SanDisk Professional PRO-G40 Thunderbolt / USB Dual-Mode Portable SSD Review
By Jennifer P
Ganesh T S from AnandTech recently posted their review of the SanDisk Professional PRO-G40 Thunderbolt / USB Dual-Mode Portable SSD. Western Digital is launching a brand-new flagship portable SSD under the SanDisk Professional name. For prosumers, content producers, and studios searching for a high-performance, rugged, bus-powered portable storage drive with broad compatibility, the PRO-G40 dual-mode PSSD checks all the necessary boxes. There are models that are 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB. The PSSD can function as a 1GBps-class drive when connected to a USB 3.2 Gen 2 host port, even though Thunderbolt 3 hosts are where it performs at its best (near to 3GBps). AnandTech were given a 2TB sample of the PRO-G40 from Western Digital to use in our thorough direct-attached storage study.
Introduction
Over the past ten years, external bus-powered storage devices have improved in terms of speed and storage capacity. We now have palm-sized flash-based storage devices that can achieve 3GBps+ rates as a result of the quick development of flash technology (including the introduction of 3D NAND and NVMe) as well as quicker host interfaces (such Thunderbolt 3 and USB 3.x). While Thunderbolt 4 can achieve those speeds, mass-market devices must rely on USB. USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) is quickly replacing USB 3.0 as the standard for thumb drives and portable SSDs within the USB ecosystem.
With the SanDisk Professional PRO-G40 Portable SSD, Western Digital is currently jumping on the dual-mode bandwagon. Internally, the PSSD employs a WD_BLACK SN750E M.2 2280 drive. The ASMedia ASM2362 USB 3.2 Gen 2 – NVMe bridge chip is added to the JHL7440 Titan Ridge Thunderbolt 3 controller on the bridge side. The enclosure itself is composed of sturdy metal and is pretty elegant. A silicone base is included on one side. The drive also has a metal-reinforced USB-C port and an LED indicator.
These characteristics enable the PRO-G40 to receive an IP68 classification, which guarantees complete protection against dust infiltration and zero damage from complete and continuous immersion under 1 meter of water. The solid aluminum core supports faster heat dissipation as part of the thermal solution and permits drop- (up to 3m) and crush-resistance (up to 4000 lbs.).
The primary unit of the PRO-G40 PSSD is packaged simply with a 20cm Thunderbolt 3 passive cable. Although the length might be an issue for standard desktops, these dual-mode drives are most commonly used in notebooks or systems that have a Thunderbolt dock integrated into the workspace.
Although the drive is initially formatted for Macs, changing the drive’s OS is a simple process. Their sample was examined using a Windows 10 computer and the exFAT filesystem. The SanDisk Professional PRO-G40 has the same “problems” as all Thunderbolt SSDs do under Windows. The write performance of the disk attached to the Thunderbolt connection falls short of expectations and advertised statistics unless write caching is enabled in the volume settings.
Since moving to Windows 10 on their new testbed, their policy has been to evaluate all external storage devices with default OS settings – and this has been for quick removal. They did, however, test the PRO-G40 drive three times: once with a Thunderbolt 3 port and once with a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port enabled by the ASMedia ASM2342 controller. They repeated the evaluation procedure with the write cache settings modified in their final pass, as shown in the image below (default settings on the left, and modified one on the right).
CrystalDiskInfo provides a quick overview of the PSSD as seen by the host system. The interface section is of particular interest – NVM Express over Thunderbolt, and UASP (NVM Express) over USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C.
The table below presents a comparative view of the specifications of the different PSSDs presented in this review.
Learn more about SanDisk Professional PRO-G40 HERE
Learn more about SanDisk Professional HERE