Sabrent has launched the brand's biggest external SSD to date. The new Rocket XTRM-Q (SB-DXMQ-8X2) drive arrives with a whopping 16TB of high-speed storage, twice what Sabrent previously offered.
Featuring an aluminum body, the Rocket XTRM-Q measures 6.6 x 6.3 x 3.1 inches and weighs around 2 pounds. It's a bit bigger than its counterparts due to the addition of a second SSD. The Rocket XTRM-Q 16TB houses two 8TB SSDs, which you can run independently or in a RAID 0 or RAID 1 array. There's also a third configuration where you can run the SSDs in JBOD mode, where data is stored on the next drive when the current one has reached its full capacity.
Sabrent doesn't specify the model of the SSDs inside the Rocket XTRM-Q 16TB. However, like its other capacities, the 16TB model probably uses a pair of Sabrent's own Rocket Q M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 SSDs based on Phison's E12S controller and Micron's 96-layer QLC (quad-level cell) NAND flash dies.
According to Sabrent, each SSD offers sequential read speeds up to 1,400 MBps. If you want to maximize the drive's performance, you'll have to run the two SSDs in RAID 0 mode. Said configuration tops out at 2,800 MBps sequential reads.
The Rocket XTRM-Q leverages Intel's JHL7440 Thunderbolt 3 controller. Therefore, you'll need a Thunderbolt 3 interface to really maximize the drive's transfer speeds.
The Sabrent Rocket XTRM-Q 16TB is available for purchase on Amazon for $2,899.99. It's more expensive than your typical, high-end gaming PC, for sure. Sabrent backs the Rocket XTRM-Q with a one-year warranty, but you can extend the warranty period up to five years if you register the product within 90 days of purchase.
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Zhiye Liu is a news editor and memory reviewer at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.