Fastest SSD Enclosure Tested: ZikeDrive Delivers 3,700 MBps via USB 4

ZikeDrive
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

If you want a speedy portable storage drive, you're often better served by pairing one of the best SSD enclosures with an SSD of your choosing than by getting one of the best external SSDs. But just like the drives themselves, the enclosures are not all created equal, particularly when you want the fastest possible speeds.

Right now, the quickest enclosures all use a 40 Gbps USB-C connection that's either labeled as Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4 or USB 4, which are cross-compatible sort-of. Thunderbolt devices usually can't work when plugged into the slower: 5, 10 or 20 Gbps USB-C ports that most computers have. But true USB 4 devices are backward compatible with older standards such as USB 3.2 / 3.1.

ZikeDrive, an upcoming USB 4 enclosure from Zike (a maker of accessories such as USB hubs and chargers) promises wide compatibility and new speed records, delivering read speeds in the 3,700 MBps range and writes in the neighborhood of 3,100 MBps. The company sent us a pre-production sample to test and we can affirm that it is the fastest enclosure we've ever tested and meets its targets.

When we tested an Orico M2V01-C4 USB 4 enclosure with a WD Black SN850X PCIe 4.0 SSD inside, we got sequential  read rates of 3,154 MBps and writes of 2,835 MBps on CrystalDiskMark. However, the ZikeDrive, with the same SSD inside ran at 3,791 and 3,158 MBps. Those are improvements of 20.2 and 11.4 percent thanks to the ZikeDrive's ASMedia ASM2464PD-powered controller. 

When we copied 25GB worth of files using DiskBench, the ZikeDrive read at a rate of 1,270 MBps while the Orico delivered 1,219 MBps. However, the roles were oddly reversed when it came to writing as the Orico drive ran at 712 MBps versus 687 MBps for the ZikeDrive. However, given the wide difference in read rates, the ZikeDrive is clearly the better performer.  

Zike just launched an IndieGoGo campaign, hoping to raise $10,000 for the production of the ZikeDrive in the next 30 days. As of this writing, the company had raised $3,000 in just a few hours, making success seem likely. Early backers get the ZikeDrive for just $99, which is $15 to $50 cheaper than a typical 40 Gbps enclosure goes for.  The company estimates that the product will ship as soon as May. 

Design of ZikeDrive

At 4.75 x 2.75 x 0.75 inches, the ZikeDrive is a bit bulky in comparison to other enclosures we've tested such as the Orico M2V01-C4 (4.8 x 2 x 0.7 inches). However, one reason for the heft is that there's a 0.75-inch side chamber where you can store the included, 1.5-inch USB-C to USB-C cable. While it's nice to have a 40 Gbps cable you can stow and take with you, the length is painfully short and you'll probably want to buy a cable of your own.

ZikeDrive

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The rectangular chassis is made from gunmetal gray aluminum with attractive ridges and some black plastic on the sides and in the cable chamber. Our review unit came with an ugly, non-removable clear plastic casing covering the aluminum that is not visible in the IndieGoGo campaign page product pictures. Zike told us not to try to remove the clear plastic and also said that it would be part of the final product so that's disappointing.

Installing an SSD in the ZikeDrive is really simple, but you will need a small philips head screwdriver to tighten the screw that holds the SSD down. The enclosure itself doesn't require any tools to open and close as you just flip up a panel on the top surface to reveal the M.2 slot below it. Conveniently, a heat pad is built into the panel so you don't need to attach a permanent, sticky pad to drive (like you do on many other enclosures).

 

ZikeDrive Installation

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

How We Tested the ZikeDrive

To test the ZikeDrive, we attached it to our ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 10) testbed laptop's Thunderbolt 4 port and then ran DiskBench copying a 25GB folder both to and from the drive and CrystalDiskMark. We ran the same tests on the Orico M2V01-C4, which is on our list of best SSD enclosures.

We tested with both the WD Black SN850X (1TB) that ZikeDrive sent us and with our own Kingston Fury Renegade (2TB) SSD. The delta between the two enclosures was similar with both SSDs, but the SN850X had much faster write speeds of (3,158 / 2835 MBps versus 1,606 / 1,422 MBps on the Fury Renegade) presumably because it's a faster drive.

Both enclosures were also backward compatible with a 10 Gbps USB-C port on our desktop, showing that they meet USB's standard for backward compatibility.

Bottom Line

Zike claims that the ZikeDrive is the first USB 4 enclosure on the market and faster than Thunderbolt 3 or 4 competitors. However, other enclosures such as the Orico M2V01-C4 are already marketed as USB 4 and deliver backward compatibility with older USB standards.  

What we can say is that the ZikeDrive is much faster than the other enclosures we have tested in most scenarios, especially when it comes to read speeds. Write speeds are a bit more of a mixed bag as it is a bit faster on synthetic tests only. Considering that it's also cheaper than most competitors, the ZikeDrive seems like a really good buy, if you don't mind placing your bets on an IndieGoGo campaign and dealing with a little extra bulk.

Avram Piltch
Avram Piltch is Tom's Hardware's editor-in-chief. When he's not playing with the latest gadgets at work or putting on VR helmets at trade shows, you'll find him rooting his phone, taking apart his PC or coding plugins. With his technical knowledge and passion for testing, Avram developed many real-world benchmarks, including our laptop battery test.
  • DonQuixoteIII
    To be fair, it is NOT the enclosure, it is the interface that the enclosure used. Title, misleading.
    Reply
  • thehaus
    Admin said:
    Thanks to its ASMedia ASM2464PD controller, this enclosure offers the fastest speeds we've seen.

