Question *STABLE* NVMe - USB Adapter?

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cyberjedi

Junior Member
Apr 4, 2010
23
13
81
I'm looking to buy a *RELIABLE* NVME-USB external adapter, that doesn't disconnect randomly, can keep up the close to 1GB/s speed.
So far all adapter's reviews contain frighteningly high % of reports of malfunction, random disconnects, sub-par speeds, falling to even under USB 2.0 speeds, etc.
There are 3 main chipsets in the market: JMicron JMS583, Asmedia ASM2362, and Realtek RTL9210 (no product has surfaced with the latter yet, so no REAL reviews, experiences yet UPDATE: it is on the market already).
Also ASUS has a new product, ROG Strix Arion, but there isn't enough feedback about it yet, and I mean real life feedback not just being able to run a few benchmarks, but real stress test to see if the device (adapter) can keep it up, without disconnecting or slowing down hard.
I would really appreciate any feedback from those who have GOOD experiences during stress-tests, like tons of random 4k writes with a stable speed, cloning 100's of GB-s at a stable high speed close to 1GB/s.
I know SSD's very well, so please stick to the point and don't start to educate me on how their speed falls after some writes, etc. I'm aware and this is NOT the point.
You can help if you can point me to a STABLE and RELIABLE NVMe-USB-C adapter that WORKS as expected.
Thank you in advance!
 
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ppptech

Junior Member
Mar 29, 2020
17
1
41
I have ordered a Ugreen enclosure from Amazon which uses the asm2362 as references above in this thread. Will report back when I have tested it out.

Unfortunately the Ugreen enclosure shows the same symptoms as the Sabrent enclosure! Very odd. So it could be Intel Coffee Lake!
 

continuum

Junior Member
May 27, 2006
23
1
71
Using this Shinestar random thing off Amazon for over a year now, has worked with numerous Coffee Lake laptops. It's an ordinary JMicron JMS583 inside.

 

ppptech

Junior Member
Mar 29, 2020
17
1
41
Using this Shinestar random thing off Amazon for over a year now, has worked with numerous Coffee Lake laptops. It's an ordinary JMicron JMS583 inside.


Are these Thunderbolt 3 ports?

Guessing this might just be another case of USB-C blues with Razer laptops then :( I will update if I get anywhere with Razer.
 

Charlie22911

Senior member
Mar 19, 2005
614
228
116
My Aero 15X v8 is coffee lake (8750h). I just replaced a bad N channel mosfet that was intended for reverse polarity protection on the charging port, so I got to check every USB port... no issues on any of them. They are all connected to the intel root hub on this machine.

The MSI PS63 is whisky lake, and has issues on the ports connected to the intel root hub, even after cross flashing the sabrent enclosure to the JEYI firmware.
 

Fernandez21

Junior Member
May 2, 2020
8
1
51
I have a 2017 iMac with thunderbolt 3 ports. I will be upgrading it to a 2tb 970 evo plus within the next year (still getting other parts I want to upgrade at the same time).

I already have the drive and want to start using it now, it'll make things easier when I fully install it down the road since it will already have all my files and apps/games ect.

So my question is, what would be the best enclosure I could use my 970 with in the mean time? It would have to be stable enough to be the primary drive and boot MacOS. It's also the "family computer", so we never really shut it off, we simply log out and let it go to sleep, when the next person needs to use it they just move the mouse to wake it and enter password. Would this type of usage be a problem while using the external drive as the main drive?

Any recommendations would be useful, though I would prefer not to spend $120 on a thunderbolt 3 specific enclosure, i am seriously considering the Asus, but want to confirm its using the realtek controller as that seems to be the best one. My main concern is reliability and protecting my 970 evo plus, it was quite expensive (for me), so I would prefer to not use some super generic enclosure that could damage it but I don't want to break the bank since I plan on using it for the next couple of months.
 
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ppptech

Junior Member
Mar 29, 2020
17
1
41
My Aero 15X v8 is coffee lake (8750h). I just replaced a bad N channel mosfet that was intended for reverse polarity protection on the charging port, so I got to check every USB port... no issues on any of them. They are all connected to the intel root hub on this machine.

The MSI PS63 is whisky lake, and has issues on the ports connected to the intel root hub, even after cross flashing the sabrent enclosure to the JEYI firmware.

Good work on the mosfet replacement.

On the razer I have 1 USB-C port. It behaves differently on the OS side depending on the USB negotiation that happens. I found this quite odd. I am guessing it's doing some kind of routing post negotiation?

