This M.2 PCIe enclosure is the only laptop accessory I truly need

A laptop reviewer who regularly tests accessories singled out the HyperDrive Next USB4 M.2 PCIe enclosure. It houses NVMe SSDs and PCIe modules for data storage and, with the right component, acts like a high-performance external drive; the company also says it can accommodate machine learning accelerators.

Performance was the highlight. Using an Acer Swift Edge 14’s Thunderbolt 4 port, a 4TB Samsung 9100 Pro NVMe M.2 SSD and CrystalDiskMark, tests showed read speeds of roughly 4,000 MB/s and write speeds of about 1,300 MB/s. Real-world transfers included a 10GB movie in 25 seconds and a 98GB video game in four minutes and nine seconds, and Thunderbolt 5 systems could deliver even faster results.

The enclosure pairs an aluminum body with heat-managing ridges and includes thermal pads; placed in its silicone sleeve it achieves an IP55 rating for dust and splash resistance. Setup is simple—open the top and slide the drive into place—and the front has two Thunderbolt ports, one for data and one for power-in.

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