Portable SSDs have become commonplace, but many of us are still using mechanical hard drives for external storage on the desktop. SanDisk’s hoping to change that with the new SanDisk Desk Drive (buy here).
It’s an SSD designed to live on your desktop, ultimately replacing those mechanical drives. Initially, it’s being offered in 4TB and 8TB capacities, but SanDisk says they’re hoping to have 16TB versions out before the end of the year.
SanDisk Desk Drive Desktop SSD
So, what makes this a desktop SSD and not just another portable SSD? Well, basically, it’s the same difference as that between desktop HDDs and portable HDDs. The SanDisk Desk Drive SSD requires external power.
It’s designed to be set up and left in place with your desktop PC or Mac. It works with both, connecting over USB-C with transfer speeds up to 1,100MB/sec. You might have figured out by the speed that this is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 device and not USB4 or Thunderbolt.
Some of you might remember that SanDisk/Western Digital hasn’t had the best time of late with their portable SSDs. Hopefully, the issues that plagued the Extreme and Extreme Pro portable SSDs have been resolved with the Desk Drive.
4TB and 8TB capacities, with 16TB on the way
The SanDisk Desk Drive is targeted towards creatives and others wh need lots of storage. At the moment, it’s being launched in 4TB and 8TB capacities. SanDisk says that they hope to have a 16TB version available by next year.
While I still think I’d personally go with a portable SSD for the 4TB capacity, I think the 8TB and 16TB options will definitely be good desktop candidates for a lot of people. It gives you a lot of fast storage on your desk without having to open up your computer to add a drive internally.
Desktop HDDs still lead when it comes to capacity, with 22TB drives (buy here) readily available for not much more than the cost of the 4TB version of the SanDisk Desk Drive. But if they’re already hoping to bump up to 16TB by next year, we might only be a few short years away from SSD taking over and HDDs finally becoming fully obsolete.
Price and Availability
The 4TB SanDisk Desk Drive is available to buy now for $379.99. The 8TB SanDisk Desk Drive is also available to buy now for $699.99. The 16TB SanDisk Desk Drive is not available yet, but SanDisk hopes to release it by next year.