USB 2
Device shows up on one of 24 ports on Intel USB 3.1 controller port 11

USB 3.1 Gen 1 5Gbit
An additional Intel USB 3.1 controller shows up with a USB Root Hub under that with 4 ports which is connected to the device port 3

USB 3.1 Gen 2 10Gbit
An additional Intel USB 3.1 controller shows up with a USB Root Hub under that with 4 ports which is connected to the device port 3
 

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Brutale1090

Junior Member
May 6, 2020
2
0
6
Hi guys,
after reading this thread I decided to buy a Jeyi GTR (RTL9210). It just arrived, I installed my already tested Intel nvme drive and tried it on PC and PS4 Pro.
It's working on PC, not working on PS4.

Any hint?

BrallyO, fantom3l - do you have any opportunity to report if upgrading with the FW (Portable) solves the PS4 compatibility?

I've applied some thermal paste on top of the thermal pads (my nvme drive runs very hot), so I'd avoid removing the nvme drive if it's confirmed that the FW update doesn't help.

Thank you all for your support
 

Charlie22911

Senior member
Mar 19, 2005
614
228
116
Have you used external storage on the PS4 before? Just wondering what your level of familiarity is, since it will have to be formatted in the settings first.
 

Fernandez21

Junior Member
May 2, 2020
8
1
51
Has anyone tried this enclosure? According to one of the reviews, it states that this actually showed his 970 evo plus and allowed him to use Samsung software.



ineo M.2 NVMe (PCIe) SSD USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C Tool-Less Enclosure [C2575 M2 NVMe] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MZNRGK6/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_9A9SEbW1M283X
eb9f35012a82bffec63afd8a06c03f56.jpg


Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk
 

Brutale1090

Junior Member
May 6, 2020
2
0
6
Have you used external storage on the PS4 before? Just wondering what your level of familiarity is, since it will have to be formatted in the settings first.
Yes I did, I know how it works.

I got in touch with the Jeyi support, they didn't ppropose any fw update which specifically solves the PS4 compatibility issue, they showed me a section in their forum where it's possible to download customized firmware versions with different "sleep time" (0 minutes for Apple; 5, 10, 30 for Windows).

Don't even know if I'll try because I saw that there is a not null probability of bricking while upgrading. I'll probably give it away to my sister who owns a Macbook Pro.
 

Charlie22911

Senior member
Mar 19, 2005
614
228
116
Yes I did, I know how it works.

I got in touch with the Jeyi support, they didn't ppropose any fw update which specifically solves the PS4 compatibility issue, they showed me a section in their forum where it's possible to download customized firmware versions with different "sleep time" (0 minutes for Apple; 5, 10, 30 for Windows).

Don't even know if I'll try because I saw that there is a not null probability of bricking while upgrading. I'll probably give it away to my sister who owns a Macbook Pro.

Do you have a link? I have an SPI flash programmer so I'm not worried about bricking anything.

On another note, this enclosure does not work on two of the machines I've tried if it is behind a 4 port hub. They are both based on the VIA VL813 hub controller. I guess that tosses out my idea that it was somehow an Intel issue, probably surprising no one.
 

Fernandez21

Junior Member
May 2, 2020
8
1
51
I was going to joke about what the circle bands are for, but it outjoked me. It holds the heatsink in place.

Unless it's dirt cheap, I would move on from that one. I doubt it'll get any after sale support such as firmware updates.
I ended up going with the fledging. A little more expensive, but it has a cooling fan and they have good support. I plan on making it my windows boot drive. Also a US based company and I prefer to support local if possible.

Shell SSD External Hard Drive Enclosure (0GB, Enclosure Only) by Fledging - PCIe USB 3.1 Portable External SSD Enclosure m.2 to USB 3.1, Fan Cooled https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MHG1BXY/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_9IWTEbEJQCEJA
8e737037767a257322b8a5cfb9d11dad.jpg


Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk
 

Muadib

Lifer
May 30, 2000
17,914
838
126
I ended up going with the fledging. A little more expensive, but it has a cooling fan and they have good support. I plan on making it my windows boot drive. Also a US based company and I prefer to support local if possible.

Shell SSD External Hard Drive Enclosure (0GB, Enclosure Only) by Fledging - PCIe USB 3.1 Portable External SSD Enclosure m.2 to USB 3.1, Fan Cooled https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MHG1BXY/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_9IWTEbEJQCEJA
8e737037767a257322b8a5cfb9d11dad.jpg


Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk
You can't boot Windows from an external drive. Not Windows 10 anyway.
 

Fernandez21

Junior Member
May 2, 2020
8
1
51
You can't boot Windows from an external drive. Not Windows 10 anyway.
I've been doing it from my 860 Evo for the past week. That's what prompted me to get the new enclosure, my Evo is only 250gb, I have a WD sn750 1tb that I want to use instead.

