SK Hynix Launches the Beetle X31 Portable SSD with Unusual Design

[TheLostSwede]

SK Hynix seems to be getting into being a retail brand in the storage market space and its latest addition to its product range looks pretty interesting, in more ways than one. The compact 74 x 46 x 14.8 mm (WxDxH) SSD goes under the name of Beetle X31 and judging by the packaging, it's meant to look like a golden Egyptian scarab, although SK Hynix was clearly not bold enough to follow through with the housing design. Regardless, the small golden puck looks pretty nifty, but it also hides some rather interesting technology under its shell.

Fortunately for us, a Korean YouTuber has already disassembled the drive and based on the specs, it appears to have an ASMedia ASM2362 PCIe 3.0 x2 to USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) bridge chip, which allows the internal NVMe drive to interface with the USB Type-C port on the device. The internal NVMe SSD is also rather intriguing and it'll most likely be found in some other devices. It appears to follow the M.2 2242 form factor, but it's only equipped with a single chip, which is said to house not only the NAND flash, but also the SSD controller and some kind of DRAM, as this is not a DRAM-less SSD. The Beetle X31 will be available in 512 GB and 1 TB sizes, with the 1 TB model retailing for 138,000 Korean won, or around US$103. An optional protective case is also available as an accessory.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[vbq7qK68eyYAH4iR]

Cool little unit.

The YouTube video says it's USB 3.2 Gen 2. Can't find a product page, so not sure if the youtuber or TPU has the right USB version.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Cool little unit.

The YouTube video says it's USB 3.2 Gen 2. Can't find a product page, so not sure if the youtuber or TPU has the right USB version.

USB 3.2 Gen 2 and USB 3.1 Gen 2 are the same, both are 10 Gbps. USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 is 20 Gbps. You can thank the USB-IF for that.
The chip in question is listed as USB 3.1 Gen 2, which is why I stuck with that.

 

[Wirko]

and some kind of DRAM, as this is not a DRAM-less SSD

An USB SSD very probably can't use the Host Memory Buffer (HMB), so the ones with good performance can't be DRAM-less.

 

[berjerac]

you don't have to guess.
this 1 chip solution is probably their bc711 oem ssd that comes in 2230-2280 sizes
iow, it's quite good

 

[TheLostSwede]

you don't have to guess.
this 1 chip solution is probably their bc711 oem ssd that comes in 2230-2280 sizes
iow, it's quite good

Ah, nice, impossible to tell from the video though, but that makes a lot of sense. I wasn't aware of that product.

 

[Psyclown]

I would definitely like to see more creative and unusual portable SSD designs from companies as I’m a bit of an SSD fashionista

 

[bonehead123]

Well, even though it looks like a gold bar, thankfully it aint priced like one, nice move SK....hehehe

 

[SomeOne99h]

Just looking at the pics without enlarging them to the actual size, it looked like a commercial for soap

 

[GreiverBlade]

An USB SSD very probably can't use the Host Memory Buffer (HMB), so the ones with good performance can't be DRAM-less.

i have 3 ext SSD 1 Adata XPG SE770G 1tb (basic NVMe with DRAM), one Asus ROG Strix Arion enclosure with a Crucial P1 (1gb DRAM) and a IcyBox IB-1807MT-C31 which was used to test a DRAM-less Crucial P3 Plus ---

that's the P3 Plus result ... faster than that Beetle X31 (it's a 4.0 but due to the enclosure same speed limitations )


this is the Arion P1


the SE770G is also around the same speed, all 3 of them are USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, so all three have good performance and one of them is DRAM-less

although i like that Beetle X31 formfactor (well it's smaller than the SE770G which is already a compact one ) 1 chip 1tb is nice too (specially if it contain all on one chip ) and the price is not bad at all.

 

[Readlight]

Next will be apple, potatoes.