With the need for fast external storage , enclosures that can house the latest NVMe drives are always available. Akasa has listed an aluminum enclosure that promises to provide USB4 speeds up to 40 Gbps for PCIe 5.0 SSDs, hence supporting USB4 and Thunderbolt 3.
The enclosure includes a heatsink with a couple of thermal pads for NVMe drives between 2242 and 2280 spec and has a built-in fan. To take full advantage of the output bandwidth, the enclosure supports up to PCIe 5.0 SSDs. It has a USB Type-C port and includes a small Type-C cable, providing support for multiple operating systems, including macOS and Android. The casing is made of aluminum and has vents on its sides to allow airflow.
Though one couldn't say if the 8,000 RPM fan will be compelling enough to cool off SSDs with hot controllers, the heatsink with two thermal pads should help heat dissipation. The rest of the specifications are as follows:
| Application | USB 40 Gbps aluminum enclosure for M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD |
|---|---|
| Operating System Support | Windows 8.X / 10 / 11 |
| Row 1 - Cell 0 | Mac OS |
| Row 2 - Cell 0 | Linux |
| External Interface | USB 40 Gbps Type-C |
| Internal Interface | PCIe NVMe (compatible with M key and B+M key SSD) |
| PCle Compatibility | PCIe Gen 5, Gen 4, Gen 3, Gen 2, Gen 1 x2/x4 NVMe SSD 2280, 2260, 2242 size SSD |
| Transfer Rate | 40 Gbps (USB 4) |
| Protocol | USB Attached SCSI Protocol (UASP) specification compliant |
| Dimensions | 103.75 x 50.65 x 20.5 mm |
The USB-IF specifies that the USB4 has a power delivery of up to 100W with a minimum requirement of 7.5W. While Akasa confirms the theoretical bandwidth the enclosure's output provides, it doesn't list any specific transfer speeds—apart from a CDMark benchmark screenshot with its Sequential 1M read/ write speeds of 3,629.72 and 3,475.02 MB/s—but doesn't list the drive it is paired with. There's also no confirmation of compatibility with dual-sided NVMe drives.
The ZikeDrive is one of the fastest enclosures we've tested. If Akasa can match its speed with no compatibility issue with any SSDs (or at least the one we test with), many may look forward to it, depending on the pricing. Naturally, the speed depends on the SSD you're using and its connected device.
The benefit of such enclosures is the ability to swap drives internally. Akasa's enclosure might be tricky since you need to apply the thermal pads and heatsink before mounting the drive. That said, there are USB4 drives with thinner profiles, such as the Adata SE920, so it largely depends on your requirements, preferences, and the investment you intend to make for an external drive.
For now, this drive is not listed on Amazon . However, we should see it listed soon, as Akasa tagged this enclosure as 'upcoming.'