SK hynix Beetle X31 (2TB) consider: a powerful, snazzy scarab
The SK hynix Beetle X31 first crawled onto the outside SSD stage in mid-2023, sporting a gold-clad aluminum chassis, a ten Gbps interface, and a excessive functionality of 1TB. Now the company is updating its lineup with the 2TB Beetle X31 we’re proper right here. The additional spacious scarab drive sports activities actions a silver carapace this time, nevertheless aside from the color shift and a doubling of functionality, not rather a lot has modified – which positively isn’t a nasty issue.
The company encompasses a generous accent bundle deal, with every USB-C and USB-A cables and a silicon bumper that feels want it is further useful for conserving the drive’s flooring scuff free than for exact security. The drive’s aluminum shell feels as robust as any exterior SSD I’ve examined, save possibly LaCie’s pricey Rugged Mini SSD.
That talked about, the most important hurdle the 2TB Beetle might face is pricing. With an MSRP of $169, the drive faces stiff rivals from totally different good 10 Gbps drives like Important’s X9 Skilled and the Silicon Vitality PX10,every of which at current promote for a lot much less on the same functionality. Nevertheless I would depend on the Beetle’s worth to settle competitively into the market, merely as the company’s Tube T31 stick drive has, with frequent product sales making it laborious to ignore.
Specs
| Product | 512GB | 1TB | 2TB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $49.99 (avenue) | $93.99 (avenue) | $169.99 (really helpful) |
| Interface / Protocol | USB 3.2 Gen2 (10 Gbps) | USB 3.2 Gen2 (10 Gbps) | USB 3.2 Gen2 (10 Gbps) |
| Included | USB Variety-C to Variety-C cable, USB Variety-C to Variety-A cable, defending case | USB Variety-C to Variety-C cable, USB Variety-C to Variety-A cable, defending case | USB Variety-C to Variety-C cable, USB Variety-C to Variety-A cable, defending case |
| Sequential Be taught | 1050MB/s | 1050MB/s | 1050MB/s |
| Sequential Write | 1000MB/s | 1000MB/s | 1050MB/s |
| Endurance (TBW) | Unspecified | Unspecified | Unspecified |
| Dimensions | 2.91 x 1.81 x 0.58 inches (74 X 46 X 14.8 mm) | 2.91 x 1.81 x 0.58 inches (74 X 46 X 14.8 mm) | 2.91 x 1.81 x 0.58 inches (74 X 46 X 14.8 mm) |
| Weight | 53 grams | 53 grams | 53 grams |
| Assure | 3 years | 3 years | 3 years |
Design and Gear for the SK hynix Beetle X31
At 2.91 x 1.81 x 0.58 inches with a simple silver metal shell, the X31 feels further like a futuristic pebble than a six-legged insect. It arguably feels increased inside the hand than any transportable drive I’ve examined – for regardless of that’s worth. It’s also pretty pocket nice, though competing drives from Important and Silicon vitality are slimmer.
One house the place the Beetle X31 really stands out is in its included tools. The company encompasses a pair of white 10-inch USB cables, one ending in USB-C and the alternative in USB-A (each connects to the drive on the totally different end by the use of USB-C). Moreover inside the subject is what the company calls a defending case. Really though, it’s a clear TPU bumper that runs throughout the drive, defending its edges. It’s a good add-in, however it absolutely would not likely really feel considerably compulsory, as a result of the drive’s enclosure is an particularly solid-feeling chunk of aluminum that seems and feels very premium.
Some might want the champagne gold of the lower-capacity fashions, nevertheless I want the silver (hynix calls it darkish gray) of the 2TB model as a result of it is further neutral, and I’ve a way many Macbook homeowners can also uncover this coloration fascinating.
The drive moreover has silicon bumpers on the underside that every disguise the interior entry screws and keep the SSD from slipping spherical in your desk. Whole, I similar to the design slightly rather a lot, though Important’s X9 and X10 drive actually really feel equally robust and are thinner.
The drive ships free of any type of software program program or apps, which I imagine is usually high-quality since most included storage software program program is often freeware or presents little tangible value anyway.
Comparability Merchandise
There are a substantial amount of 2TB 10 Gbps exterior storage decisions within the market, along with various the biggest flash drives and the biggest exterior SSDs. Nevertheless the toughest rivals for the Beetle X31 will come from just a few lower-priced 10 Gbps decisions, notably Important’s X9 Skilled and the Silicon Vitality PX10. The latter was selling for merely $124 inside the 2TB functionality as soon as we wrote this consider.
Every of those drives are moreover slimmer than the Beetle X31, though the PX10 is longer (housing a full-size 2280 SSD beneath its aluminum shell, and Important’s drive is barely wider. Really though, it’s all going to return again proper all the way down to effectivity.
