OWC’s Envoy Pro FX Is One Fast And Tough Thunderbolt And USB 3 SSD

Consumer Tech OWC’s Envoy Pro FX Is One Fast And Tough Thunderbolt And USB 3 SSD Mark Sparrow Senior Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Technology journalist specializing in audio, computing and photography Following New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Got it! Sep 25, 2022, 08:00am EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The OWC Envoy Pro FX is a beautifully constructed SSD and available in capacities up to 4TB.

OWC Last month, OWC announced the launch of its OWC Envoy Pro FX Portable SSD, available in a range of capacities up to 4TB. It’s a pocket-sized drive with a Thunderbolt interface and some fast speeds. So what’s not to like? The Envoy Pro FX uses NVMe NAND memory and is available in five capacities: 240GB, 480GB, 1TB and 2TB and 4TB.

That’s enough choice for most of us. The case is superbly constructed with all-metal construction and, unlike most portable drives, the Envoy Pro FX feels unusually cold to the touch and its sharp edges give the whole drive a feel of precision. The aluminum case is designed to quickly conduct any heat build-up away from the NVMe SSD flash memory.

SSDs can get hot quite quickly when transferring large amounts of data at high speeds, so the temperature must be kept as cool as possible as there’s no fan built in as you find with larger mechanical hard drives. There’s a blue LED at the front pop the Envoy Pro FX which indicates power and activity status. OWC A blue LED on the front of the drive’s case confirms the power and activity status.

The case feels rugged in hand and tough. It should withstand some rough handling and even the occasional drop from a desk. OWC claims the drive was tested by being dropped 25 times from every angle from four feet.

The case is rated at IP67 for water and dust resistance and can withstand being plunged one meter underwater for up to 30 minutes. MORE FOR YOU Google Issues Warning For 2 Billion Chrome Users Forget The MacBook Pro, Apple Has Bigger Plans Google Discounts Pixel 6, Nest & Pixel Buds In Limited-Time Sale Event The Envoy Pro FX is supplied with a 70cm Thunderbolt/USB 3 cable and OWC has thoughtfully provides a USB-A to USB-C adapter for people with older computers. The whole package feels high quality and I particularly liked the rubber strips on the bottom of the case, ensuring the drive sticks like a limpet to almost any surface.

Although OWC is best-known for supplying accessories to Mac users, the Envoy Pro FX is thoroughly agnostic and will work fine with many operating systems. OWC says it will play nicely with Macs, PCs, Ubuntu Linux, iPad OS and Chrome. The interface on the OWC Envoy Pro FX is USB 3 and Thunderbolt compatible with a theoretical maximum .

. . [+] throughput of 10 GB/s.

OWC The Envoy Pro FX has an Intel Titan Ridge chip for handling the Thunderbolt interactions and a Realtek RTL9210 for taking care of USB 3. 2 Gen 2 mode communications. The drive uses advanced storage technology with TRIM support that works with Thunderbolt to deliver fast and reliable performance.

When used with old-school USB interfaces, you can expect only half the maximum quoted speed of the 10 GB/s drive. However, if you have USB 3. 2 Gen 2, you’ll get much better performance.

The speed you can get from the Envoy Pro FX will depend on what computer you’re using it with. With real-world testing (using something like a new MacBook Pro) you can expect a write speed of 2,100 MB/s and a read speed topping out at 2,711 MB/s read speed. But, of course, the precise figures will depend on your computer and the drive’s capacity.

Those figures give a good indication of what you can expect from this speed demon, so there’s doubting this is a fast drive that would be ideal for transferring large video files and digital image archives. However, speed may not be so important unless you are transferring chunky files, so bear in mind that this is a high-performance drive for people who need speed. If speed isn’t so important, you can get less-expensive drives that probably won’t look or feel so good.

When the OWC Envoy Pro FX is first plugged in it offers options for initialisation. Mark Sparrow Verdict: The OWC Envoy Pro FX is a blazingly fast drive ideally suited to Mac users with USB 3 and Thunderbolt interfaces as standard. It’s good to see OWC has included a decent-length Thunderbolt cable so those with Thunderbolt can get the best speeds straight out of the box.

The construction quality is impeccable. The OWC Envoy Pro FX is a perfect drive for shooting video on location, even somewhere inhospitable like the Amazon rain forest. Although it is expensive compared to slower and less well-built storage solutions, this tremendous little drive should offer impeccable service thanks to the efficient cooling design.

Pricing & Availability: The OWC Envoy Pro FX drive is available now and prices start at $219. 00. More info: MacSales.

com Tech Specs: Compatibility: Plug & play with past, present, and future Macs, Windows and Linux PCs, iPad Pros, Chromebooks, and Surface devices. Speed: Write speeds up to 2800MB/s with Thunderbolt. Applications: Audio, video, photography, graphics, gaming, and general data storage/backup.

Advanced technology with TRIM support using Thunderbolt. Certified: Dustproof, drop-proof, and waterproof. Power: Bus-powered.

Cooling: Fanless, heat-dissipating aluminum housing. Interface: Thunderbolt/USB. Warranty: 3-year OWC limited warranty and lifetime support.

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