Portable SSD is becoming more mainstream nowadays and it’s now capable of transfer speed that is comparable to an internal SSD thanks to the USB 3.1 Gen 2 interface. In this review, we’ll be taking a look at the  Transcend ESD230C, the successor to the ESD220C that uses the faster USB 3.1 Gen 2 interface.

Specifications

ModelESD230C
Dimensions77 mm x 55.7 mm x 9.6 mm
Weight35g
ColorBlack
Connection InterfaceUSB 3.1 Gen 2
USB TypeUSB to USB-C/USB-C to USB-C
Flash Type3D NAND flash
Capacity240GB/480GB/960GB (cables included)
Read SpeedUp to 520 MB/s
Write SpeedUp to 460 MB/s
Warranty3-year Limited Warranty
Operating SystemMicrosoft Windows 7/8/10 and Mac OS 10 or later

Unboxing

Transcend ESD230C 240GB (1)

Transcend always keep things simple for its product and the ESD230C is no exception to that. At the front of the box, you’ll find a cutout and a protective layer of hard plastic for product display. Features and the capacity of the SSD can be found at the front of the box as well.

Transcend ESD230C 240GB (2)

At the back of the box, you’ll find a 3-year limited warranty badge and a QR code that brings you to the product page. The rest of the text is rather small and difficult to read for some, but you can always visit the product page for more information of the product itself.

Inside the accessories box, you’ll find the data cable for USB type-C to type-C and USB type-A to type-C, quick start guide, and the product catalog as usual.

Closer Look At The ESD230C

Transcend ESD230C 240GB (5)

Design wise, the ESD230C looks pretty much identical to its predecessor, the ESD220C. It features an ultra-compact enclosure that measures thinness of 9.6mm that makes it easy to be carried around in pockets.

TranscendTranscend ESD230C 240GB (6)

The ESD230C also comes with an anti-scratch coating that will survive most of the minor scratches such as your keys and coins when it’s inside your pocket. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s 100% scratch proof.

Transcend ESD230C 240GB (10)

Just like its predecessor, the ESD230C also comes with a one-touch backup button that allows you to instantly backup and synchronizes data between your workstation and the drive when used together with the Transcend Elite data management software.

Transcend ESD230C 240GB (9)

Despite being identical to the ESD220C in terms of design and features, the ESD230C uses the USB 3.1 Gen 2 interface for faster data transfer.

Synthetic Benchmark

ATTO Disk Benchmark

The most frequently used benchmarking utility by many manufacturers for performance specification. As ATTO Disk Benchmark uses compressible data rather than compressible data, it results in higher benchmark scores. We’ve run the benchmark with transfer size ranged from 0.5KB to 8192KB and a total length of the test to be 256MB.

ATTO Disk Benchmark Transcend ESD230C 240GB (1)

AS SSD Benchmark

Widely used SSD benchmarking utility that uses incompressible data to simulate the worst possible scenario for an SSD and thus giving a much lower sequential read and write speed result than what has been stated by the manufacturer as a result of the heavy workload.

AS SSD Benchmark Transcend ESD230C 240GB (1)

File Transfer Test

For this test, we’ll be using different types of data that we’re dealing with every day – image, video, compressed file, etc just to see how will it perform.

The highest read and write speed recorded during the file transfer test is around 500MB/s and 400MB/s respectively. These numbers are truly impressive indeed, as we haven’t seen many portable SSD that is capable of reaching this speed even when it’s connected to a USB 3.1 Gen 2 interface.

Even after being filled up to 80% of its total capacity, the performance drop is very insignificant and we’re still able to achieve similar transfer speed as its 0% filled and 50% filled state.

Transcend ESD230C 240GB Copy from HDD

One thing to take note is that the 500MB/s read and 400MB/s write can only be achieved if you’re using an SSD as your target source or destination. Your transfer speed will still be capped at around 200MB/s for both read and write speed if you’re connected to a mechanical hard drive.

Transcend ESD230C 240GB (8)

Final Thoughts

The Transcend ESD230C is basically an upgraded version of the ESD220C, offering faster transfer speed while retaining the same convenient and features from its predecessor. It’s a product that is targeted at businessmen and office workers who need a fast, compact and feature-rich portable storage device for their fast-paced work in the corporate world.

Other than its compact design and anti-scratch coating, the ESD230C can be detected easily even if you plug it into systems with a different operating system (Windows, Mac OS, Linux or Android devices with OTG support). It makes file sharing among co-workers, clients or even friends and family a lot easier as well.

At a surprisingly affordable price of RM 249, the Transcend ESD230C is easily one of the best choices of portable SSD you can find in the market now even if you don’t really need the extra features from the proprietary software.

Pros

  • Compact design for ease of carrying
  • Anti-scratch coating for protection against minor scratch
  • USB Type-C to Type-C cable for USB OTG is included
  • Supports one-touch backup function with Transcend Elite software
  • Backed by 3-year limited warranty from Transcend

Cons

  • Anti-scratch coating isn’t effective against intentional damage

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