Samsung 500GB T5 Portable Solid-State Drive (Red)
Really fast and portable
I ordred the Samsung 500GB T5 because I was editing videos off of a big capacity slow hard drive. This definitely sped things up. I was really surprised how small it is. I also love the fact that it comes with a usb plug and a usb-c plug. In the near future, I plan on buying a new iMac with usb-c thunderbolt ports, so this way, I can use it now and in the future. The moment I connect it to my computer, it pops up in less than 2 seconds. It's very... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Fast but disappointed
I bought the 2TB version after I bought the 500GB (blue) version of the Samsung SSD T5 SSD months ago. I use Resolve 16 studio and edit 4k DNX video from the hard drive. I bought the 2TB version and it is definitely slower than the 500GB version. I did a read and write test and it confirmed that the 2TB version of the T5 SSD is slower than the 500GB. If you want every ounce of speed it may be better to get multiple smaller sizes versus the 2TB. I... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
perfect external
Both my laptop & desk top have 500GB SSD drives. I work on my files (MS word, MS excel, PP and photos) on the desktop at home and the laptop when I travel. I hated my files on these computers being out of sync between the two computers. With this tiny SSD external drive, and Good Sync software, it is now simple to have three identical copies of all of my working files, one on the desktop, one on this external drive and another on my laptop. I lov... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Mac Compatibility Issues
This device was taken on a recent shoot in Europe and worked well overall. I love the size for travel and even everyday use. Satisfied with the speed as well. Unfortunately I didn't realize there were compatibility issues with the current OS platforms for Mac products. After following an update for the device, I was no longer able to access my files. This was eventually fixed by reverting back to the older software version for the device and keep... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Small, durable, fast
This T5 is a great little SSD. It's fast. I use one of these to host my Lightroom and Capture One photos. Editing from these drives is snappy. I can't tell any difference between this and my internal SSD when editing RAW files. It's also very small and well constructed. The drive slips easily into a pocket, and the metal casing is reassuring. I haven't dropped it, but it feels like it could withstand a drop with ease. I own three of these drives, each used in a different way, but each one has been put through its paces and seems reliable. The T5 is my go-to external SSD at the moment.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Still the best IMHO
I now own several Samsung SSD drives - a couple of 250s and 500s and now this 1TB version. Theyre just the best. Sooo fast I can use them in real time as my working drive for audio production. My only complaint is the ads-on software thats loaded when I initialize the drive on my system. Thats not valuable to me and I always have to seek out disable the software, otherwise, the prompt continues to pop up when I dont want it. With that aside, I doubt you could find a faster, safer and reliable storage medium. Highly recommended. BTW, B&H has always been great to deal with.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Speed and Design are Awesome!
I've never had a portable drive better than this one. It comes with cables for both USB-C and USB-A, so I can quickly switch between workstations and laptops. I use it for video editing. It helps me when transferring hundreds of gigs of footage to go edit at a coffee shop. And I know that when I am editing the drive is not the bottleneck. If things are slow, it's not the drive, it's Premiere effects or something else. The design is awesome, it's is solid, and fits anywhere. Different colored metal allows me to know which project I'm grabbing from my desk.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Drive of the future here now
This is a great companion external drive to my new ASUS Zenbook 15, which has Thunderbolt and USB 3.1. gen 2 ports. This drive connects either to the USB-3.1. gen 2 or Thunderbolt 3 ports and speed tested at around 460 to 500 MB/s. I transferred files from a 3.1. gen 2 card reader via Thunderbolt to the T5 via USB 3.1. gen 2 port and got 270MB/s transfer speed. I was actually able to edit 4K video using this drive as the footage source and render drive and it did very well! I look forward to when USB 3.1 gen 2 drives are as prevalent as USB 3.0 are now.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
A review from your friendly neighbor up North
I purchased this Samsung SSD drive to be plugged in 24/7. I use the drive as a (NAS) Network Attached Storage Drive on my ASUS RT-AC68U router. Even though the ASUS runs Linux, I formatted my drive using NTFS for added reliability. ASUS WRT which is based on Linux comes with a driver that can read and write NTFS. I dropped many external mechanical drives on the floor and lost all data. I am hoping that this 2TB Electronics drive will prove to be very reliable because it is very expensive. In any case, I will backup the data just in case!
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Samsung is going to sell a billion of these...
Ive still got an external drive the size of a hard cover book on my desk, so maybe Im just catching up to modern times but I cant believe how fast this drive is. Not just transferring data, but how fast Windows sees it and how fast the file directory populates. It feels really nice in the hand - if youre tired of USB sticks and external drives that feel cheap and easily breakable, youre going to love how solid and well-made this feels. Maybe Ill feel differently in 3 years, but today I think Samsung hit the bullseye with this design.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Great Bang for the Buck
I can't say anything for longevity yet, as I've only had it for a couple weeks, but man is this drive fast... I copied almost a TB of data to it in about a half hour or so. I was able to set it up as a bootable AFPS drive, so I can run my music system off of any computer I attach it to. It is of course much faster via USB-C on a newer MacBook Pro laptop, but it runs pretty smooth via USB 3.0 on an older iMac and MacBook Air that I tested on. Hopefully it will last a long time and be a good investment. I'm very impressed so far...
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Perfect backup, prefect for moving between computers.
