Patriot’s latest portable SSD offers up to 1,000MB/s read and write speeds

In brief: The candy bar-like PXD SSD from Patriot seems like a sweet deal for people on the move, even if they aren’t moving much these days. The lightweight portable storage isn’t meant for rough use like a Lacie rugged drive, but performance figures are certainly on par with the competition, along with an appealing price tag.

Patriot has announced its PXD external SSD that it calls the next generation of portable storage and is meant to bridge the performance gap between slower external storage like USB 3.2 flash drives and internal solutions like high-speed PCIe based SSDs.

Its PCIe Gen3 x 4 controller enables transfer rates of up to 1,000MB/s in sequential reads and writes, with support for SuperSpeed USB 10GBps (USB 3.2 Gen 2). It works with PCs running Windows 10 or Mac OS 10.13 and uses a USB Type-C port for interfacing.

Patriot notes that the drive is ideal for users looking to increase their game console storage or managing multimedia on PCs and comes with a Type-C to Type-A and a Type-C to Type-C cable in the box for easy connectivity across a range of devices. It’s enclosed in a lightweight, compact aluminum body and weighs just 35g.

“Storage brands are always looking to improve their products at the specification level and often overlook the compatibility and user experience,” notes Patriot’s vice president, Rogen Shinmoto, adding that this drive brings the perfect balance for users across desktop PCs, laptops, Macbooks, and gaming consoles.

Price starts at $100 for the 512GB model, $180 for the 1TB model and $300 for the 2TB top-end version. It’s available to buy on Patriot’s official website and Newegg, while Amazon customers can expect availability issues due to the company’s updated policy in light of the ongoing pandemic.