Plugable's Latest Thunderbolt 3 External SSD Drive Delivers Amazing Performance

Chino · Jan 5, 2018

Plugable's new 480GB external NVME SSD drive hits performance levels not possible before Thunderbolt 3. Connect the drive to a Thunderbolt 3 port to gain 480GB of extra storage with amazing speeds of up to 2400+ MB/sec read and 1200+ MB/sec write, all without the need for an external power connection. These speeds make this external drive a no-compromise performance solution for video editing, backup, and any tasks which demand maximum disk performance. "Thunderbolt 3 is a revolutionary technology," said Bernie Thompson, CEO of Plugable Technologies. "We've created our line of high-end docks, adapters, and drives to show it off."

"Plugable's new external drive makes the most of the performance and power provided by Thunderbolt 3," said Jason Ziller, General Manager, Client Connectivity Division at Intel. "Thunderbolt 3 enables portable drives like this to hit peak performance, all over a single Thunderbolt 3 cable."

The drive is compatible with all Thunderbolt 3-enabled PCs and laptops, including the new Apple* MacBook Pro*. Thunderbolt 3 supports up to 40 Gbps throughput and the Plugable drive makes use of that bandwidth to operate at the maximum speed of its high-performance, built-in 480GB M.2 SSD. The solution offers speeds much higher than can be achieved by USB 3.1 Gen 2, which is limited to 10 Gbps. And it's all powered by Thunderbolt 3 over one USB-C cable - no external power adapter is required.

The Plugable 480GB Thunderbolt 3 drive is expected in Q1 2018. Learn more at http://plugable.com/products/tbt3-nvme480.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

bonehead123 · Jan 5, 2018

word 1:

Sammy

word 2:

Evo Pro 960 = 3000/2000

w/o cables, cases or other b.s

Word 3:

Meh....

thebeephaha · Jan 5, 2018

Long time TPU forum member here, and senior Plugable engineer. If anyone has any questions definitely feel free to ask me anything.

TPU moderators - if this isn't allowed just let me know.

mohammed2006 · Jan 6, 2018

thebeephaha said:
Long time TPU forum member here, and senior Plugable engineer. If anyone has any questions definitely feel free to ask me anything.

TPU moderators - if this isn't allowed just let me know.

If i connect the Thunderbolt 3 on a usb c gen2 on my motherboard will i get the top speed of the drive

ZeDestructor · Jan 6, 2018

thebeephaha said:
Long time TPU forum member here, and senior Plugable engineer. If anyone has any questions definitely feel free to ask me anything.

TPU moderators - if this isn't allowed just let me know.

Any chance we could get these as empty M.2 and U.2 chassis as well as prebuilt drives? I tend to cycle down my SSDs into removable storage as I upgrade in general.

thebeephaha · Jan 7, 2018

mohammed2006 said:
If i connect the Thunderbolt 3 on a usb c gen2 on my motherboard will i get the top speed of the drive

No, this drive requires Thunderbolt 3, it is not backwards compatible with regular USB-C 3.1 Gen 1 or 2.

ZeDestructor said:
Any chance we could get these as empty M.2 and U.2 chassis as well as prebuilt drives? I tend to cycle down my SSDs into removable storage as I upgrade in general.

At this time, no. Sorry!

Prima.Vera · Jan 7, 2018

The problem is, I cannot find anywhere in this world, a PCIE card with 1 or 2 Thunderbolt 3 interfaces. I mean this is really ridiculously stupid.

thebeephaha · Jan 7, 2018

Prima.Vera said:
The problem is, I cannot find anywhere in this world, a PCIE card with 1 or 2 Thunderbolt 3 interfaces. I mean this is really ridiculously stupid.

Well Thunderbolt 3 isn't designed to be added on after the fact. I mean it can be if the motherboard chipset has the inherent support for it built in (some of the ASUS Workstation boards have add on cards), but if your computer doesn't have that ability, you'll unfortunately need to upgrade your motherboard.

Prima.Vera · Jan 7, 2018

thebeephaha said:
Well Thunderbolt 3 isn't designed to be added on after the fact. I mean it can be if the motherboard chipset has the inherent support for it built in (some of the ASUS Workstation boards have add on cards), but if your computer doesn't have that ability, you'll unfortunately need to upgrade your motherboard.

This is even more stupid and retarded if you are right. Since it's based on PCI Express, how come it cannot be added as a separate add-on card on any motherboard with PCIE 3.0 x4 slot!?!?!??

thebeephaha · Jan 7, 2018

Prima.Vera said:
This is even more stupid and retarded if you are right. Since it's based on PCI Express, how come it cannot be added as a separate add-on card on any motherboard with PCIE 3.0 x4 slot!?!?!??

Because there are inherent underlying technologies that need to be supported by the motherboard chipset and CPU to allow for Thunderbolt 3. You can't just tack on a TBT3 controller to any system. USB-C and TBT3 are quite complex, there's a ton of interconnecting technologies.