I use two MacBooks and need to backup important documents and need to store the huge photofiles my hobby generates. Previous WD hard drives each failed. These are small, portable, no moving parts, easy to set up (plug and go). I have two of these T5 drives. One handles my Apple Time Machine backups, the other storage of original large photo files. And they are fast for both reading and writing. This week my primary MacBook Pro was in service (new battery) so moved drives to my Macbook Air travel computer and resumed work.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Beware doesnt work with OS Catalina
Think twice before you buy. This disk requires additional drivers in order to access the drive as it provides encryption out-of-the-box, which is great. Unfortunately Samsung is not very good in keeping the software that belongs to this device in line with OS development and releases. Especially on Mac there are severe stability issues en the Current Operation system (Catalina) is still not availble. I love the device for its size and speed but Samsung could definately do better on the required accompanieng software
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Unable to format with Apples Disk Utility, Mac OS 10.14.3
I purchased this and a LaCie Portable SSD for backup devices for my 2018 Mac mini. They both have the same speed. I have had no problem formatting the LaCie unit with Disk Utility and creating multiple APFS encrypted volumes. When I try to format the T5, as either HFS+ or APFS, I get an error 100% of the time. I have tried 3 different computers, 2 different versions of Mac OS (10.13 and 10.14), and have even tried formatting it from the command line. This unit is going back and Ill get a second LaCie Portable SSD
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Excellent SSD
This is my second Samsung portable SSD. A year and half ago I had purchased the previous version in 500G capacity. Since I am very much into photography, these drives are great for storing my digital images during trips. These portable drives use a USB type C connection on the drive. The 2016 model came with a USB type A to type C cable. This new one comes with two cables, one type A to type C and one type C to type C. Since some of the new Macs only have USB type C connections, the new cable comes in handy.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Speeeedy little drive!
Plug it in and youre to play or work. Used as a working drive for editing photos at a University. We have a shared work room with writers and graphic designers, so this little drive allows my photographers to do do their photo editing on any one of several computers. And when necessary I can plug it in and access their photos needed for a particular job. We back up to campus servers for long term storage which can be slow access, so these speedy little drives are a great asset to our workflow.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
A great drive
These are super little SSD drives. I have attached them to iMac's with failed HD's, the older models are no fun to open up with everything that has to be removed to get to the HD. Much better to run a T5 off a USB 3.0 port on the iMac. Recently did the same to a 2014 MacBook which would not recognize its internal SSD after being dropped. The machine is running, if it dies in a few months - the T5 is useful elsewhere. Much better than spending more than double on trying a new internal SSD.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Can't get it to work on my Mac
I don't know. I'm no computer novice but when I plug this thing in and try to format it, not only does it state that the capacity is 44 MB but the formatting always fails. I tried downloading Samsung software and drivers but nothing works. I didn't find this out until I left the country. I will see if I can return it when I return but I probably lost the cost of this thing. As far as I'm concerned, I would have been better off just getting a WD drive. Never had a problem with those.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Good Storage for Travel
This is a physically small SSD 500 G drive. Since it is solid state, I have less concern about mechanical failures due to jarring in travel. My primary reason for purchase was to transport files when doing business travel and back up photographs when vacationing. Since it is USB powered, no additional power supply is needed. It is working well and I have had no problems. I intend to install the supplied application that will allow password protection, but I have not done so yet.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Great Product
I bought two for myself and one for my brother and one for my sister in law. I am using these drives to save photos. They are using the drives for University teaching. It is a wonderful product! It is fast, efficient, and good looking. If you need Samsung's technical support they are great! I made a stupid mistake and put two of my drives on a hub and it delayed my machine from opening. Now that these drives are on my computer, my computer opens right away.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Samsung's T5 and T3 Are Winners But Are Priced Too High
For sure, the Samsung T5 is highly desirable because it houses nearly 500GB of data. As an external drive, it is very lightweight, sized small so easy to carry around, and reasonably fast. SSDs are really priced too high in comparison with other drives. They do hold advantages. It's a "got'ya" thing. If you seek high storage capability in a small, external device, this is the item you want. Hopefully, better price points will follow in the coming year.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Love the speed and portability - will purchase again
I am using this Samsung T5 to store my Photos and Lightroom Catalog. One issue - I had to research online and find the right instructions to format and make compatible for my MacBook Pro (2018). Now up and running - the external storage is fast, portable and perfect for a place to keep photo library. I will purchase again to replace other backups and storage drives, but would appreciate better instructions for formatting and set up from Samsung.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Great for Photographers!!
I transferred a terabyte of photographs to this drive as soon as it arrived. My pictures average 120mb each, straight out of camera. This drive is lightning fast when attached with the USBc/Thunderbolt cable supplied with it (also comes with a standard USB3 Cable). While working in Lightroom and Photoshop, this drive is just as fast as working from an internal SSD. I also love the portable size and the fact that it can travel in a shirt pocket!
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Fast, compact and great capacity
Everything is moving to SSD so to get with the times I replaced my MOVIES external drive with this. It is pricey for the space but much better than they were a while ago. I already have 4 other Samsung T5 drives that are the 500GB size. All have been super reliable too. In addition to other advantages, this drive stays relatively cool. Some regular HD's that remain on 24/7 can get very hot, which I'm sure contributes to their eventual failure.
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
