Pros & Cons
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- Comes in capacities up to 8TB, with 16TB planned
- Solid benchmark performance
- Includes free download of Acronis True Image backup software
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- A little pricey on a per-gigabyte basis
- Heavy and bulky for an external SSD
- Requires use of included power adapter
SanDisk Desk Drive Specs
| Bus Type | PCI Express 3.0 x4 |
| Capacity (Tested) | 8 |
| Interface (Computer Side) | USB Type-A or Type-C |
| Internal or External | External |
| NAND Type | TLC |
| NVMe Support | |
| Rated Maximum Sequential Read | 1000 |
| Warranty Length | 3 |
The SanDisk Desk Drive (starts at $379.99 for 4TB; $699.99 for 8TB as tested) is an external solid-state drive (SSD) designed as a companion to desktop workstations. Primarily meant as an alternative to an external spinning desktop hard drive, this chunky device—powered through an included wall-wart-style adapter—provides up to 8TB of storage at speeds in line with typical external SSDs, and it performed well in our benchmarks. It doesn't come cheap, but it gets points for capacity and performance, and it could be the right choice for creative pros with demanding storage needs who don't need their SSD to travel with them.
Design: A Chunky, Puck-Shaped SSD
Resembling a matte-black hockey puck with slightly squared-off sides and a thin red racing stripe around its middle, the Desk Drive measures 1.6 by 3.9 by 3.9 inches (HWD) and weighs 9.5 ounces. It's bulky as SSDs go, bucking the recent trend of ever-smaller and ever-lighter external SSDs. On top of the drive, the SanDisk name is inscribed in silver type, and on the bottom are the product name, the capacity, and various certifications.
On the side, you'll find a USB-C port (supporting a USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface), a slot for a Kensington-style cable lock, and a power jack. Emphasizing its role as a desktop accessory rather than a go-anywhere data repository, the Desk Drive is not powered over its USB connection. Instead, you must use the included AC adapter, which means you'll need to place it within range of a power outlet.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)SanDisk offers a free download of Acronis True Image for Western Digital backup software with the Desk Drive. Acronis allows you to automatically back up files, folders, applications, or your Windows or Mac operating system. The software can also recover files and folders, and clone internal drives.
The Desk Drive currently comes in 4TB and 8TB capacities, with SanDisk expected to roll out a 16TB version later in the year.
The Desk Drive's 4TB version is priced at a bit of a premium compared with typical USB external SSDs that don't require their own power source. For instance, the Editors' Choice-award-winning Crucial X9 Pro in its 4TB model sells for 7 cents per gigabyte. On the other hand, most current external drives don't come in capacities as high as 16TB, so the Desk Drive could be worth the spend if you need that much space.
Testing the SanDisk Desk Drive: Zippy Performance
We test external SSDs using PC Labs' Windows 10 storage testbed, a desktop built on an Asus Prime X299 Deluxe motherboard with an Intel Core i9-10980XE Extreme Edition CPU. The system has 48GB of DDR4 Corsair Dominator RAM clocked to 3,600MHz, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 6GB graphics card. We use the motherboard's 10Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 port for testing compatible drives such as the SanDisk Desk Drive; for Gen 2x2 drives, we test using a 2x2 port added via an Orico PCIe expansion card.
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We put the SanDisk Desk Drive through our usual suite of external solid-state drive benchmarks: Blackmagic's Disk Speed Test, our folder transfer test, Crystal DiskMark 6.0, PCMark 10 Storage, and the 3DMark Storage gaming-centric benchmark. The first two were run on an Apple MacBook Pro in the Desk Drive's native exFAT format, while I used the Windows storage testbed described above with the drive formatted in NTFS for the other three tests. Crystal DiskMark's sequential speed tests provide a traditional measure of drive throughput, simulating best-case, straight-line transfers of large files. The PCMark 10 Storage test measures an SSD's readiness for everyday tasks.
Comparison external drives in our benchmarks include other USB 3.2 Gen 2 SSDs, one external SSD with SATA internals (the Samsung Portable SSD T5 EVO), and several USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 drives. We saw a wide range in throughput speeds, with the SanDisk Desk Drive generally in the middle of the pack. But to its credit, the Desk Drive turned in the high score on the PCMark 10 Storage Test and the second-highest of the group in 3DMark Storage.
Although it's mainly intended for backups and archiving media files, the SanDisk Desk Drive demonstrated its proficiency at performing a wide variety of tasks, from gaming to general storage, in our testing.
Verdict: Fast, Capacious Storage at a Price
The SanDisk Desk Drive provides voluminous storage at speeds comparable with typical portable SSDs. It performed well in our benchmarks, posting a high score among our comparison drives in the PCMark 10 general storage test.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)As a drive designed to work alongside a desktop workstation, the Desk Drive is not a mobility-first product. It's a bit bulky for an external SSD, and it requires using its included power adapter rather than a single USB cable that transfers data and power. While it's technically "portable," it's harder to use in true on-the-go fashion than a typical USB external SSD.
Also, it costs a little more per gigabyte at its 4TB level than other USB 3.2 Gen 2 SSDs such as the Editors' Choice-winning Crucial X9 Pro. But neither the X9 Pro nor most other external SSDs can offer the 8TB capacity of fast storage that the Desk Drive can. It's worth a close look on that account if you need the most possible capacity from a single external drive, and it has to be at SSD speeds. Otherwise, platter-based external hard drives come far cheaper. Desktop external hard drives using 3.5-inch mechanisms and connecting over USB 3.0 are easy to find for less than $300 in capacities ranging from 10TB to 16TB.