ASUS TUF Gaming A1 NVMe/SATA SSD Enclosure - USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x1, IP68 dust and water resistance for 30mins at 1.5m depth, military-grade MIL-STD-810H drop resistance, easy installation

Honestly, the best portable storage device you can have it's the one you can make, maintain and be sure it's fast and solid. For reviewing, I've used the WD 7100 1TB SSD in this A1 enclosure with the included USB-C cable on a USB-C 3.1 port. PROS: - Solid aluminium body - Thick walls - Amazing heat dissipation due to the above - Solid and thick isolating rubber (confident no water or dust will ever enter this enclosure even from the USB-C port) - Speeds are well above the competitors (by that i mean prebuilt T7 or Crucials which are limited to slower speeds - they perform as well but lack of speed means restricted use scenarios) - USB C 3.2 cable included provides the best speeds (which will be a CON too because if you lose the cable or use a slower one you'll get slower speeds) - Easy to install the M.2 and secure once screwed in with the included tool (a small hex/allen key) - Can fit any M.2 size that is 22mm wide and up to 80mm long (there are longer ones but not that common); So from M.2 2230 to M.2 2280 CONS: - The enclosure is a bit bigger than the prebuilt competitors, but not too bulky and fits in all rubber mounts and most pockets fairly well - Use the USB Cable included if you want the best speeds; otherwise, your speeds might vary depending on the cable you're using Recommendations: - If you plan on using it on any devide (your phone, windows PC, Mac or even a streaming device through an USB dock) it's best to format the SSD to exFAT so any machine can read and write to it without sacrificing speed - There is no need to go overboard with the best or fastest M.2 SSD you can find, because most of them are made for specific applications. In my case i got the above mentioned WD just because that's what i use primarily in all my machines and had no issues with them. You can even try Crucial ones or whatever you think is best as long as it's TLC Memory (a bit slower but more reliable compared to QLC ones.) Will come with an update if anything happens (like the chip inside failing or something goes wrong with the enclosure).

Reliable speed, sturdy, disperses heat well (gets hot), easy to open.

I bought this to make a fast external for my MacBook Pro. Looks great, the RGB is a nice touch and the default preset looks good so no need to install the Asus software to sync it if you don't want to. Build quality is great and feels very solid. The included sim tray tool for opening it makes this simple to take apart. One issue I did run into initially was that I couldn't close the door after installing the M.2 card. Finally figured to that there is a groove running horizontally around the middle of the thumbscrew that attaches the drive to the case. You need to line that up with the semi circular groove at the back of the M.2 and then screw it down, otherwise the screw is sitting too high (hence why I couldn't close the door. Once I'd figured that out installation was a doddle. Speeds are good, what I'd expect from the USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface and works on both Mac and Windows.For reference I'm using a Samsung PM961 512GB SSD. It's a bit pricier than some of the enclosures out there but it is from a respected manufacturer, very well built and unique looking. Well worth the money.

this is the first SSD enclosure i have purchased and i am very pleased with it so far. it goes nicely with my other ROG products and works well with the ROG Ally. i am only using it to store more games so i do not have to re-download them every time i want to play something different. i have paired it with the western digital black 2tb and so far all is working nicely. i love the look of it and the case itself is very well made and has a sturdy feel to it and who doesn't love a bit of aura sync?! it also comes with a protective bumper and R hook so you can add it to your bag without loosing it. and lastly it has 2 usb cables (usb c to usb c and usb A to usb C) overall this is another great product from ASUS ROG.

There's two primary reasons to buy this product over other NVME solutions. 1) Reliability and 2) RGB. I don't particularly care about RGB but this enclosure gets high marks for reliability. It has loads of extras on the box, including a high quality USB c to c and c to A cables. A padded cover for the enclosure and a buckle strap so you can hang it off your carry bag. The metal enclosure feels weighty in the hand and the thermal pads littering the inside will ensure your NVME drive lasts for long usage sessions. I primarily use it with a Sabrient 2TB on my PS4 and will migrate it to the PS5. The surface of the enclosure does get toasty but it's nowhere near danger levels that might cause the SSD to fail. You can't exactly cheap out when buying enclosures for NVME ssds like you can for M.2 SSDs due to the amount of heat given off. Despite the slightly higher price this enclosure is a great option.

I love ROG stuff and I had a Sabrent 1TB Rocket Nvme PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280 that I wanted to use to store stuff for moving around, so these two are made for each other. On receiving the ASUS ROG Strix Arion, it was just as I expected, the box was great, the contents were packed really well, just I would expect from an ROG item. The actual enclosure was lovely, metal, solid and just really nice to look at. The instructions were very easy to follow, use the provided pin, to open the enclosure. There are a couple of thermal blocks (like soft plaster-scene) on the inside of the cover, which was really good to see. There is a nice silver coloured screw to hold the M2 down, which I thought was a nice touch too. So the installation of the Sabrent was the same as any other M2 install. Then I went to close the cover and it wouldn't shut. I thought I had the cover round the wrong way, but it only goes one way. I then used the pin to move the open/close mechanism a little to close the cover. Nope, unable to close the cover. I'm thinking my M2 isn't going to fit this???? It should do, its the correct version, so it should fit! So I took the M2 out put the screw in the whole and the cover closed!!! So I put the M2 back in, put the screw in and the clover would close again!!? So I took the screw out and used the cover and the thermal blocks to hold it down......THE COVER CLOSED!! Um, so the screw is causing all the issues. It would appear that the screw without the M2 thickness will allow the cover to close. But use the screw with the M2 and tighten it as tight as you can, and the cover will not close. I ended up using another M2 flat screw to hold it down and the cover closed first time. Other than that, it is a great bit of kit (expensive though) There is also a protective surround for the enclosure and also a carrying hook, which looks great. The lights on the enclosure are great too by the way.

Solid Build Quality, easy to install, it’s made from solid metal, feels solid in hand and it should take some punishment if dropped or knocked. The ssd touches the heat sink, which then moves the heat on to the metal case so it should keep lovely and cool. I brought many cheap Chinese ssd cases and they were poor and caused issues so when I saw there was an offer on the ASUS brought it. For ssd cases you need quality and ease of use, most of the Chinese ones comes with a single piece of silicon to hold the ssd in place (not screws) ASUS has a turn bolt to fasten it in with ease and keep the ssd in place. I went for a WD Black M2, my second choice would have been a Samsung M2, both good ssd brands that are reliable.

I got this as an Xmas present to myself. I wanted something that was going to be portable, reliable, great looking and stand the test of time. While I have only had this a few weeks, it has certainly done all of those things. I love the RGB, and I’m impressed how cool is stays. Overall, extremely happy with my purchase. . . . I would also mention the super fast speeds, but I guess that’s more the m.2 ssd, but the Arion does not seem to throttle this at all. 10/10!