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk
 

Muadib

Lifer
May 30, 2000
17,914
838
126
I've been doing it from my 860 Evo for the past week. That's what prompted me to get the new enclosure, my Evo is only 250gb, I have a WD sn750 1tb that I want to use instead.

Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk
How are you doing it? Did you install Windows 10 on the 860 Evo while it was an internal drive?
 

razel

Platinum Member
May 14, 2002
2,337
90
101
You can boot off Windows 10 on USB drive. You just can't easily install Windows 10 on a USB drive. You install Windows natively via SATA then move it to USB then tell the BIOS, boot there. This can be done via UEFI where you tell it where the boot manager is or if the laptop is old and in NON-UEFI mode just choose the USB drive.

During installs Windows 10 will create several partitions, often two. If you know how, by using the command line, to get it down to one partition, then it's far easier to boot of USB.
 

akashi

Junior Member
Aug 23, 2014
5
0
66
A question for those who are saying the enclosures are running hot; did you monitor the temp during usage?

I have a WD SN550 1TB NVME inside my computer which during load reaches over 60c. This will feel hot if it was inside an enclosure.

I have ordered an enclosure featuring ASM2362 and hoping it works without issues.
 

Fernandez21

Junior Member
May 2, 2020
8
1
51
I ended up going with the fledging. A little more expensive, but it has a cooling fan and they have good support. I plan on making it my windows boot drive. Also a US based company and I prefer to support local if possible.

Shell SSD External Hard Drive Enclosure (0GB, Enclosure Only) by Fledging - PCIe USB 3.1 Portable External SSD Enclosure m.2 to USB 3.1, Fan Cooled https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MHG1BXY/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_9IWTEbEJQCEJA
8e737037767a257322b8a5cfb9d11dad.jpg


Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk
Ok, this one might be going back, the fan is sooo loud, louder than the internal fan in my iMac.

Thinking about the Asus, very pricey though. Anyone else tried this one?

ASUS ROG STRIX Arion Aluminum Alloy M.2 NVMe SSD External Portable Enclosure Case Adapter, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (10 Gbps), USB-C to C and USB-C to A Cables, Fits PCIe 2280/2260/2242/2230 M Key/B+M Key https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZKB4SLK/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_FdFUEb8X6TJSF

Also thinking about maybe just getting a thunderbolt 3 one, I didn't want to spend that much, but if I'm already going up to the $60 range for the Asus, maybe I should just go all the way. Downside is, no thunderbolt 3 enclosure is backwards compatible with USB 3.2, unless someone knows otherwise.

Avolusion SSDTB900-PRO Thunderbolt 3 (40Gbps) Portable SSD External Enclosure Case (for M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD, Turn Internal PCIe SSD to External SSD) Retail - 2 Year Warranty https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085T57STT/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_ihFUEbQ1KVHPP
14d5715f0c6a1bce4425757c1f6d7c56.jpg
0f9711a8c5d6dfc68225c58c6253c7db.jpg


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cyberjedi

Junior Member
Apr 4, 2010
23
13
81
You can boot off Windows 10 on USB drive. You just can't easily install Windows 10 on a USB drive. You install Windows natively via SATA then move it to USB then tell the BIOS, boot there. This can be done via UEFI where you tell it where the boot manager is or if the laptop is old and in NON-UEFI mode just choose the USB drive.

During installs Windows 10 will create several partitions, often two. If you know how, by using the command line, to get it down to one partition, then it's far easier to boot of USB.

You actually CAN install Win 10 on an USB drive, it's called Windows-To-Go.
You can use Rufus and a win10 install iso, and it will take care of everything.
Don't mess with the partitions it creates, there are very good reasons behind their existence. One is for Boot, one is for Recovery, one is the OS.
When you have a fast USB drive (like these NVMe drives with USB adapters this topic is about), it will not make anything faster to mess with the default partition scheme.
 

BrallyO

Junior Member
Feb 22, 2020
21
10
51
You can't boot Windows from an external drive. Not Windows 10 anyway.

Like others have said, you can using Rufus, but it's not officially supported, and you gotta be careful about what drivers you install because it apparently can break if you carry it around between lots of computers.

I had never done it before about two months ago. It's pretty cool and easy to do once you know how. There's some tutorials around if you google for it.

One of the problems I had with those JMicron adapters was instability and weird behavior when trying to boot from them. I was mostly interested in booting linux, but I also might do some Windows booting from my NVME adapter in the future. My RTL9210 has been flawless for me so far.

Oh, and one more thing about booting Windows from USB: I had Windows start crashing on me when I was doing this. It turned out that all of the read/write activity was causing the USB flash drive to overheat and it would get unstable. I put a USB fan on it and that fixed it. I was only using it to upgrade firmware and to do some testing. It was one of those Samsung FIT USB flash drives.
 
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