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TekQ Rapide SSD
Related: diglloydTools, DiskTester, iMac, iMac Pro, laptop, Mac Pro, MacBook, MacBook Pro, Other World Computing, SSD, storage, Thunderbolt, Thunderbolt 3, USB, USB-C, weather events
MPG tested tested the 512GB TekQ Rapide SSD.
The TekQ Rapide is a 512GB or 1TB Thunderbolt 3 compact and portable bus-powered SSD, which internally contains an M.2 PCIe SSD.
As a bus-powered SSD, the TekQ Rapide cannot be daisy-chained (as with the OWC Envoy Pro EX)—that’s the price to pay for a bus-powered Thunderbolt peripheral of any kind. It is not compatible with plain USB-C (USB-C without Thunderbolt 3).
- 240GB or 480GB or 960GB usable capacity with 8.25 over-provisioning (84GB of the flash memory is used for lifespan as some flash cells go bad, this is a goodly amount of flash for longer lifespan).
- Bus powered by (supplied) Thunderbolt 3 cable.
- Compatible with Thunderbolt 3 (not compatible with plain USB-C lacking Thunderbolt 3).
- Very high performance, with 2.5X to 5X the performance of compact SSDs like the Samsung T5 and other USB-C or USB 3.1 gen 2 SSDs.
- Solid aluminum case excellent for heat dissipation.
- Device is stated to use the Toshiba MLC Flash PCIe Gen3x4 (not verified by MPG).
The TekQ 480GB / 960GB SSD is being offered via Indiegogo:
- TEKQ Rapide Thunderbolt 3 SSD Portable SSD
- Facebook page for TEKQ Rapide Thunderbolt 3 SSD Portable SSD
Warranty and support options are unclear to MPG as this review was prepared.
Vendor description
World’s FASTEST portable Thunderbolt 3 SSD to debut soon at Indiegogo
Taiwan-based top iPhone accessory manufacturer TEKQ is to launch the world’s FASTEST portable Thunderbolt 3 SSD on Indiegogo that assures 4x-5x faster data transfer compared to regular counterparts.
eading iPhone accessory manufacturer TEKQ is all set to redefine the world of portable SSD this year. The Taiwan-based company has launched the world’s FASTEST portable Thunderbolt 3 SSD that assures 4x-5x faster data transfer compared to regular counterparts [MPG: the OWC Envoy Pro EX is of similar speed and maybe faster on writes]. Titled as TEKQ Rapide Thunderbolt 3, the futuristic Thunderbolt 3 SSD is scheduled to debut at Indiegogo in February.
The brand new Rapide Thunderbolt 3 stands out in the market with its exclusive Double Certification that stands testimony to the product’s unique edge in the competition. The SSD has successfully passed the safety and compatibility test by both Apple and Intel.
The Indiegogo campaign will start on February 21 and will continue for a month. TEKQ will be starting mass production by February, so that contributors can receive the advanced SSD one month after the crowdfunding campaign ends.
“We are excited to announce the launch of our new innovative TEKQ Rapide Thunderbolt 3- the fastest Portable SSD out there in the market. Our groundbreaking product is designed to transfer up to 5x faster than other regular SSDs and is able to transfer most blue-ray movies within 30 secs (Read: 2300MB/s & Write: 1300MB/s). Our new innovation is the much-awaited answer for professionals who have been looking for ultra fast data transfer and high volume storage for long. We are launching our state of the art Rapide Thunderbolt 3 on Indiegogo next month and are looking forward to generous support from all of you”, stated a leading spokesperson from TEKQ.
The TEKQ Rapide Thunderbolt 3 is also the first portable Thunderbolt 3 SSD which is housed in a sturdy and stylish all-aluminum case to complement Macbook Pro and Macbook Air. Another feature that keeps the new TEKQ SSD ahead of its competitors is certainly its easy mobility facility. In fact, the product guarantees best mobility as it is compatible with both Windows and Mac without extra external power. Tiny and lightweight as a credit card, the revolutionary SSD is also a breeze to carry.
While asked about the inspiration for the new Rapide Thunderbolt 3, the spokesperson mentioned about the rapid surge in Macbook Pro usage. “We observed that the current market lacks adequate options it comes to plug and play portable SSD with Thunderbolt 3 interface. Given the recent rise in Macbook Pro adoption, we thought there could not be a better time to support Macbook users with a robust and high performance SSD- and thus our new Rapide Thunderbolt 3 was born. Our enormous experience in data storage solution duly helped us in our futuristic initiative. ”
The Indiegogo campaign will offer a cool 15% (off retail price) early bird discount for the contributors. “The discount offer will help you to enjoy our groundbreaking Thunderbolt 3 at almost the same price as Thunderbolt 1 SSD – yet with 4x more transfer speed, higher mobility and more superior design.”
For more information, please visit https://www.tekq.com/en-tb3-rapide.html Keep updated on the project, please sign up https://tekq.clickfunnels.com/rapidequiz
Up to 64TB @ 12500 MB/sec!
Mac or PC.
Ideal for Lightroom, Photoshop, 8K video, data analysis, etc.
Build quality
The solid aluminum shell is very nicely done, fits neatly into the palm, and has no sharp edges—excellent, since that means it can go into a pocket without poking flesh or wearing a hole into the pocket. The overall feeling is outstanding—I prefer it to just about any other compact SSD I have handled.
The Thunderbolt 3 port is recessed and nicely snug, which should help to reduce the risk of stress on both the cable and the port.
A very nice touch is the non-slip strips at bottome—very effective.
In Use
The TekQ is completely silent (and I can hear high frequencies so I say this with confidence). It has one blue LED light on the top of the case, nicely dim (I greatly dislike bright blue LEDs because they illuminate a room at night)—so again, nicely done.
Heat buildup is moderate but do to the all-metal enclosure and slightly ribbed design all cooling a single 'blade', the TekQ did not get more than moerately warm at a room temperature of 70°F while completely the diglloydTools DiskTester fill-volume test, which writes then entire capacity, then reads it back.
How I put it to use
The sample was sent for review was 512GB. As such it is too small to think about partitioning, so I formatted it as a single volume.
Toggle to see drive vs volume.
Sustained performance
Tested using the fill-volume command of diglloydTools DiskTester.
In RAID-0 stripe mode, sustained transfer speed for large read maxes-out the Thunderbolt 3 bus—it is not possible to go any faster than this. In other words: AWESOME.
Large writes are very fast and outperform the specifications by about 150MB/sec, though not as fast as the internal SSD in the iMac Pro or the internal SSD in the iMac 5K. Still, usage situations in which 1.45 GB/sec makes any difference versus higher speeds are few and far between—and check out the graph on speed versus transfer size further below.
Speed vs transfer size
Tested using the run-sequential-suite command of diglloydTools DiskTester.
These are outstanding speeds. Reads from 32KiB through 2MiB are faster than the internal SSD in the 2017 iMac Pro, although small writes are much faster in the iMac Pro.
Conclusions
Early 2018 is an exciting time for Thunderbolt 3 with many new products emerging, particularly SSDs which deliver speed and convenience never before possible, right on the desktop.
The TekQ Rapide delivers 480GB or 960GB of usable very high performance capacity in a compact high quality enclosure that will fit in palm or pocket. It is one of the most appealing designs I have seen. My only wish: a 2TB option; 512GB is getting tight for my core essential data, 1TB will do quite well, but 2TB would be slick.
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