In summary
The Sandisk Desk Drive 8TB is clearly intended for use in a fixed location; It is larger and heavier than many other external SSDs and also requires a separate power supply. The Desk Drive gets the most out of the 10Gbit/s USB-C port for both reading and writing and it also performs relatively well under long-term load. The price difference with external hard drives still remains significant in this capacity, while the higher performance of SSDs will not weigh so heavily for many in the main uses of large external storage.
SSDs have been the default choice for almost all tweakers for years for what you could call ‘primary storage’: the operating system and all frequently used programs. Thanks to the sharply reduced prices, the SSD is even the only storage medium in many new systems. Only for large-scale storage did a traditional hard drive remain the most popular option, simply because a hard drive of many terabytes is still considerably cheaper than an SSD. With its new Desk Drive, SanDisk also wants to persuade buyers of external storage of 4, 8 or soon even 16TB to opt for flash.
Housing and connections
SanDisk sees its Desk Drive Desktop SSD as the successor to the external 3.5″ hard drive that many PC users have on their desk for extra storage or backups. With dimensions of 10x10cm and a height of 4cm, it is The size of the external SSD is roughly comparable to that of a NUC mini PC. Especially in the longitudinal direction, the SSD is more compact than the device it replaces.
The rounded device with a playful orange ring and a flat top is a bit of a cross between a hockey puck and an enlarged keycap in terms of design. The SanDisk logo is on the top, while all connections are on the back. In addition to a USB-C port (10Gbit/s), the SSD also has a power connection. The included power adapter supplies 18W and is required for the SSD to function; if only the USB-C cable is plugged in, nothing happens. This immediately makes it clear that the external SSD is really intended for home use in a fixed location, because you are of course not going to drag that power supply with you everywhere when you are on the road. The SSD itself, with its weight of 268 grams, is also much less suitable for this than many other external SSDs.
According to SanDisk, the SSD can achieve a read speed of up to 1000MB/s; to find out the writing speed you need reviews like this one. The box contains a USB-C to USB-C cable with an adapter to USB-A to also connect it to older PCs. The SSD is formatted as exFAT by default, a file system that works with all common operating systems. The included Acronis backup software is also available for both Windows and macOS.
Interior and components
Naturally, we at Tweakers are curious about what hardware is hidden in the box; The manufacturer says nothing about the SSD and techniques used. There is officially no way to open the external SSD, so after all the testing was done, there was no other option but to pry open the case. Don’t do that yourself, because it can be destructive.
Once opened, all logic appears to be in the top shell. In the base we only find a large metal cooling block, which is connected to the SSD and the USB controller via heat pads. That is a JMicron JMS586R, a controller that can connect two PCIe 3.0 x2 SSDs with a USB 3.2 Gen2x2 port (20Gbit/s). It is striking that SanDisk does not use that option; the Desk Drive is limited to Gen2x1, or 10Gbit/s.
And yes, SSDs in the plural, because the green PCB hides not one, but two M.2 SSDs of 4TB each. They have a unique model number, so they are not identical to any known model. However, we know the SanDisk 20-82-20035-B2 controller used from the WD Black SN850X, while the 1TB flash chips with the imprint 006778-1T00 previously appeared in external Extreme Pro SSDs, according to the internet. Each of the two SSDs has a dram chip with the imprint K4AAG165WA-BCTD, which is a DDR4 chip from Samsung with a capacity of 2GB.
The bottom of the SSDs is in contact with a second metal heatsink via heat pads. Both cooling blocks are surrounded by the plastic housing and are therefore not so much about dissipating heat as storing heat. It will probably take some time before the SSDs have saturated the blocks, especially because the maximum performance is severely limited by the external USB interface.
Prices
SanDisk will initially release the Desk Drive in capacities of 4TB and 8TB, which will cost 425 and 780 euros respectively. That’s strong, but we know from the past that the prices of SanDisk products often drop significantly shortly after release. A 16TB model will also be released next year, which will accommodate two 8TB SSDs. The manufacturer gives a three-year warranty on the SSDs.
