Western Digital Releases Turbocharged, Rugged PRO-G40-SSD

Rugged adventurous types who like to take their SSDs hiking, hunting or cave diving have a new storage solution to appeal to their outdoorsy tastes, as Western Digital has announced the latest release from its Sandisk subsidiary: the Pro-G40 with Thunderbolt 3.

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With an IP68 rating (dust-tight and able to be submerged in water) the Pro-G40 can also withstand a remarkable 4,000lbs of crush weight (that’s equivalent to a white rhino, or a Ford Taurus) and can withstand a drop of three meters (9.8ft) onto a carpeted concrete floor. While there's little detail in the announcement about what it’s made of, apart from being ‘pro-grade’ and ‘ultra-rugged’ with ‘premium strength’, we do know it has an aluminum core that acts as a heat-sink to help maintain high speeds. 

The combination of the SSD and Thunderbolt 3 (40Gb/s) / USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gb/s) Type-C interface gives the drive a high transfer rate of up to 2700MB/s read and 1900MB/s write, capable of transferring 50GB in 30 seconds, which will please filmmakers looking for a speedy backup solution to use in the field. Even better, that kind of speed allows real-time 4K/8K editing straight from the drive. There's no mention of it in the announcement, but it’s almost certainly bus-powered too, given that there are no other ports on the drive.

Western Digital has also identified a problem with USB Type-C cables all being identical on the outside, but not on the inside, and has thoughtfully included a cable with the drive that supports both interfaces. “The new PRO-G40 SSD eliminates the problem we have all experienced before: grabbing the wrong USB-C cable or computer for our Thunderbolt 3 or USB devices,” said Hector Sandoval, vice president of product marketing, pricing and programs at Western Digital. “By supporting both interfaces and including a cable that does as well, this drive enables creatives to efficiently collaborate across devices without having to worry about carrying the right gear nor diminishing sustained performance as they continue producing impactful content.”

The Sandisk Professional Pro-G40 is available in 1TB and 2TB capacities, comes only in black, and should be available on the Western Digital store by the time you read this. MSRP is around $480 (£415 in the UK), presumably for the 1TB version. If you're in the US, you can check our curated list of current Western Digital coupon codes for possible savings.