Basically you need an Intel Skylake system or newer. So select high end Z170 motherboards and up. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbolt_(interface)#Thunderbolt_3

Prima.Vera · Jan 7, 2018

thebeephaha said:
Because there are inherent underlying technologies that need to be supported by the motherboard chipset and CPU to allow for Thunderbolt 3. You can't just tack on a TBT3 controller to any system. USB-C and TBT3 are quite complex, there's a ton of interconnecting technologies.

Basically you need an Intel Skylake system or newer. So select high end Z170 motherboards and up. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbolt_(interface)#Thunderbolt_3

Isn't possible to just have a dedicated separated controller except the one on the CPU and/or chipset? There are hundreds of dedicated USB3.1 cards out there that works on any CPU/chipset as long as it has PCIE slots.... I'm asking because I can find a lot of external dedicated cards for Thunderbolt 1 and 2 but not for 3 that works on any system.

bug · Jan 7, 2018

I have a thing for looking down on sequential transfer numbers being quoted for NVMe drives, but this is one of the few cases where these are actually relevant. Because it's very likely you'll use these to transfer large amounts of data to/from them,

thebeephaha · Jan 7, 2018

Prima.Vera said:
Isn't possible to just have a dedicated separated controller except the one on the CPU and/or chipset? There are hundreds of dedicated USB3.1 cards out there that works on any CPU/chipset as long as it has PCIE slots.... I'm asking because I can find a lot of external dedicated cards for Thunderbolt 1 and 2 but not for 3 that works on any system.

Yep, and that is because USB 3.1 cards are just for USB data. Thunderbolt 3 cards also need to provide video through DisplayPort, and support connecting external PCIe devices.

bug said:
I have a thing for looking down on sequential transfer numbers being quoted for NVMe drives, but this is one of the few cases where these are actually relevant. Because it's very likely you'll use these to transfer large amounts of data to/from them,

That's our thought as well, and we've rounded those numbers down a little bit as well. We expect content creators will be one of our larger audiences, but these are great for doing image backups and restores as well.

ZeDestructor · Jan 9, 2018

thebeephaha said:
At this time, no. Sorry!

Aw

gregpop · May 28, 2018

Prima.Vera said:
The problem is, I cannot find anywhere in this world, a PCIE card with 1 or 2 Thunderbolt 3 interfaces. I mean this is really ridiculously stupid.

If did not find yet the ThunderBolt 3 card adapter I send you an address from Newegg.com (https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813995053) and one from Europe,from Germany (https://www.alternate.de/ASUS/ThunderboltEX-3-Card-Schnittstellenkarte/html/product/1282013). Althogh you can Write this on Google (ThunderboltEX 3 Card ) and you find this card .it have an USB-C 40Gb/s connector,one USB-Type A connector what is only 10 Gb/s and an Mini Display connector.it is around $100 (Dollars)
All the best.
greg

Prima.Vera · May 28, 2018

Thanks! But I have a Z77 chipset, so no go for me... :rolleyes:

System Name	The Little One
Processor	i5-11320H @4.4GHZ
Motherboard	AZW SEI
Cooling	Fan w/heat pipes + side & rear vents
Memory	64GB Crucial DDR4-3200 (2x 32GB)
Video Card(s)	Iris XE
Storage	WD Black SN850X 4TB m.2, Seagate 2TB SSD + SN850 4TB x2 in an external enclosure
Display(s)	2x Samsung 43" & 2x 32"
Case	Practically identical to a mac mini, just purrtier in slate blue, & with 3x usb ports on the front !
Audio Device(s)	Yamaha ATS-1060 Bluetooth Soundbar & Subwoofer
Power Supply	65w brick
Mouse	Logitech MX Master 2
Keyboard	Logitech G613 mechanical wireless
Software	Windows 10 pro 64 bit, with all the unnecessary background shitzu turned OFF !
Benchmark Scores	PDQ

System Name	0BL1V10N
Processor	Intel Core i7 11700K @ 5.1GHz all-core turbo
Motherboard	ASRock Z590 Taichi
Cooling	Cooler Master MasterLiquid 360 (with stock CM fans), 12x Pccooler Moonlight Series ARGB 120mm fans
Memory	(4x16GB) 64GB Mushkin Redline Lumina 3600MHz 16-19-19-39 XMP
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 4090 SUPRIM LIQUID 24G (not using stock fans) (+150MHz core, +1000MHz memory)
Storage	Western Digital Black SN850X 2TB Gen4 NVMe
Display(s)	1x Alienware AW3821DW (3840x1600@144Hz), 2x Dell SE2717H (1080p@75Hz)
Case	Phanteks Enthoo 719 Anthracite Grey
Audio Device(s)	Schiit Modius + Drop THX AAA 789 + Custom Planar Magnetic Headphones
Power Supply	Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 1200W (12VHPWR)
Mouse	Logitech G502 X Plus
Keyboard	Too many custom mechanical builds to list...
Software	Windows 10 Pro 22H2

