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OWC Envoy Ultra Thunderbolt 5 external SSD

OWC Envoy Ultra Thunderbolt 5 review - unrivaled external SSD breaks 6 GB/s speeds

The Envoy Ultra 2 TB external SSD from OWC is the only Thunderbolt 5 model pre-orderable right now and it rivals popular internal solutions like Samsung's 980 Pro. Its rugged compact case with silent design make it ideal for photographers, cinematographers and even gamers who are looking for lightning fast portable solutions.
Bogdan Solca 👁 Published 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 ...
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Verdict: fastest external SSD for premium price

As the very first mass-produced Thunderbolt 5 external SSD, OWC’s Envoy Ultra has no rival for the time being. It delivers the advertised 6 GB/s sequential read speeds and it overall is in line if not slightly faster in some cases compared to an internal Samsung 980 Pro PCie 4.0 X4 NVMe SSD. The rugged and silent casing provides excellent cooling, keeping temperatures in check even after prolonged use.

New technologies inevitably have higher launch prices, and the Envoy Ultra is no exception. The 2 TB version is more than two times more expensive than an internal SSD with the same capacity or around $100 more expensive compared to 2 TB Thunderbolt 4 external models. Additionally, the Thunderbolt 5 connector is not yet mainstream, being available only on high-end and premium devices.

Pros

+ almost twice as fast as previous Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 external SSDs
+ solid sequential write speeds, sometimes slightly faster compared to a Samsung 980 Pro internal SSD
+ rugged case with radiator design offers efficient cooling

Cons

- pricing
- Thunderbolt 5 currently available only on high-end devices

Price and availability

The Envoy Ultra from Other World Computing is the first Thunderbolt 5 external SSD available for pre-orders right now. There is a 2 TB model for $399.99 and a 4 TB model for $599.99. Both are expected to see availability in late January 2025 and both come with 2-year warranty.

Introduction

OWC is a U.S.-based computer storage solution provider founded in 1988. Currently, it is the only SSD maker that offers a Thunderbolt 5 mainstream solution for pre-orders in the form of the Envoy Ultra series. The company kindly supplied us with a couple of 2 TB pre-production models to evaluate.

According to OWC, the Envoy Ultra may reach sequential read speeds exceeding 6 GB/s, almost 2 times faster than the previous Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 models that were limited to 3.3 GB/s. This is indeed confirmed by our tests. Moreover, this new model is still backwards compatible with TB4 / USB4.

The Envoy Ultra features a rugged but compact aluminum case designed to maximize heat dissipation without the need for active cooling and weighs in at around 250 g (0.55 lbs). Additionally, the rugged case protects the SSD against dust, drops and water with an IP66 certificate. However, the built-in TB5 cable is not waterproof. 

This model is compatible with Windows PCs, Macs, iPads, Chromebooks and even ARM-based Surface devices. Of course, the external SSD requires at least a TB4 / USB4 connector.

Test setup

Temperature after all tests
Temperature after all tests

We tested the Envoy Ultra 2 TB on the Key 17 Pro (M24) laptop from Schenker. The test suite includes the usual CrystalDiskMark and AS SSD tools we use for all internal SSD solutions, as well as more extensive tests via PCMark 10 and the 3DMark storage tests, plus the new DirectStorage tests introduced in early December 2024. Thanks to the radiator-like design on the edges of the case, the temperature after all tests reached only 45º C.

CrystalDiskMark Tests

8 GB test
8 GB test
CPU Utilization
CPU Utilization

CDM is the only test we used where the Envoy Ultra exceeds 6 GB/s sequential read speeds. Theoretically, Thunderbolt 5 allows for speeds up to ~10 GB/s, but this is not a PCIe 5.0 SSD that can take advantage of such bandwidth. Even if we would test this with a proper PCIe 5.0 SSD, speeds would not exceed ~8 GB/s, since the Thunderbolt 5 controller on the Schenker laptop is limited in that way. Write speeds are slower by ~1 GB/s, but that is not always the case when using single-thread loads. Random 4K single thread write speeds are double the read speeds for the Envoy Ultra. Multi-threaded loads like 4K T16 make use of all the P-cores available but barely any E-cores, as demonstrated by HWInfo.

AS SSD Tests

Read / write test 5 GB
Read / write test 5 GB
Copy test 5 GB
Copy test 5 GB
AS SSD Compression
AS SSD Compression
CPU Utilization
CPU Utilization

For some reason (most likely pre-production firmware) AS SSD and all UL benchmarks detect the Envoy Ultra as an Aura Pro IV, and, looking at OWC’s portfolio, these appear to be the actual M.2 NVMe SSD models inside the rugged case. There is no info on the OWC site regarding this model, yet the performance is consistent with top-of-the-line PCIe 4.0 X4 models. Speeds are somewhat lower compared to CDM, but AS SSD also comes with unique tests, like 64-thread random, which indeed uses all the available cores and threads as shown in HWInfo, as well as copy and compression tests.

PCMark 10 Tests

PCMark 10 bandwidth
PCMark 10 bandwidth

This test puts the SSDs through scenarios that are emulating daily use cases, such as installing certain software with tons of small files, copying folders or reading folders full of videos or pictures. As such, the average speed recorded at the end is not reflecting the maximum speeds that are possible only with larger files tested with CDM and AS SSD.

3DMark Storage Tests

3DMark Storage Score
3DMark Storage Score

The storage test is a relatively new feature in 3DMark and is very similar to the PCMark 10 storage bandwidth test. Of course, the 3DMark test is more gaming-oriented so we see appropriate scenarios including game loading, installing, saving, copying and even recording speeds while streaming with OBS. The average speed here is slightly higher than the PCMark 10 result. For reference, it is only 12 MB/s faster than an internal Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB model.

3DMark DirectStorage test schematics
3DMark DirectStorage test schematics
3DMark DirectStorage test details
3DMark DirectStorage test details

Introduced just last week, the DirectStorage test in 3DMark simulates a near-best-case scenario for a DirectStorage implementation, where asset loading is not impacted by other variables such as the game’s asset management system or other tasks being performed by the GPU. This means you can see a demonstration of the near-maximum potential performance benefits for a system if DirectStorage is supported.

Conclusion

The Envoy Ultra from OWC is the first ever Thunderbolt 5 device we have tested so we cannot compare it to any existing competitor. We can, however, compare it to internal SSD models, and, based on our test results, the Envoy Ultra is in line with popular PCIe 4.0 X4 NVMe models like the Samsung 980 Pro, sometimes proving slightly faster. Pricing for the 2 TB Envoy Ultra is more than double that of the Samsung 980 Pro, so users need to determine if the portability is worth that much plus the acquisition of a Thunderbolt 5 system.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2024 11 > OWC Envoy Ultra Thunderbolt 5 review - unrivaled external SSD breaks 6 GB/s speeds
Bogdan Solca, 2024-12-11 (Update: 2024-12-13)