MyDigitalSSD Pocket Vault SSD Review – Speed & Capacity In a Value Driven Ultra Small Mobile SSD

Size is everything in the world of SSDs and first hand proof of this can be seen in any number of ultrabooks, including the Apple MBA. True ultrabook size can only be accomplished through mSATA or M.2 SSDs. Much is the same with external storage where we have seen size reduced significantly, while performance has jumped exponentially with the introduction of UASP and SuperSpeed.  Not so long ago, we looked at the MyDigitalSSD OTG External USB 3.0 SSD that was 256GB in size and displayed performance of 449MB/s.  This external solution used a mSATA SSD to accomplish its performance with SuperSpeed.

At that time, The OTG was the smallest and fastest external solution we had reported on but that didn’t stop MyDigitalSSD from trying to push the bar just a bit further.  Today we areexamining the MyDigitalSSD 512GB Pocket Vault USB 3.0 SuperSpeed External SSD.  The PocketVault is arguably  thinner and lighter than the OTG with a smoother appearance and shape, trades transfer speeds slightly for a significantly lower price point, and is available in capacities as high as 1TB.

SPECIFICATIONS

The MyDigitalSSD Pocket Vault is an external SSD that connects by way of USB 3.0, with or without SuperSpeed.  It is available in capacities of 64, 128, 256, 512GB and 1TB, the 512GB and 1TB versions being amongst the smallest external storage solution available on the market today.  Specifications list performance of 240MB/s read and 170MB/s write transfer speeds, compatibility with PC, Mac and Linux systems, and a quick check shows pricing on Amazon at $59.99 (64GB), $89.99 (128GB), $159.99 (256GB) and $269.99 (512GB).  All capacities are also available on the MyDigitalSSD website, to include the 1TB version selling at $649.99.  The MyDigitalSSD Pocket Vault comes with a one year warranty.

POCKET VAULT COMPONENTS

The MDSSD PocketVault has a plastic exterior that is secured by two screws found under the rubber covers on the base of the SSD. Packaging includes the SSD itself along with a single USB 3.0 SuperSpeed compatible cable. This device will work with USB 3.0 with or without SuperSpeed, as well as all USB 2.0 systems.

The PCB contains the Phison PS2251 controller, along with eight modules of Toshiba 19nm MLC Toggle Mode NAND flash memory, each package being 64GB in size for a total RAW capacity of 512GB.  Once formatted, there is 472GB of storage available to the user, as can be seen in this Crystal DiskMark performance result:

Examining these results, 302MB/s read and 167MB/s write are great transfer speeds for an external storage device and blow away that of any hard drive external storage medium, especially if it is USB 2.0.  For those wondering about the low 4K reads and writes, this is typical as external storage solutions do not have the same needs as internal PC storage.  PC and ultrabook storage requires 4K speeds to move lower file sizes quickly for the OS and visible system appearance, whereas external devices typically store larger highly incompressible media files.

We thought we might confirm performance with AS SSD and we were surprised to see the high sequential write speed jump even higher to 192MB/s.  If you are wondering why we never included 4K and Access Time performance, this is simply the result of time constraints as it would probably extent this simple benchmark to over an hour before completion, the result of such low 4K performance.

Looking at the high sequential performance, as we should be with an external USB 3.0 storage medium, we can see the Anvil Storage utilities confirms what we have seen in the Crystal DiskMark and AS SSD result, this being excellent high sequential file transfer speeds.  We also included this result in order to give the reader an idea of our test Bench configuration, as can be seen on the lower right.

REPORT ANALYSIS AND FINAL THOUGHTS

The MyDigitalSSD Pocket Vault USB 3.0 SuperSpeed External SSD is amongst the smallest external storage devices available today when you consider that it is available in capacities of 512GB and 1TB.  The only real competition it has in this space is with the MyDigitaslSSD OTG External SSD.  It appears that MyDigitalSSD has positioned both very as the OTG has higher performance at 449MB/s, whereas the Pocket Vault has an absolutely great price and higher capacities, yet still has performance well above that of the traditional hard drive at 302MB/s as tested.

To achieve the 1TB capacity with the OTG, one would have to buy the Samsung 1TB EVO mSATA SSD separately and install it in that device. We are certain this would work as we did just that a few weeks back for a reader questioning whether that was possible. That solution, of course, would double that of the Pocket Vault, not to mention the loss of any hopes of future warranty.  Having 1TB of storage in a device half the size of any cell phone, however, is wicked!

All in all, we think the MyDigitalSSD Pocket Vault is deserving of our Editor’s Choice Award as it is the smallest external storage device we have seen yet (excluding much more expensive flash drives), has a high of 1TB in capacity, along with great speeds and a low price.

Check Out Pocket Vault Prices on Amazon!