Trace Testing – PCMark 10 Storage Benchmark
PCMark 10 is a trace-based benchmark that makes use of a wide-ranging set of real-world traces from modern features and frequently duties to measure the effectivity of storage devices.
The Beetle X31 didn’t start off our testing on a extreme remember, with its 1001 ranking proper right here landing it inside the lower half of our comparability drives. Nonetheless it does deal with to beat Samsung’s 10 GBps T7 Defend. The Silicon Vitality PX10 does increased proper right here, and costs a lot much less.
Change Prices – DiskBench
We use the DiskBench storage benchmarking software program to test real-world file swap effectivity with a custom-made 50 GB dataset. We copy 4,617 recordsdata (photos, motion pictures, and software program program ISO recordsdata) to a folder on the check out drive (write). Then, after leaving the system idle for five minutes, we run the similar check out in reverse, transferring the check out folder to a particular location on our PCIe 4.0 testing drive.
As quickly as as soon as extra the Beetle X31 fails to land near the very best, this time beating solely the two Samsung drives. That talked about, its be taught speeds aren’t that far off the rivals, everytime you disregard the pricier 20 GBps Important X10 Skilled that’s primarily proper right here for context. And its write effectivity was increased on this check out, landing in third place amongst totally different 10 Gbps drives.
Synthetic Testing CrystalDiskMark
CrystalDiskMark (CDM) is a free and easy-to-run storage benchmarking software program that SSD companies usually use to assign product effectivity specs. It supplies us notion into how each gadget handles completely totally different file sizes. We run this check out at its default settings.
On this synthetic sequential check out, the hynix drive seems to be like its biggest however, with associated reads and writes landing it merely behind the PX10 inside the former and easily ahead inside the latter.
Having a look at IOPS, the Beetle X31 is a mixed bag, besting each little factor nevertheless the PX10 on reads, nevertheless solely beating the poor-performing T5 Evo on random writes. Nonetheless, its write ranking is on the very least respectable proper right here. I might not advocate booting your predominant OS from the SK hynix drive (or any exterior SSD, in truth), nevertheless for typical storage and lightweight program duties, these outcomes are better than high-quality.
Sustained Write Effectivity
A drive’s rated write specs are solely a little bit of the effectivity picture. Most exterior SSDs (much like their inside counterparts) implement a write cache, or a fast house of flash, programmed to hold out like faster SLC, that absorbs incoming info.
Sustained write speeds usually endure tremendously when the workload saturates the cache and slips into the “native” TLC or QLC flash. We use Iometer to hammer the SSD with sequential writes for quarter-hour to measure the size of the write cache and effectivity after the cache is saturated.
On this last and most demanding check out, the SK hynix Beetle X31 carried out reasonably properly, managing to write down down at spherical 1040 MB/s for about seven minutes, nevertheless then it fell to a very gradual sub-150 MB/s fluctuate for the rest of our check out. That means do you have to’re writing decrease than about 430 GB, the SK hynix drive will in all probability be faster than most 10 GBps drives. Nevertheless do you have to’re writing significantly better than that in a single regular run, many drives will in all probability be faster.
The T7 Defend and Seagate Sport drive managed to remain close to 100 MB/s all by means of our check out. And the Silicon Vitality PX 10, whereas it dropped down from its peak effectivity after a minute on this check out, nonetheless managed to stay above 800 MB/s for virtually the entire thing of our check out, making it rather a lot faster than the hynix drive for really demanding pro-level duties, like filling your complete drive quickly.
Bottom Line
The SK hynix Beetle X31 wouldn’t stand above the best 10 Gbps SSDs in velocity or worth (on the very least at its $169 MSRP), nevertheless its effectivity is usually pretty good, notably do you have to aren’t usually doing pro-level duties like writing to your complete drive from a fast inside drive. For file storage, working elementary packages, or plugging proper right into a supported console for sport backups, its velocity and responsiveness is bigger than passable and loads of wouldn’t uncover the excellence as compared with a demonstrably faster varied.
And no matter proudly proudly owning faster and roomier drives, I usually found myself using the Beetle X31 for day-to-day storage duties, because of I like one of the simplest ways it seems to be like and feels in my hand, and because the white cables (every USB-A and USB-C) are easy to determine in my small mountain fluctuate of cable muddle. As for the $169 launch worth, it’s extreme when speedier drives similar to the Silicon Vitality X10 worth significantly a lot much less. Nevertheless I’m pretty assured we’ll see the Beetle X31 settle in at a further clever worth. In any case, the 1TB SK hynix Tube T31 started out at $99, had dropped to $84 by the purpose I was writing our consider, and was simply these days selling for at $59 all through Black Friday.
MORE: Best SSDs
MORE: Best Exterior SSDs
MORE: Best SSD for the Steam Deck
