The Orico’s M2PV-C3’s design is less polarizing than that of the SSK SHE-C325, but it actually uses cheaper materials, as the top panel is ridged aluminum but the sides and bottom are ABS plastic. Now, to reiterate an important point: A drive may come in the M.2 form factor, but that says nothing about the bus that it makes use of. Determining that is just as important as making sure it fits. These enclosures can be used as external accessories to our smartphones, tablets, and other devices like gaming consoles, computers, and smartphones. Simply insert your M.2 SSD into these enclosures, and then connect them to your computer using USB cables. On the last position, we have the UGreeen M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure which also has support for M.2 SATA SSDs. USB interface speeds are one thing, but you also want to ensure that your spare SSD is actually compatible with the enclosure. M.2 is not an interface but a form factor that may use the SATA or PCI-Express interfaces. Additionally, M.2 SSDs come in different sizes (lengths) and with different arrangements of pins (keying).

That's not a bad thing. Especially in the case of laptops, an older machine might supportonlyM.2 SATA-bus SSDs, and that will be the boundary of your upgrade path...end of story. As a result, the only reasons you'd upgrade the drive, in that situation, would be to get more capacity, or if the old one failed. The DIY-friendly design is further emphasized by the exclusive Q-latch mechanism, which promises an easy mounting process for the SSD into the enclosure. Most M.2 SSD enclosures use a 10 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface, which has the advantage of also being available on a relatively wide range of PCs and laptops. USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20 Gbps) is much less common, meaning that these enclosures will run at full speed on far fewer devices. Thunderbolt 3/4 or USB4 offers up to 40 Gbps of bandwidth but these interfaces are very rare outside of MacBooks and niche PC motherboards. USB Bandwidth Chart To install our drive in this enclosure, we first had to remove the aluminum panel, which is attached with a tiny, 5-point star screw rather than a normal Philips head type. The enclosure comes with a small star-shaped screwdriver, but we lost it and had to go digging through our iFixit kit to find an appropriate head. However, from an engineering point of view, SSDs didn't needto be that big. The enclosure an SSD comes in has a lot of dead space inside. It's designed in that 2.5-inch size and shape to make the drive fit into those existing bays. So when mobile-device designers, challenged with slimming down laptops and tablets, reassessed this issue, the consensus was clear: The bulky 2.5-inch form factor, eventually, would have to go.

They're The Same!?

Like the SSK model, Ugreen’s competitor uses the Realtek RTL9210B USB bridge, which supports both PCIe/NVMe and M.2 SATA SSDs. Of course, only a PCIe/NVMe drive will allow it to reach its maximum 10 Gbps sequential performance. While it offers no surprises on the performance side, what makes the Ugreen enclosure particularly attractive is an impeccable quality impression and easy operation. The only real downside to the abundance of aluminum used is that it’s also heavier than average. I work for a very large company and when an Exec wants that data, all the valid reasons in the world won't help you. So I needed the ability to shove the drive into an enclosure and access it.

One option is the Orico 20 Gbps M.2 enclosure, which actually costs slightly less than the RGB-equipped Asus Strix Arion. This well-rounded aluminum enclosure is a bit heavier than its 10 Gbps counterparts, but still fairly compact. You only have to bother with a single screw and it includes a heatsink as well as a 20 Gbps-rated Type-C to Type-C cable. The fastest enclosure we've tested, the ZikeDrive uses an ASMedia ASM2464 controller to deliver USB 4 read speeds that are 20 percent faster than we've seen on the competition. Write speeds were less impressive, but still strong in most scenarios. However, the ZikeDrive doesn't make the best list yet, because it's part of an IndieGoGo campaign and not available for general sale. It lends support to UASP and Trim protocols, armed with the advanced RTL9210B chip that works tirelessly to prevent short-circuits and over-current scenarios, promising a secure and stable environment for your SSD. In my early career, I worked as an editor of scholarly science books, and as an editor of "Dummies"-style computer guidebooks for Brady Books (now, BradyGames). I'm a lifetime New Yorker, a graduate of New York University's journalism program, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.At the core, an SSD is just a thin circuit board studded with flash-memory and controller chips. Why not design around that? Thus the M.2 form factor was born. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. One last caveat to drop in before we get to our product recommendations surrounds Intel's SSD line. Intel for a while sold a family of M.2-based storage products under the brand name Optane, in two very distinct types of drive. Intel's"Optane SSDs"were SSDs like any other, bootable drives that can serve as a stand-alone boot drive or as secondary storage. They were discontinued for consumers in 2021, but you may still see them around. (Intel sold its SSD business at the end of 2021 to SK Hynix, which spun it off into a new subsidiary, Solidigm.) Whichever brand and model you choose, make sure it’s compatible with your SSD and your device. For example, a Thunderbolt 3 certified enclosure won’t work with USB-C ports. Not all enclosures support all SSD sizes or types. Some take M.2 2280 type SSD only with maximum 2TB storage.

The drive is supported by almost all operating systems including Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Android, and IOS systems. but, I have personally found that these aluminum enclosures are prone to scratches. Out of the cheapest NVMe enclosures we’ve tested, the SHE-C325 Pro from SSK stands out as a decent compromise of functionality and style. Performance is on par with any other USB 3.2 Gen 2 model, and it also comes with a thermal pad and rigid aluminum housing. Last but not least, the box also contains dual USB cables (C-to-A and C-to-C), which is convenient. Since this enclosure maxes out at 10 Gbps, it can utilize the full bandwidth with a Type-A connection. Just a while ago I shared a tutorial about building your own external SSD and how easy it is to do so. All you need is an internal SSD along with a compatible NVMe enclosure. Fix the SSD into the enclosure and you are done. It’s that simple, really. I've got a Shinestar NVMe enclosure, but it tops out around 1GB and I know these drives go faster when plugged directly into an M2 slot. Even in mSATA's heyday, though, a replacement was in the works. During development, it was known as NGFF, for "Next-Generation Form Factor." As it took shape, though, it took on its current, final name: M.2. The drives would be smaller, potentially more capacious, and, most important, not necessarily reliant on SATA.

I Swapped the CEO's Assistant For a Day!

As evidenced by the CrystalDiskMark sequential performance chart, any decent M.2 enclosure will max out its interface bandwidth when connected to a sufficiently fast USB port. This also means that an external PCIe/NVMe SSD in a 10 Gbps enclosure is about twice as fast even when compared to high-end internal SATA drives. The enclosure showcases a Type C interface, a feature that enables double-sided insertion, advocating for versatility in its use. When it comes to speed, using USB-C Gen 2 10Gbps or Thunderbolt 3 is recommended to achieve its highest speed performance. Here’s a list of the top-rated and best NVMe enclosures and best SATA enclosures. They are also affordable. Let’s just get started without further discussion.

If cost is a concern, go with a PCIe 3.0 M.2 NVMe SSD like Crucial P2 and an enclosure like Orico M2PV-C3. If your device has a Thunderbolt 3 port, you can opt for a PCIe 4.0 M.2 NVMe SSD like Samsung 980 PRO and an enclosure like OWC Envoy Express.

Another aluminum enclosure that is sleek and reliable in thermal performance. This enclosure is only available for M-Key M.2 SSDs i.e. M.2 PCIe NVMe SSDs of up to 80mm in size. Most popular brands such as Samsung and Sabrent produce them.