External drives have long been very popular among people who are looking not only for a medium that expands the memory of a computer, smartphone or tablet, but also for equipment that is easy to carry with them. The latest representative of such models is the T7 Shield model, which continues the Samsung T7 series. According to the specifications, it not only offers good (but not the best on the market) performance, but also a rugged design, as well as splash and dust resistance. This makes it a very suitable model for people who will be using the portable drive outdoors, sometimes in an environment that is not conducive to electronics.

Samsung T7 Shield 1TB is a portable SSD equipped with TLC memory bones and supports the NVMe protocol. A high-speed USB 3.2 Gen 2 port is responsible for communication with a computer. The advantages of this model certainly include a reinforced design, which (according to the technical specifications) can protect the device even if dropped from a height of 3 m. Also, the Samsung T7 Shield 1 TB is resistant to water and dust, which is confirmed by the IP 65 certificate.

The outer part of the case of the tested model is made of rubber that is pleasant to the touch, so you don’t have to worry about it accidentally slipping out. The manufacturer also took care of a “dynamic heat shield”, which should guarantee low operating temperatures and prevent throttling. Although most of us use external drives with our computers, the small size and weight of the Samsung T7 Shield 1 TB allows it to be used as additional memory for a smartphone or tablet. Connecting to such devices will be facilitated by the USB Type C – USB Type C cable included in the kit. People who do not have such an interface on their computers can use the second cable, also included in the kit (USB Type C – USB Type “A”).

For testing, we used a computer with an AMD Ryzen 5 3600X processor built into an Asus TUF Gaming X570 Plus WiFi motherboard. This tandem supports PCIe 4.0, so we can test the real-world performance of even the fastest SSDs. The computer is complemented by 16 GB of RAM with a clock frequency of 3200 MHz and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti video card. The system storage is an Intel Optane 900p 280 GB SSD.

Each of the tested USB SSDs undergoes the same testing procedure. We first test their performance in synthetic AS SSDs, Crystal Disk Mark and PCMark benchmarking programs. We also test how the media performs in everyday applications, such as copying a large file or a large batch of small files.

All tests are carried out three times on empty SSD drives and after they are 80 percent full. The average is taken from the individual test results, and then we convert the results into scores that describe the performance of the semiconductor memory on a scale of 1 to 100.

We decided to compare the tested drive with its direct competitor in the form of the SanDisk Extreme 900 model. The graphs also show the result obtained by the Silicon Power Armor A80 external hard drive. We also tested how the Samsung T7 Shield 1TB compares to a SATA SSD (Crucial MX500) housed in a cheap USB enclosure.

The next tests we ran were meant to simulate daily disk usage and consisted of copying large files and a large stack of small ones. When reading a large file, the Samsung T7 Shield 1TB should have an edge over its rival SanDiska Extreme 900, but the difference in this test is small. The situation is different when saving a large file, where the South Korean media already has a big advantage over other tested models.

In the case of reading a large number of small files, the situation is similar to reading one. SanDisk was again more efficient, but only marginally. The situation is repeated in the case of saving small files, where the Samsung T7 Shield 1 TB is already losing significantly, achieving results slightly better than a SATA SSD storage device enclosed in a cheap case.

Users of the Samsung T7 Shield 1 TB can and install the Samsung Magician application on their computer, which provides information about the operating parameters of the media, checks its performance and, similar to the above-mentioned program, sets a password and updates the software.

The drive we tested is an interesting proposition for people who need a durable and, above all, productive portable drive. The Samsung T7 Shield 1 TB model performed very well in our tests, outperforming (but not significantly) competitors such as the SansDisk Extreme 900. The average results of all our tests show that the South Korean carrier is one of the most effective. available in stores. Unfortunately, our tests showed that it’s not ideal media because it was pretty average when storing a lot of small files, which wasn’t the case with US competitors.

However, the Samsung T7 Shield 1TB has other advantages. These are, first of all, small dimensions and an IP65 dust and moisture protection certificate, as well as a durable design that protects against falls. This makes it an ideal portable storage device for active people or those