Sabrent Rocket Nano 2TB USB 3.2 External Aluminum SSD Review

It’s not often that we do product comparisons in an SSD review, but it just may be unavoidable in this case.  The compared product is a Thunderbolt 3 SSD I have had in my pocket for a few years now.  It is my go-to for portable storage and is perhaps the most perfect cut of a single piece of aluminum that I have ever seen.  It is the Tekq Rapide Portable SSD.  It was originally a 512GB SSD, but since, I have ripped it apart and it is now 2TB.  To its left is the Sabrent Rocket XTRM-Q 8TB Tbt3 Portable SSD, and to its right, the Rocket Nano USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps External SSD that we are reviewing today.

The single thing that all three of these SSD have in common is that each is constructed of a very solid aluminum casing and all have a great feel in your hand.  They seem almost bulletproof.  All three will get warm to the touch as well, simply because that aluminum exterior acts as a heatsink for the high data transfer speeds moving data to or from each device.

The Sabrent Rocket Nano takes things one step further though; it is small.  Measuring only 2.7″ x 1.1″ x .5″ and weighing only 1.6oz, this portable SSD is one of the smallest and fastest found today.  It is available in 512GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities, is a USB 3,2 Gen 2 NVMe SSD and it will reach 10Gbps speeds up to 1GB/s read and write.

It is both Windows and Mac compatible, has a 1-year warranty, and inside you would find a form factor 2242 (42mm) M.2 SSD.  with a Type-C connector on the bottom.

It’s packaging consists of the all-to-familiar exterior aluminum shell style casing, the Rocket Nano SSD itself and two cables, a USB  Type-C to Type-C capable of data transfer up to 1GB/s read and write, as well as a Type-C to Type-A cable that will reach typical USB 3.1 speeds in the area of 540MB/s.

A quick look at our Crystal DiskInfo result shows that this SSD uses the UASP interface ( USB Attached SCSI Protocol) and is compliant with the NVMe 1.3 protocol.

Checking Amazon, we can see the Sabrent Rocket Nano priced at $99.99 (512GB), $169.99 (1TB) and our tested 2TB sample at $299.99. At the time of the review, we also noted Coupon discounts for immediate price reductions of $10 (512GB), $40 (1TB) and $60 (2TB). Let’s flip to the next screen to check out a few benchmarks…