Monster Digital OverDrive 3.0 512GB External SSD Review – External SSDs Get Speed, Value, Size and Appeal

With the gaining popularity of SSDs, it was only a matter of time until we started seeing large capacity external SSDs hit the street and the time has come.  Whereas less than seven days ago we had never had an external SSD of 512GB capacity, today I have three 512GB and a 1TB external SSDs sitting in front of me as I type.  AS an added benefit, we can state right off that these external SSDs are probably the most powerful manufactured to date and surprisingly, all can be thrown in your pocket.

Clicking on any of our photographs or charts will bring up a higher resolution copy.

Today we are going to rip apart and test the new Monster Digital OverDrive 3.0 External SSD seen here.  Monster has just released this SSD in several capacities, ranging from 128GB all the way to 1TB.  Regardless of capacity, the form factor is the same and this SSD is smaller and thinner than just about any cell phone at 60mm x 126mm x 8mm.

Although initial pricing was expected to be $179 (128GB), $299(256GB), $599(512GB) and $1399(1TB), we have been in steady contact with Monster Digital since well before launch and, you might want to check that link above.  Pricing for 256 and 512GB capacities can be found at under $1/GB at Amazon.

Specifications for the Monster Digital OverDrive 3.0 are equally impressive with read and write performance listed at 250MB/s and 150MB/s.  In addition, the OverDrive 3.0 is a USB 3.0 device that is energy efficient as no external power is required, is impact resistant to 500G and has a 3 year limited warranty.

The exterior of the Monster Digital OverDrive 3.0 External SSD is constructed of a laser etched stainless steel enclosure and contains a 165mm USB 3.0 cable that tucks into the unit.  As much as we love to see the one piece design, it would be an added benefit to one day see completely enclosed USB 3.0 access, however, this no doubt would have increased overall dimensions.

Once the exterior case is removed, we get a good look at the PCB which contains the Phison PS2251 controller and eight modules of Toshiba NAND flash memory, with each a capacity of 64GB.  The combination is rather unusual as only once have we seen this memory used in a solid state solution prior, this being seen in the Patriot Supersonic Magnum 256GB Flash Drive Review at TSSDR, our sister site.  In fact, the same Phison controller was used and the only difference in components between the two was the fact that four less memory modules were present on the Patriot.

Similarly, TSSDR also posted a recent Kingston Data Traveler 512GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review which also uses Toshiba memory and the same Phison controller, however, we cannot confirm that that memory matches that of the Patriot or this OverDrive.