reviews > Hardware > Storage > Hard drives > External hard drives > Verbatim External SSD review

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 Verbatim External SSD review

The External SSD is one of the cheapest SSDs currently available

Cliff Joseph

Manufacturer: Verbatim
Pros: very light and compact back-up device, very good value for money
Cons: not very rugged, relatively modest performance
Min specs: Solid state drive - external (portable); Capacities: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB; USB 3.0; Interface Transfer Rate: 5.0 Gbps (USB 3.0); Internal Data Rate: 190MBps (read)/175MBps (write)
Price: £89 inc VAT
We rate this 4 out of 5.Star rating:

It may be one of the slower solid-state drives reviewed here, but the External SSD from Verbatim is also one of the cheapest and most portable.

Measuring just 9mm thick, 43mm wide and 90mm tall, this slimline drive is only slightly larger than the new iPod nano. Verbatim also includes a little carrying pouch as well, so it’s easy to slip it into your pocket or into a bag alongside your MacBook when you hit the road.

The glossy, black plastic casing looks smart enough, but doesn’t feel all that strong. It’ll be fine if you just carry it in your pocket as you head off to your favourite coffee shop, but if you regularly work outdoors then you might want to pay a little extra for one of the faster and more rugged drives from LaCie or Elgato.

The drive’s performance won’t take your breath away either. Like the Kingston Hyper X 3.0, the External SSD suffers from relatively poor write speeds – a mere 45.8MB/s with the large files of the Aja System Test and 60.0MB/s when backing up our 5GB batch of smaller test files. Read performance is better, at 180.2MB/s and 211.0MB/s respectively, but the External SSD still ends up in fourth place overall.

But, to be fair, those speeds still put it well ahead of a conventional USB 2.0 drive, and with a price of just £89 for a model with 128GB capacity it works out far cheaper than any of the other drives with comparable capacity. Kingston’s Hyper X 3.0 provides slightly better performance and costs about £6 less, but it only offers 64GB of storage compared 128GB for the External SSD. There’s also a 256GB model that costs £219, which again is cheaper than any of its rivals that offer 256GB capacities.

MACWORLD BUYING ADVICE >
1 | 2 | NEXT >

Reevoo Price Comparison For Verbatim External SSD

Price comparison powered by

Prices, delivery and availability at 1 retailer		Go
	£85	Go

Reevoo Reviews For Verbatim External SSD

See more VERBATIM External SSD reviews on Reevoo.com

Submit your own review for this product

Click here for the latest reader comments

<<prev article | back to index | next article>>

Search reviews

Search Google

Newsletter signup

It's easy and free to get the latest news headlines, reviews and opinions straight to your email inbox. Sign up NOW to make sure you receive the latest Mac news, reviews and tutorials on your favourite topics.

Latest issue: Macworld

Find out what's in this month's Macworld here.

Macworld reader poll

What version of Adobe Creative Suite do you use?:

View poll results

Have your say in the
Macworld Forums!

Register now

Stay on top of the latest, breaking Mac news and chat with other Mac professionals and enthusiasts about the issues that matter to you. Register with Macworld today to join our forums and receive our twice-weekly email newsletter, Macworld Mainline.

RSS

Have the latest content delivered to your desktop via RSS. Use the links below to get access to a specific blog, news, or reviews feed.

Subscribe to our feeds here

Latest PC industry news

Latest news from MacVideo

MACWORLD MARKETPLACE

	LogMeIn Free - Remote Computer Access LogMeIn is a secure remote desktop software that lets you access your computers, files, and apps from anywhere on any device. Simply connect with LogMeIn Free and be free to work the way you want.
	TemplateCloud TemplateCloud.com is the design marketplace for graphic designers. You create designs, and use our software to build them into online editable templates. We sell your designs in different countries via different websites. Each time a customer uses your design, we pay you a royalty; the price is set by you.
	Amsys Amsys is recognised as the technical leader in Apple and has developed bespoke technical products and solutions to deliver class leading support to its business clients. Amsys clients can select from consultancy, integration, break-fix, recruitment, training and app development. Amsys make Apple products work for business.
	About NAD NAD Electronics has always stood out by doing things differently. Our relentless pursuit of great sound has earned us a ‘giant killer’ reputation. Every product is designed with heart and soul you can hear, emphasizing quality over quantity. We focus on the inside where it counts—and where you can hear the results.
	Sphero is a completely new type of gaming system. It's the world's first robotic ball that you control from your smartphone or tablet. You can drive Sphero, play tabletop and multiplayer games, use Sphero as a handheld controller for on-screen gameplay, and even explore augmented reality. Now with 20+ apps!
	MeteoGroup WeatherPro - the award winning weather app! Developed by professional meteorologists and providing weather forecasts for over 2 million locations with real-time, high resolution radar and satellite images, ski weather, water temperatures and more, WeatherPro is the most accurate and comprehensive weather app on the market.
	Beat the Credit Crunch - Lease your Mac from Hardsoft Hardsoft are the only 'one stop' solution for the supply and finance of I.T. to businesses throughout the UK via our regional branch offices. We are uniquely both equipment Apple Approved Reseller and licensed Credit Brokers and have tailored a solution which includes a full 3 year warranty and an equipment upgrade every 18 months.