Have you seen the price of storage lately? Whether you are looking for an SSD upgrade or a memory card for your camera, the price of NAND chips, which these products use, has gone through the roof and it’s all because of the dash for AI.
Demand for fast memory chips has rocketed because of the massive expansion of AI data centers. The AI bubble is voracious in its appetite for NAND chips and companies are currently willing to pay a high price for memory. This rampant demand has caused a massive spike in the price of nearly all silicon-based memory.
This increase in SSD prices means we need to get more life out of our storage devices. If you have an NVMe SSD left over from an old computer or gaming console, you could keep it alive by putting it into an SSD enclosure like the latest model announced today by professional storage brand TerraMaster.
Rugged And Waterproof
The new rugged and portable D1 SSD enclosure is designed for users who need to keep their data safe under all kinds of conditions. Unlike many enclosures, the D1 SSD’s case is made completely of a metal chassis and has an IP67 water and dust resistance rating. It can also withstand up to 1.2 tons of crushing weight, so if you could run over it with a 4×4, it will be ok.
This new USB 3.2 enclosure offers high-speed data transfers, silent cooling and works across platforms such as Windows, macOS and Linux. It has three layers of protection, which include its solid and all-metal chassis that means it is suitable for storing data in difficult conditions like shooting videos in hostile locations. If you’re off to the Amazon to make a video of bird-eating spiders, this is the kind of enclosure to use.
With its unibody aircraft-grade aluminum alloy casing, the D1 SSD enclosure is both scratch and corrosion-resistant, making it suitable for long-term, heavy-duty use. Its second layer of protection is the IP67 water and dust resistance rating, using precision silicone sealing rings to keep out water and sand.
Jungle-Proof
The enclosure has been designed to withstand submersion in up to a meter of water for up to 30 minutes and is fully protected against dust and splashes. This means it’s suitable for use in wet or dusty conditions such as a construction site or jungle. TerraMaster says the enclosure’s protection performance has been verified by internationally recognized testing organizations such as SGS.
The third level of protection offered by the D1 SSD is down to its unibody structure, which is designed to withstand up to 1.2 tons of weight. Inside the enclosure, there is a shock-resistant internal design that can absorb impacts from drops and collisions, keeping the SSD and the data on it protected.
The D1 SSD has a USB 3.2 Gen2 interface with support for UASP protocol and TRIM optimization, which can help with long-term SSD reliability. The enclosure delivers real-world sequential read/write speeds of up to 1020 MB/s, depending on the type of SSD used.
High-Speed Performance
I tested the enclosure with a 1TB Lexar NM620 and managed to get a real-world write speed of 831MB/s and a read speed of 728.5MB/s, which is respectable. The all-metal housing has a ribbed design with 2.5 times more heat dissipation area that a flat design, which helps the enclosure’s fanless passive cooling system to operate silently without thermal throttling.
The enclosure can handle SSDs up to 8TB capacity and it’s compatible with M.2 2280 NVMe SSDs based on PCIe 3.0 / 4.0 / 5.0 standards. It’s also compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux, plus it connects to computers, TVs and OTG-enabled smartphones for plug-and-play use.
Additionally, the D1 SSD supports one-touch photo backup using the TerraMaster TDAS mobile app. Once connected, photos can be automatically synchronized from a smartphone, with the images being stored locally, which can prevent privacy leakage and enable efficient cross-device file management.
The new D1 SSD is aimed at photographers and outdoor professionals. Its rugged build quality is designed for complex environments where there’s a need for fast backups and data needs to be protected, such as field exploration, construction sites and other harsh outdoor conditions.
Pricing and Availability:
The TerraMaster D1 SSD is now available through the TerraMaster website and authorized global channels priced at $39.99. The enclosure has a two-year global warranty and lifetime technical support.
Tech Specs:
- Model no: D1 SSD
- SSD types: PCIe3.0/4.0/5.0 NVMe M.2 2280 SSD
- File systems: NTFS, APFS, Mac OS, FAT32, EXT4, exFAT.
- Supported OS: Windows, macOS, Linux.
- Maximum capacity: 8TB x 1.
- USB speed: 10Gbps
- Read speed (max.): 1,020MB/s.
- Write speed (max.): 1010MB/s.
- Ingress protection rating: IP67.
- Dimensions (HxWxD): 113.6 x 45.0 x 21.0mm
- Weight: 146g.