Processor	I9 13900k
Motherboard	Asus z690 hero
Cooling	Next Kraken X72
Memory	32GB gskill 6000
Video Card(s)	xfx 7900xtx black
Storage	Intel P5800X 800GB / sabrent rocket 4 plus 4tb
Display(s)	Asus PA32DC
Case	ASUS TUF GT502
Audio Device(s)	Sony TA-ZH1ES & Sony Z1R
Power Supply	Corsair 1500i

System Name	Diablo \| Baal \| Mephisto \| Andariel
Processor	i5-3570K@4.4GHz \| 2x Xeon X5675 \| i7-4710MQ \| i7-2640M
Motherboard	Asus Sabertooth Z77 \| HP DL380 G6 \| Dell Precision M4800 \| Lenovo Thinkpad X220 Tablet
Cooling	Swiftech H220-X \| Chassis cooled (6 fans + HS) \| dual-fanned heatpipes \| small-fanned heatpipe
Memory	32GiB DDR3-1600 CL9 \| 96GiB DDR3-1333 ECC RDIMM \| 32GiB DDR3L-1866 CL11 \| 8GiB DDR3L-1600 CL11
Video Card(s)	Dual GTX 670 in SLI \| Embedded ATi ES1000 \| Quadro K2100M \| Intel HD 3000
Storage	many, many SSDs and HDDs....
Display(s)	1 Dell U3011 + 2x Dell U2410 \| HP iLO2 KVMoIP \| 3200x1800 Sharp IGZO \| 1366x768 IPS with Wacom pen
Case	Corsair Obsidian 550D \| HP DL380 G6 Chassis \| Dell Precision M4800 \| Lenovo Thinkpad X220 Tablet
Audio Device(s)	Auzentech X-Fi HomeTheater HD \| None \| On-board \| On-board
Power Supply	Corsair AX850 \| Dual 750W Redundant PSU (Delta) \| Dell 330W+240W (Flextronics) \| Lenovo 65W (Delta)
Mouse	Logitech G502, Logitech G700s, Logitech G500, Dell optical mouse (emergency backup)
Keyboard	1985 IBM Model F 122-key, Ducky YOTT MX Black, Dell AT101W, 1994 IBM Model M, various integrated
Software	FAAAR too much to list

System Name	0BL1V10N
Processor	Intel Core i7 11700K @ 5.1GHz all-core turbo
Motherboard	ASRock Z590 Taichi
Cooling	Cooler Master MasterLiquid 360 (with stock CM fans), 12x Pccooler Moonlight Series ARGB 120mm fans
Memory	(4x16GB) 64GB Mushkin Redline Lumina 3600MHz 16-19-19-39 XMP
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 4090 SUPRIM LIQUID 24G (not using stock fans) (+150MHz core, +1000MHz memory)
Storage	Western Digital Black SN850X 2TB Gen4 NVMe
Display(s)	1x Alienware AW3821DW (3840x1600@144Hz), 2x Dell SE2717H (1080p@75Hz)
Case	Phanteks Enthoo 719 Anthracite Grey
Audio Device(s)	Schiit Modius + Drop THX AAA 789 + Custom Planar Magnetic Headphones
Power Supply	Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 1200W (12VHPWR)
Mouse	Logitech G502 X Plus
Keyboard	Too many custom mechanical builds to list...
Software	Windows 10 Pro 22H2

Processor	Intel® Core™ i7-13700K
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z790 Aorus Elite AX
Cooling	Noctua NH-D15
Memory	32GB(2x16) DDR5@6600MHz G-Skill Trident Z5
Video Card(s)	ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 3080 AMP Holo
Storage	2TB SK Platinum P41 SSD + 4TB SanDisk Ultra SSD + 500GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD
Display(s)	Acer Predator X34 3440x1440@100Hz G-Sync
Case	NZXT PHANTOM410-BK
Audio Device(s)	Creative X-Fi Titanium PCIe
Power Supply	Corsair 850W
Mouse	Logitech Hero G502 SE
Software	Windows 11 Pro - 64bit
Benchmark Scores	30FPS in NFS:Rivals

Processor	Intel i5-12600k
Motherboard	Asus H670 TUF
Cooling	Arctic Freezer 34
Memory	2x16GB DDR4 3600 G.Skill Ripjaws V
Video Card(s)	EVGA GTX 1060 SC
Storage	500GB Samsung 970 EVO, 500GB Samsung 850 EVO, 1TB Crucial MX300 and 2TB Crucial MX500
Display(s)	Dell U3219Q + HP ZR24w
Case	Raijintek Thetis
Audio Device(s)	Audioquest Dragonfly Red :D
Power Supply	Seasonic 620W M12
Mouse	Logitech G502 Proteus Core
Keyboard	G.Skill KM780R
Software	Arch Linux + Win10

Plugable's Latest Thunderbolt 3 External SSD Drive Delivers Amazing Performance

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