Home Consumer Corsair EX100U Portable SSD Review

Corsair EX100U Portable SSD Review

by StorageReview Enterprise Lab

The new Corsair EX100U portable SSD series comes in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities with a USB 3.2 Gen2 x2 interface for high bandwidth transfers. Its small size, 3.12in x 1.44in x .43in makes it extremely portable. Corsair quotes read and write speeds up to 1,600MB/s and 1,500MB/s respectively.

The new Corsair EX100U portable SSD series comes in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities with a USB 3.2 Gen2 x2 interface for high bandwidth transfers. Its small size, 3.12in x 1.44in x .43in makes it extremely portable. Corsair quotes read and write speeds up to 1,600MB/s and 1,500MB/s respectively.

Corsair EX100U

This device comes with both USB Type-C to Type-C and Type-C to Type-A cables for wide compatibility with a multitude of devices.

Corsair EX100U back

The connection port has a protective cap that can help prevent getting anything in that port while on the go.

Corsair EX100U port

The Corsair EX100U comes in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities with street pricing of $108, $190, and $484 at Amazon.

Corsair EX100U Portable SSD Model Specifications

CAPACITY 1000GB 2000GB 4000GB
Part Number CSSD-EX100U1TB CSSD-EX100U2TB CSSD-EX100U4TB
Form Factor Portable storage Portable storage Portable storage
Interface USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 USB 3.2 Gen 2×2
Controller Phison PS2251-18 Phison PS2251-18 Phison PS2251-18
NAND 3D NAND 3D NAND 3D NAND
DRAM Cache No DRAM cache No DRAM cache No DRAM cache
NAND Cache Static pSLC Static pSLC Static pSLC
Encryption Not supported Not supported Not supported
Trim Support Not Supported Not Supported Not Supported
S.M.A.R.T Support Supported Supported Supported
Garbage Collection Supported Supported Supported
TBW Rating 250TBW 500TBW 1000TBW
MTBF 1
idle power < 12.5mW < 12.5mW < 12.5mW
Average Active Read 3.5W 3.5W 3.5W
Average Active Write 3.5W 3.5W 3.5W
Operating Temperature 0° C~70° C 0° C~70° C 0° C~70° C
Storage Temperature -40° C~85° C -40° C~85° C -40° C~85° C
Operating Humidity 90% RH (40° C) 90% RH (40° C) 90% RH (40° C)
Storage Humidity 93% RH (40° C) 93% RH (40° C) 93% RH (40° C)
Shock 500 G 500 G 500 G
20Hz~80Hz/1.52mm, 20Hz~80Hz/1.52mm
Vibration 80Hz~2000Hz/20Gp-p 80Hz~2000Hz/2 80Hz~2000Hz/2
Dimensions 79.37  X 36.65 X 11 mm 79.37  X 36.65 X 11 mm 79.37  X 36.65 X 11 mm
Sequential Read (CDM) (2) (4) Up to 1600 MB/s Up to 1600 MB/s Up to 1600 MB/s
Sequential Write (CDM) (2) (4) Up to 1500 MB/s Up to 1500 MB/s Up to 1500 MB/s

Corsair EX100U SSD Performance

For our tests, we used a Lenovo ThinkStation P520 Workstation, previously reviewed here at StorageReview.com.

First up, is the Blackmagic test, where the EX100U recorded 1,241.3MB/s read and 1,331.4MB/s write, not the fastest portable SSD we’ve tested in the USB 3.2 Gen2 x2 category.

The next test is IOMeter. Here, we looked at 2MB sequential read/write, 2MB random read/write, and 4K random read/write. In our first test, the EX100U yielded lower speeds than the quoted peak claims from Corsair.

For 2MB sequential speeds, the EX100U recorded 1,268MB/s write and 1,026MB/s read, while 2MB random showed 1,257MB/s write and 1,015MB/s read. In our 4K tests, the EX100U reached 24,665 IOPS write and 4,493 IOPS read:

IOMeter (1 Thread)
Seq 2MB Write 1,268MB/s
Seq 2MB Read 1,026MB/s
Random 2MB Write 1,257MB/s
Random 2MB Read 1,015MB/s
Random 4K Write 24,665 IOPS
Random 4K Read 4,493 IOPS

When upped to 4-threads (which puts a heavy workload on the device), the EX100U showed stronger results that more than met the Corsair advertised figures.

For 2MB sequential speeds, the EX100U recorded 1,635MB/s write and 1,713MB/s read, while 2MB random showed 1,634MB/s write and 1,701MB/s read. In our 4K tests, the EX100U reached 72,431 IOPS write and 7,180 IOPS read:

IOMeter (4 Threads)
Seq 2MB Write 1,635MB/s
Seq 2MB Read 1,713MB/s
Random 2MB Write 1,634MB/s
Random 2MB Read 1,701MB/s
Random 4K Write 72,431 IOPS
Random 4K Read 7,180 IOPS

Conclusion

The Corsair EX100U targets the high-compatibility USB-connected device space while retaining speeds over 1GB/s using its USB 3.2 Gen2 x2 interface. Traditionally to get into the 1GB/s performance range and above, manufacturers would need to hop on the Thunderbolt interface which limits compatibility to many smaller devices. At the time of this writing, on Amazon, they are pricing the 1TB version for $108 (USD), the 2TB version for $190 (USD), and the 4TB version for $484 (USD), making these drives very cost competitive.

From a performance angle, the Corsair EX100U met its performance claims of up to 1,600MB/s read and 1,500MB/s write. We measured 1,241MB/s read and 1,331MB/s write in BlackMagic, although IOMeter had speeds more in line with the advertised numbers. Here we measured 1,026MB/s read and 1,268MB/s with a single-threaded 2MB sequential workload, although as the workload was scaled up to 4-threads the EX100U offered more at peak saturation. Here we measured 1,713MB/s read and 1,635MB/s write in our 2MB sequential workload, besting its spec sheet.

Overall the Corsair EX100U is cost-effective and performs well, a nice combo for the portable SSD space. Better yet, devices like this routinely go on sale, so if you need a nice portable drive and it’s priced well, the EX100U is a very good option. Additionally, for those who need a large-capacity portable, this is also one of the very few that reaches to 4TB.

EX100U at Amazon

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