Today, we have yet another Transcend Solid State Drive to review, we have here the 120GB version of the Transcend ESD240C, a portable SSD in a very small and slim form factor.
With the advancement of technology that allows manufacturers to fabricate solid state drives in an even smaller form factor than we have before, they are able to produce super slim drives that appeals to people who like to work on-the-go. With a very small footprint, bringing an SSD like the Transcend ESD240C is quite convenient and since this is an SSD and doesn’t have any moving parts, you don’t have to worry about it being tossed around inside your bag or your pocket.
SPECIFICATIONS
Dimensions (Max.): 81.4 mm x 33.6 mm x 7.5 mm (3.21″ x 1.32″ x 0.30″)
WHAT’S IN THE PACKAGE
Transcend ESD240C SSD 120GB
USB Type C to Type A Cable
USB Type C to Type C Cable
Paper Catalogs
In front of the packaging, we have the usual model name and the capacity.
At the back we have more information like serial number, certifications, QR code, etc
A USB Type C to Type C is included to get the full speed of the Transcend ESD240C 120GB via USB 3.1 Gen 2 interface with the support of UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol).
A USB Type C to Type A is also included for maximum compatibility for host devices that doesn’t have a USB Type C port.
FULL REVIEW
Design and Construction
In terms of the design and construction, It is made of an aluminum body with chamfered edges partnered with the silver color that ultimately makes up the overall polished design.
At the back side, we can clearly see how thin this device is.
And at the front side, we have the USB Type C port and a small hole for the LED indicator.
However, like the 240GB version that I previously reviewed as well, it is cold to the touch when not in use but still gets quite toasty at 40 degrees during load. It won’t cause you any harm but it is quite uncomfortable to hold.
Other than that, I really like the design and form factor of the Transcend ESD240C. If you’re an apple user it will definitely match the aesthetics of any apple device such as iPhones, Ipads, Macbooks and the like.
Performance
Now, let’s discuss the actual performance of the Transcend ESD240C 120GB.
AS SSD Benchmark
Sequential and Random read and write performance
For testing the sequential read and write speed, we use the AS SSD Benchmark, a reliable tool that we usually use to test the throughput performance of a solid state drive. With a 1GB file size transfer, the Transcend ESD240C 120GB performed on par with its specifications with 530.76 MB/s read speed and 377.34 MB/s write speed.
This basically simulates large file transfers such as ISOs, Movies and things like that or when streaming movies directly from the storage device.
Now, when it comes to Random 4K read and write performance, with a random 4KB block size and 1GB file size transfer, the Transcend ESD240C 120GB got a read speed of 22.06 MB/s and a write speed of 36.28.
This one simulates small random file size transfers such as images, text files, and other fragmented data which utilizes more computing resources than a sequential test, hence the slower results in read and write speed.
Input/Output Performance (IOPS)
Aside from the sequential and random read and write speed, we also captured the data for the 4K-64thrd which gives as an idea about the input and output operations per second performance of the drive on high queue depth. This were measured using a random 4KB block size with 1GB file size transfer on a 64 thread request.
The Transcend ESD240C performed decently as well with 164.15 MB/s read and 176.67 write speed.
Access Times Performance
Aside from the usual drive speed performance, it is also important to test a drive’s latency when it comes to accessing data. In this test, we also used the AS SSD Benchmark Tool.
Again the read and write performance of the Transcend ESD240C 120GB is right where we expect it to be with 0.102 ms for read and 0.151 ms for write.
Disk Bench Tool
Real World Performance
All these synthetic sequential and random test results are fine but it really doesn’t matter to most people as long as the drive actually works great in real world performance right? for that reason, we use the Disk Bench tool to capture the real world read and write performance of the drive with 8 files and a total of 13.8 GB file size. The test was done by copying the files to and from the same drive to eliminate bottleneck issues with different drives and give us an idea how the drive actually perform in real world file transfer.
The performance of the Transcend ESD240C 120GB when it comes to our real world performance test is actually pretty decent at 200.06 MB/s and It was able to finish the task for only around 65.369 seconds.
VERDICT
To conclude, the Transcend ESD240C 120GB SSD performed well around its specifications and did not disappoint. My only issue really is that it gets hot during load and is quite uncomfortable once you hold it. But to be fair, you’ll mostly place it on a desk so it’s really not a big deal comfort wise. And I think it is pretty normal for a flash device like this to get hot, it’s just that since it is quite slim, the heat dissipates to the actual casing itself making it an actual heatsink. Other than that, the Transcend ESD240C 120GB SSD is a good option for a super slim and compact fast storage device for people who like to work on-the-go like photographers, film makers and the like.
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WHERE TO BUY:
LAZADA: Transcend ESD240C 120GB SSD
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