Crucial X10 Pro 2TB External SSD

The Crucial X10 Pro comes in a compact box with an image of the drive on the front which is about three-quarters the size of the actual drive. To the right of the image is a sticker that displays the drive's capacity under which are displayed the read (2,100MB/s) and write (2,000MB/s) ratings in English and French. Under the drive image are two small images stating that the drive is dust and water-resistant and an icon representing the fact the drive supports password protection.

The back of the box has some multi-lingual drive information and a list of what's in the box. At the top, there is a QR code to use if you want more information about the X10 Pro.

 
To say the X10 Pro is compact is an understatement. It measures just 65 x 50 x 10mm and weighs in at a mere 38g. Constructed from anodised aluminium with a rubberised base the X10 Pro differs from the X9 Pro in having a black finish. The two long sides of the drive have recesses built into them to give a better grip on the drive. One corner of the drive has a hole for a lanyard (not supplied) and this is the home for the drive activity LED instead of its normal position by the USB port.

The drive uses a Silicon Motion SM2320 controller. This controller with its single-chip USB 3.2 Gen2 x 2 solution is what's driving the growth in tiny high-performance external drives as it does away with the space requirements needed for a bridging chip. Unlike the X9 Pro where the SM2320 is running at USB 3.2 Gen2 x 1 (10Gbps), the X10 Pro has it running at full whack. Internally the 2TB drive uses two packages of Micron's own B47R 176-Layer 3D TLC NAND.

The Crucial X10 Pro uses a USB-C port, with the interface clocked at 20Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen2 x 2).

All that comes in the box with the drive is a USB-C to USB-C cable (which could do with being a wee bit longer) and a Quick Start Guide.

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