</ img>
GOODRAM HL100 is a very pleasant to use, lightweight and compact external SSD in metal
GOODRAM HL100 512 GB
Most Affordable External SSD
Inexpensive, compact and lightweight exteriorSSD-drive in a metal case. Data read speed up to 450 MB / s and write speed up to 420 MB / s. A USB 3.2 Type-C 10 Gb / s port is used to connect to devices.
Rozetka
ITBox
Hello
Telemart
</ img>
4 reasons to buy GOODRAM HL100:
- compact and lightweight metal body;
- high (compared to external HDD) speed of work;
- the ability to use with PCs, smartphones and game consoles;
- very nice value.
2 reasons not to buy GOODRAM HL100:
- You need a faster storage device;
- no Type-C to Type-C cable included.
Fast passage
- What is included?
- What does GOODRAM HL100 look like?
- How does GOODRAM HL100 perform well?
- What can proprietary software do?
- In the dry residue
What is included?
</ img>
</ img>
GOODRAM HL100 is packed in a regular blister with allthe most necessary information. The kit includes only the drive itself and a USB Type-C cable – USB Type-A. In general, everything you need for work is there. But an additional USB Type-C cable would be nice – USB Type-C for connecting to smartphones and ultrabooks without full-size ports.
</ p>What does GOODRAM HL100 look like?
</ img>
GOODRAM HL100 is very compact and lightweight.The dimensions are 92 x 46 x 9.2 mm, so you can easily fit it into any pocket. The body is made of a piece of dark gray metal. It is matte and does not collect fingerprints; it looks quite presentable and reliable. The entire structure feels monolithic and is perfectly assembled. So, I believe that the SSD will survive a fall from a small height without any problems.
</ img>
On the front panel there is a logo and model namewhite, no more decorative elements. The side ends of the drive have a rounded shape. And only the upper and lower “plugs” are made of black plastic.
</ img>
At the top there is a Type-C connector for connection, on the sides of which there are two red LEDs to indicate the operation of the SSD.
</ img>
The drive is just a little thicker than the ASUS ZenFone 8 smartphone:
</ img>
How does GOODRAM HL100 perform well?
</ img>
GOODRAM HL100 SSDsAvailable in 256, 512 GB, 1 and 2 TB versions. The interface of the drive itself is SATAIII, connections to devices are USB 3.2 Type-C 10 Gbit/s. In other words, “a bottleneck” in this case, it is the interface of the drive itself. It uses TLC NAND memory and a Silicon Motion SM2258XT controller. This is a budget controller with a 32-bit Argonaut RISC chip, support for 4 threads and without DRAM support, you can see all the characteristics at the link. Considering the availability of the drive itself, the choice of such a controller is quite justified. They promise that the TBW (Total Bytes Written) indicator for the tested 512 GB model is 350 TB. The manufacturer provides a 3-year warranty.
</ img>
Stated read speed up to 450 MB/s and write speed up to420 MB/s. In synthetic tests, GOODRAM HL100 demonstrates operating speeds even higher than stated, at times significantly higher. Of course, the actual speed will depend on a bunch of factors, starting with the filling of the disk itself and ending with the type of data (file sizes, etc.). Yes, this is the limit of SATAIII and there are external drives that are much faster, but when switching from an external hard drive the difference is very noticeable. It's also worth remembering that the speed will depend on the USB port to which the drive is connected. Although, of course, it is now extremely difficult to find a PC or laptop without USB version 3.0 and higher.
</ img>
</ img>
</ img>
</ img>
</ img>
</ img>
</ img>
There are a lot of models on sale with higher operating speeds, but they are all more expensive. Overall, GOODRAM HL100 is one of the most affordable external SSDs at the moment.
</ p>What can GOODRAM HL100 do?
</ img>
The most obvious scenario for using GOODRAMHL100 is a banal data carrier. A faster and more compact alternative to the slowly but surely dying out external hard drives. An SSD can also be useful for use with smartphones. The drive out of the box is formatted in the exFAT file system and is immediately recognized by the smartphone without any problems as external storage to which you can transfer photos, videos, music, documents, and so on. This can be especially useful somewhere on a trip if the internal memory of the smartphone is already filled to capacity with tons of footage filmed during the trip, and there is no slot for MicroSD.
</ img>
Another less obvious but relevant scenariouse - game consoles. And if with consoles of the previous generation everything is known and clear. The situation with the current PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S is more complicated. All games that are developed and optimized for the new generation run only from the internal fast SSD. In the case of the Xbox Series X|S, the problem of lack of space can be solved using the 1 TB Storage Expansion Card, which is developed by Seagate together with Microsoft. But this expansion card costs about $300. In PlayStation 5, the M.2 expansion slot is still not available for use. But you can use a temporary, more affordable option - an external SSD, for example GOODRAM HL100. All games from the previous generation of consoles that run under the backwards compatibility program work perfectly from external drives. The first time you connect an SSD, the console will prompt you to format it as an extended USB storage device. After this, you can transfer all games from the previous generation of consoles to it, and also set an external SSD drive for them by default.
</ img>
A proprietary application GOODRAM OPTIMUM SSD Tool is provided to work with the drive. It allows you to see the current state of the drive, update the firmware and check the operating speed.
</ img>
In the dry residue. Three things to know about GOODRAM HL100 512GB:
- GOODRAM HL100 is one of the most affordable external SSDs.
- Available in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB options.
- Suitable for working with PCs, laptops, smartphones and game consoles.
Technical specifications of GOODRAM HL100 512 GB
Form factor
external
Internal interface
SATAIII
Front end
USB 3.2 Type-C (10 Gb/s)
Volume
512 GB (also available in 256 GB, 1 and 2 TB)
Memory type
TLC NAND
Controller
Silicon Motion SM2258XT
Maximum read speed
450 MB/s
Maximum write speed
420 MB/s
Lifetime Warranty
350 TBW (Total Bytes Written), 3 years
Dimensions
92x46x9.2 mm
For those that want to know more:
- Kioxia Exceria Plus 1TB Review: Fast PCIe 3.0 x4, NVMe SSD for Gaming and Work
- Samsung SSD 970 EVO Review: What NVMe M.2 SSDs Can Do
- Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2 SSD Review: Speed and Stability
- 512GB ADATA XPG Gammix S5 Review: Mid-Range NVMe SSD
- 7 reasons why it's time to switch to SSD
- Samsung SSD 970 EVO Review: What NVMe M.2 SSDs Can Do
- A Quick Review of the ADATA SP600 SSD