Monster Digital Intros Overdrive 3.0 External SSDs
Monster Digital has launched a line of external SSDs that use a USB 3.0 connection.
On Wednesday California-based Monster Digital introduced the Overdrive 3.0 series, a line of external solid state drives sporting a laser etched stainless steel enclosure. They're small and lightweight, similar in size to an Apple iPhone 4, and arrive in capacities ranging between 128 GB and 1 TB.
"Simply put, Overdrive 3.0 is the fastest and easiest way to add storage to your computer," the company said. "The Overdrive 3.0 series is the future of digital storage, and with speeds about 4x as fast as a traditional external hard drive, backups are easy, and the quickness is astounding."
This new series features a built-in 165-mm USB 3.0 cable that wraps around the side of the enclosure so that user's aren't fumbling around looking for a compatible cable. Sequential read speeds are up to 250 MB/s and sequential write speeds are up to 150 MB/s, backed by USB 3.0's theoretical max speed of 5 Gbps.
Other features include a blue LED data transfer indicator, a soft carrying pouch, a 3-year warranty (although currently the product page says 5 years), and an impact resistance of 500g. The external drive measures 60 x 126 x 8-mm, and doesn't require an external power source, relying on the connected desktop or laptop's USB 3.0 port instead.
"Since there are no moving parts, the drives are incredibly quiet, and durable, so if one is inadvertently dropped, aside from a potential cosmetic blemish, there are virtually no worries when it comes to your precious data stored inside," the company said. "Configured to work with either PC or Mac, the drives are ready to go to work straight out of the box."
Monster Digital is now offering the Overdrive 3.0 series in four capacities: 128 GB for $179.99, 256 GB for $299.99, 512 GB for $599.99, and 1 TB for a meaty $1199.99. The drives are available now at Adorama, Crutchfield.com, DataVision, Fry's Electronics, Guitar Center, J&R, Micro Center, TigerDirect.com and other retailers.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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vmem hmm, 1TB external SSD and I somehow can't find a reasonably priced internal SSD for my tower...Reply -
festerovic Continuous, never ending, infinite Monster Fail, as usual. Costs double that of drives that perform 2x faster.Reply -
icepick314 I was wondering if it was the same company that makes $75 3ft HDMI cable and sure enough they are...Reply
I'm surprised it's actually priced low compared to their usual pricing scheme where they would charge ungodly amount for HDMI cable that I can get it for $10 or less for same length... -
oj88 "a 3-year warranty (although currently the product page says 5 years)"Reply
Are you kidding? The WD black HDD has 3-year warranty and most of the flash memory cards have lifetime warranty. -
walterm The lowest price USB3.0 2.5 case (quick look at newegg) is $15. Last look when not on sale Samsung 840 SSDs are on sale at the moment but usual prices seem to be about 120 GB $100, 240 GB $170, 480 GB $250.Reply
Screwdriver anyone? -
Evolution2001 So basically, they are taking something like a SATA-II (or maybe SATA-III) SSD and putting in an external USB3 enclosure. I've already been doing this for myself as I upgrade my SSDs. SATA-III is faster than USB3, so it's somewhat of a waste. But seeing as most drives are SATA-III now and they are still under <$1/GB, it doesn't make much sense to use older SATA-II drives. That being said, using the SK Hynix SSDs, which are incredibly cheap AND towards the top of the performance charts, you build yourself an enclosure much cheaper.Reply
As other people have commented, this isn't any spectacular deal in that you can DIY for considerably less. Given that there are "tool-less" enclosures, even "mom & dad" could figure out how to make one work without much effort.