This is the SSD box I use now: ASUS ProArt PA40SU 40Gbps, full metal, with cooling fan

I have been using this SSD box since COMPUTEX and in general I am satisfied, except that it has an additional cooling fan that does not make it cooler, but instead makes it more stable when used with SSD. This product is ASUS ProArt PA40SU for those of you who need the name for further reference.

This is a high-speed SSD box of Thunderbolt portable hard drives, meaning a maximum speed of 40Gbps, with a cooling fan to cool down faster. What I also like is that you won't need a screwdriver to open and install the SSD in this box, which means it's tool-free, it's more modern than the Thunderbolt 3 box I've been using for the past 4 years.

Choose the right SSD to optimize performance rather than compete with parameters

Of course, ProArt PA40SU is compatible with most PCs today, even if your laptop or PC has a USB-C Thunderbolt port, it can also be used well.

Many people have noticed that every time they buy a high-speed box and then use a high-speed SSD, they expect it to achieve the maximum throughput of the box or SSD's protocol. That is almost very unlikely for many reasons. Don't just look at the parameters that the company often gives with high sequential read and write numbers and think it will be fast. I tested it with the 2 SSDs I am currently using, a quite old Gen 3, WD Black SN750, and a newer Gen 4 SSD, TEAMGROUP MP44L. Both are attached to ProArt PA40SU, the speed and temperature are quite different. First of all, when attached to this box, both the SN750 and MP44L exploit almost the maximum speed they have. That is, although if you attach it internally (for example, attach it to a laptop to use it as an SSD containing Windows, this app or that), its speed may be a bit higher, but when attached externally and used as a portable hard drive, its speed will decrease a bit, but overall it still reaches a very high number.

Tested with Crystal Disk Mark 9, the MP44L achieved a sequential read speed of more than 3500 MB/s but somehow its write speed was only over 900 MB/s. In contrast, with the SN750, the sequential read and write speeds are both about 3000 MB/s. The temperature I checked with Crystal Disk Info is that both the MP44L and SN750 are at a high threshold, but the MP44L is higher, up to 58 degrees Celsius. Note that this temperature is not the temperature of the NAND Flash but can be understood as the general temperature of the entire SSD.

A small note for you is that to use it for both macOS and Windows, you should format the drive in exFAT format, but if you use NTFS, it can only be used with Windows or APFS can only be used for Apple devices.

Therefore, I also want to tell you that choosing SSD and box to suit your needs is important. During the days when I worked at COMPUTEX, copying files to SSD to save after each project, what I needed most was fast and compact speed, which PA40SU met extremely well. Even though it has a cooling fan, it is not noisy. According to ASUS, the fan noise at full speed is only about 18.2 dB(A).

Metal design, with cooling fan, cool, easy to scratch

This box has a beautiful design and is highly mechanical, just like the Orico box I have been using all this time. Compared to the Orico box I'm using, this PA40SU box is also thinner, 13.5mm. The beauty of this box is that it has a cooling fan, one fan is in charge of pushing hot air out, around the box there will be 2 air intakes to get air in. I consider this design to be smart and it will solve the problem of overheating and reducing SSD performance.

A note for you is that when using, do not put the box with other items, such as cable ends, because the black anodized metal shell of the PA40SU is very easy to scratch. If I put it with many other items, it is already scratched.

In front of the USB-C port there is a small light to indicate operating status.

Actually, the fact that this box doesn't need a screwdriver is something I'm extremely satisfied with, it's easy to replace and upgrade. Well, ProArt PA40SU has control software and updates the firmware for your computer. When you buy it, download the SSD Dashboard, then enter the Serial Number in the User's Manual to use it.

The wire that comes with the box has high speed, guys, 40Gbps.