Image: Jon L. Jacobi
At a glimpse
Specialist’s Rating
Pros
- Outstanding 20Gbps efficiency
- Super-slim, trim profile
- 5-year service warranty
Cons
- Slower composing 48GB of files and folders than its SL600 cousin.
Our Verdict
If what you look for is a quickly, attractive USB SSD that moves into your pocket practically imperceptibly, or installs quickly to the back of your mobile phone, then Lexar’s SL500 is most likely what you’re searching for.
Rate When Reviewed
2TB: $230
Finest Prices Today: Lexar SL500 20Gbps USB SSD
$199.99
Physically, Lexar’s SL500 portable USB 3.2 × 2 SSD makes its SL600 and SL660 stablemates appear like chunky monkeys. Really, determining a simple 0.3-inches thick (less than 0.2 at the edges), by 2.1-inches broad, by 3.3-inches long, the SL500 make almost all external SSDs appear chunky.
As it’s likewise magnificently styled, and weighs a simple 1.5 ounces, let’s simply state the SL500 is an incredibly design amongst external SSDs.
Additional reading: See our roundup of the best external drives to find out about completing items.
What are the SL500’s functions?
The SL500 is a super-slim, USB 3.2 × 2 (20Gbps) external SSD that can be found in 2TB, and quickly, 4TB tastes. It ships with a brief Type-C to Type-C cable television and is warrantied for 5 years. That’s a restricted service warranty that no doubt presumes that you will not strike it with a sledgehammer, or compose numerous petabytes of information to it.
The drive ships formatted to exFAT, so it’s understandable and writable on both Windows and macOS (Linux too, naturally) right out of package.
Lexar includes its DataShield software application for both running systems, which enables you to protect the SL500 with a password. If you choose to utilize a password, you’ll require to set up the app on any computer system you wish to access the protected drive from.
Just how much does the Lexar SL500 expense?
The 2TB variation of the SL500 is being launched on March 20 at a sale price of $230. That’s approximately foregone conclusion for a name-brand USB 3.2 × 2 20Gbps system, though you can get name-brand 10Gbps 2TB SSDs and no-name 20Gbps 2TB SSDs for a fair bit less. (Our preferred 10Gbps external SSD, the Important X9 Profor instance, costs simply $95 for 2TB) A 4TB variation of the SL500 will be readily available later on in the year at a concealed cost.
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How quick is the Lexar SL500?
The 2TB SL500 we checked fared rather well versus the similarity the Samsung T9 and Important X10 ProIts artificial standard outcomes were so close (a little much better) to the formerly evaluated SL600I verified to see that I had not got the incorrect file. I had not.
The outcomes were well within analytical variation and the fraternal triumph was so close, it’s most likely to be the exact same controller and NAND in a various kind aspect.
Right-click on a chart and choose “Open image in brand-new tab” to see more information.
Random 4K composes in CrystalDiskMark 8 were once again impressive, and almost similar to the SL600.
Our real-world 48GB transfers were a various story, and a sluggish folder compose dropped the SL500 2 locations behind the SL600. A little a secret if we’re calling it the very same drive. That makes it the 4th fastest out of 10 USB 3.2 × 2 SSDs we’ve checked, though including the USB4 OWC 1M2 in 20Gbps mode drops the SL500 to 5th.
Be sure to utilize the much shorter cable television that ships with the SL500 or one accredited for 20Gbps USB. A copy regular really crashed utilizing a longer plain-Jane Type-C cable television– a happenstance we’ve hardly ever seen however one we can’t blame on the drive.
Back to typical, the SL500 published a nearly similar time as the SL600 composing our big 450GB file. This makes the 48GB efficiency variation even more perplexing.
Should you purchase the SL500?
The super-slim type aspect of the SL500 renders it distinctively portable along with ideal for auxiliary storage to your phone or other little gadget. It’s not rather as quick writing as some, however it’s quick enough that we’ll think about the SL500 an advantage in a little bundle.
How we evaluate
Drive tests presently make use of Windows 11 (22H2) 64-bit operating on an X790 (PCIe 5.0) motherboard/i5 -12400 CPU combination with 2 Kingston Fury 32GB DDR5 modules (64GB of memory overall). Intel incorporated graphics are utilized. The 48GB transfer tests use an ImDisk RAM disk using up 58GB of the 64GB overall memory. The 450GB file is moved from a Samsung 990 Pro 2TB, which likewise consists of the os.
Each test is carried out on a freshly NTFS-formatted and TRIM ‘d drive so the outcomes are ideal. Keep in mind that as any drive fills, efficiency will reduce due to less NAND for secondary caching, and other elements.
The efficiency numbers revealed use just to the drive we were delivered in addition to the capability checked. SSD efficiency can differ with capability due to more or less chips to read/write throughout and the quantity of NAND offered for secondary caching (composing TLC/QLC as SLC). Suppliers likewise sometimes switch elements. If you ever observe a big disparity in between the efficiency you experience which we report (systems being approximately equivalent), by all ways– let us understand.
Finest Prices Today: Lexar SL500 20Gbps USB SSD
$199.99
Author: Jon L. Jacobi
Freelance factor
Jon Jacobi is an artist, previous x86/6800 developer, and veteran computer system lover. He composes evaluations on TVs, SSDs, rush webcams, remote gain access to software application, Bluetooth speakers, and sundry other consumer-tech software and hardware.