At a look

Expert’s Rating

Pros

• Excellent 20Gbps efficiency
• Super-slim, trim profile
• 5-year guarantee

Cons

• Slower writing 48GB of information and folders than its SL600 cousin.

Our Verdict

If what you search is a quick, handsome USB SSD that slides into your pocket nearly imperceptibly, or mounts simply to the again of your cellular gadget, then Lexar’s SL500 is probably going what you’re on the lookout for.

Price When Reviewed

2TB: $230

Best Prices Today: Lexar SL500 20Gbps USB SSD

$199.99

Physically, Lexar’s SL500 transportable USB 3.2×2 SSD makes its SL600 and SL660 stablemates seem like chunky monkeys. Actually, measuring a mere 0.3-inches thick (lower than 0.2 on the edges), by 2.1-inches extensive, by 3.3-inches lengthy, the SL500 make practically all exterior SSDs seem chunky.

As it’s additionally attractively styled, and weighs a mere 1.5 ounces, let’s simply say the SL500 is an excellent mannequin amongst exterior SSDs.

Further studying: See our roundup of the best external drives to find out about competing merchandise.

What are the SL500’s options?

The SL500 is a super-slim, USB 3.2×2 (20Gbps) exterior SSD that is available in 2TB, and shortly, 4TB flavors. It ships with a brief Type-C to Type-C cable and is warrantied for 5 years. That’s a restricted guarantee that little question assumes that you just received’t hit it with a sledgehammer, or write a number of petabytes of information to it.

The drive ships formatted to exFAT, so it’s readable and writable on each Windows and macOS (Linux too, after all) proper out of the field.

Lexar consists of its DataShield software program for each working methods, which lets you safe the SL500 with a password. If you decide to make use of a password, you’ll want to put in the app on any laptop you wish to entry the secured drive from.

How a lot does the Lexar SL500 price?

The 2TB model of the SL500 is being launched on March 20 at an inventory value of $230. That’s roughly par for the course for a name-brand USB 3.2×2 20Gbps unit, although you will get name-brand 10Gbps 2TB SSDs and no-name 20Gbps 2TB SSDs for fairly a bit much less. (Our favourite 10Gbps exterior SSD, the Crucial X9 Pro, for instance, prices simply $95 for 2TB.) A 4TB model of the SL500 will probably be accessible later within the 12 months at an undisclosed value.

IDG

IDG

IDG

How quick is the Lexar SL500?

The 2TB SL500 we examined fared fairly effectively towards the likes of the Samsung T9 and Crucial X10 Pro. Its artificial benchmark outcomes have been so shut (barely higher) to the beforehand reviewed SL600, I double-checked to see that I hadn’t grabbed the improper file. I hadn’t.

The outcomes have been effectively inside statistical variance and the fraternal victory was so shut, it’s prone to be the identical controller and NAND in a distinct type issue.

Right-click on a chart and choose “Open image in new tab” to see extra element.

Random 4K writes in CrystalDiskMark 8 have been once more excellent, and practically an identical to the SL600.

Our real-world 48GB transfers have been a distinct story, and a sluggish folder write dropped the SL500 two locations behind the SL600. A little bit of a thriller if we’re calling it the identical drive. That makes it the fourth quickest out of 10 USB 3.2×2 SSDs we’ve examined, although including the USB4 OWC 1M2 in 20Gbps mode drops the SL500 to fifth.

Also, you’ll want to use the shorter cable that ships with the SL500 or one licensed for 20Gbps USB. A replica routine really crashed utilizing an extended plain-Jane Type-C cable — a happenstance we’ve hardly ever seen however one we will’t blame on the drive.

Back to regular, the SL500 posted an nearly an identical time because the SL600 writing our massive 450GB file. This makes the 48GB efficiency disparity all of the extra puzzling.

Should you purchase the SL500?

The super-slim type issue of the SL500 renders it uniquely transportable in addition to appropriate for auxiliary storage to your telephone or different small gadget. It’s not fairly as quick writing as some, nevertheless it’s quick sufficient that we’ll think about the SL500 a superb factor in a small bundle.

How we check

Drive checks at the moment make the most of Windows 11 (22H2) 64-bit operating on an X790 (PCIe 5.0) motherboard/i5-12400 CPU combo with two Kingston Fury 32GB DDR5 modules (64GB of reminiscence whole). Intel built-in graphics are used. The 48GB switch checks make the most of an ImDisk RAM disk taking on 58GB of the 64GB whole reminiscence. The 450GB file is transferred from a Samsung 990 Pro 2TB, which additionally comprises the working system.

Each check is carried out on a newly NTFS-formatted and TRIM’d drive so the outcomes are optimum. Note that as any drive fills up, efficiency will lower attributable to much less NAND for secondary caching, and different elements.

The efficiency numbers proven apply solely to the drive we have been shipped in addition to the capability examined. SSD efficiency can range with capability attributable to extra or fewer chips to learn/write throughout and the quantity of NAND accessible for secondary caching (writing TLC/QLC as SLC). Vendors additionally sometimes swap elements. If you ever discover a big discrepancy between the efficiency you expertise and that which we report (methods being roughly equal), by all means—tell us.