    Fastest SSD Enclosure Tested: ZikeDrive Delivers 3,700 MBps via USB 4 : Read more

    Hi,
    I checked the ASMedia site for reference to the ASM2464PD and there is nothing listed. The only reference is to the ASM2464 which is a PCIe 3 x4 and not 4x4.

    There is some mention by TechPowerUp and Guru3D about an announcement by ASMedia in 2022 of both the ASM2464PD and the ASM4242 which apparently are both PCIe 4x4 chip controllers. PCIe 4x4 should be twice as much data as 3x4

    https://www.techpowerup.com/295030/asmedia-to-launch-usb4-host-controllers-this-yearhttps://www.guru3d.com/news-story/asmedia-to-launch-usb4-host-controllers-this-year.html
    Based on different reviewers tests of the ZikeDrive using either the Samsung 990 or the WD SN850X NVMe M.2, it seems to reason that it may be closer to a PCIe 3x4 than a 4x4 controller.

    Has anyone visually confirmed that there is a ASMedia ASM2464PD chip in the ZikeDrive? Can you comment further whether this is what is claims to be on the funding site?

    USB4 40Gbps Enclosure • Max 3.8GB/s Read and 3.1GB/s Write Speed • NVMe PCIe Gen 4X4 SSD
    https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/zikedrive-world-s-first-and-fastest-usb4-ssd-drive#/
    Reply
  • dehjomz
    thehaus said:
    Hi,
    I checked the ASMedia site for reference to the ASM2464PD and there is nothing listed. The only reference is to the ASM2464 which is a PCIe 3 x4 and not 4x4.

    There is some mention by TechPowerUp and Guru3D about an announcement by ASMedia in 2022 of both the ASM2464PD and the ASM4242 which apparently are both PCIe 4x4 chip controllers. PCIe 4x4 should be twice as much data as 3x4

    https://www.techpowerup.com/295030/asmedia-to-launch-usb4-host-controllers-this-yearhttps://www.guru3d.com/news-story/asmedia-to-launch-usb4-host-controllers-this-year.html
    Based on different reviewers tests of the ZikeDrive using either the Samsung 990 or the WD SN850X NVMe M.2, it seems to reason that it may be closer to a PCIe 3x4 than a 4x4 controller.

    Has anyone visually confirmed that there is a ASMedia ASM2464PD chip in the ZikeDrive? Can you comment further whether this is what is claims to be on the funding site?

    USB4 40Gbps Enclosure • Max 3.8GB/s Read and 3.1GB/s Write Speed • NVMe PCIe Gen 4X4 SSD
    https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/zikedrive-world-s-first-and-fastest-usb4-ssd-drive#/

    "The ASM2464PD is also designed to be compliant with the Thunderbolt 4 specification and ASMedia is targeting the Thunderbolt certification by the end of Q2 2023. Once the certification has been granted, end-product devices utilizing the ASM2464PD would also be eligible for Thunderbolt certification testing."

    Hmm so another thunderbolt 4 controller, this time one not from Intel corporation?
    Reply
  • TR_ Zike fail
    UPDATE. With a 1m TB 3 cable the Zike w/ 2TB WD Black 850X stays connected and works well, w/ 3100/3100 with BlackMaging speed test 5G stress testing after about 45 minutes with great sustained throughput. Zeke customer support was good to work with. A fresh 260G backup took just under 5 minutes. Recommend the set up.



    Zike unit or cable is defective and too short. They want video (I sent screen shot of error message.) They want the two returns shipped to China vs the Vernon, CA 90058 address it was shipped from, and they want to deduct $30. from the refund. See the quotes from their Tech Support.

    A: Follow up re constant disconnecting (2021 MacBook Pro w M1 Pro. WD Black 850X AFPS format). The case keeps disconnecting because of loose socket and short 3" cable.

    Zike already seemingly acknowledges the problem with their customer support stating in an email to me "We are already preparing to produce long USB 4 high-quality cables certified by USB-IF to give supporters one more choice."
    They didn't offer to send me the new (likely but tbd) functional "high-quality" cable to replace the low-quality malfunctioning cable they shipped.

    Furthermore, Zike wants me to pay return shipping to China rather their California address, from where it shipped to me.

    Again, quote: "We can provide a full refund for your 2 orders, but we cannot provide a shipping label for your refund reason, I must clarify on what occasion shipping labels are used, when the product you received has quality defects We can provide shipping labels."
    What are my chances of actually getting my refunds for the two enclosures processed? With this product and this kind of customer service, it's unlikely that Zike (Satechi) will seriously compete with ACASIS.

    Update B: Another follow up from Zike support, pasted below, where they again confirm the cable they shipped is too short, request a video (I sent screen shot of the error message), and want $30. withheld from the refund. Classic. "Peaceful manner." "Love peace."

    "Sorry for any trouble this may cause you. We are happy to resolve shopping differences in a peaceful manner. If you think the product you received is defective, please send us a video showing the defect, sorry, this is a fixed process for us, when we confirm the defect, you can get a full refund for the defective product.

    Also I will explain about the long USB 4 cable, it's not that the short USB 4 cable we included is not of high quality, it has been USB-IF certified and is a good quality cable, but it is too short and we need to produce more long.

    Since we don't have the long cable yet, I can replace it with a short USB 4 cable for free. Are you willing to accept it?

    The new short USB 4 cable solves the problem of frequent disconnections.

    Finally, if we provide you with a shipping label, it only costs you a total of $30 to get a full refund on both orders (yes, $30 is deducted from the refund).

    Looking forward to hearing from you, love peace. Best, ZikeTech "
    Reply