One of my main work laptops died on me just mere days before I flew out to Taipei for COMPUTEX 2024. Like a good tech reviewer, I pretty much scoured the net for any possible solution to a BIOS-booting problem the laptop I was working with to no avail. With a butt-load of things to worry about, having the laptop fixed in time for the coverage wasn’t even on the equation anymore.
Good thing the good folks over at ASUS ROG PH was quick enough to find an interim solution so I can still bring all my work files and work on a spare ASUS Vivobook 14 Pro OLED that I have – house the NVme SSD of my current work laptop into a super secure ASUS TUF GAMING A1 USB 3.2 Gen SSD Enclosure.
With a fast USB 3.2 connector, I can easily access my entire files on the go, and this is pretty much where I’m storing most of the files considering the back-up laptop I’m using only has 500GB of internal storage.
While 500GB may be a lot of regular office workers, as a content creator who sometimes edits video on the go, 500GB goes by really, REALLY quickly.
Made of Sterner Stuff
One of the key things that I like about the ASUS TUF Gaming A1 SSD Enclosure is its built. What it lacks in flashy LED light show, it makes up for its tank-like overall design.
With an all-steel chassis, this IP68 Dust & Splash Resistant contraption is ready to go through any environment and still keep your data safe and secure. We were throwing the device around the bag with other hardware as well and while the matte gun-metal finish of the unit may scrape off here and there, the wear and tear actually adds to the rough and tumble design characteristic of the unit.
Instant Installation
Build tough and build for speed. That’s what the brand is touting on their corporate website and they’re dead serious about it as the ASUS TUF A1 SSD Enclosure supports both NVMe® M.2 PCIe® and SATA. Everything you need to install your SSD is inside the box – you don’t need to bring out your tool box.
With an exclusive Q-latch mechanism, it makes mounting of your choice M.2 NVMe® PCIe® or SATA SSDs with 2242/2260/2280 form factor, superbly easy. For fresh SSDs you may need to reformat the device accordingly. But since I’m literally looking for an enclosure to bring my 1TB hard drive with all my work files, I had to make sure not to format anything.
Once I secured the SSD and latched everything back again, it’s as simple as plugging the device to the USB 3.2 Type-C connector and voila, instant access to all my files.
With transfer speeds of up to 10GB, transferring and/or opening files instantaneously right on external SSD is made possible. We will caution about heating, though. While the ASUS TUF Gaming A1 External SSD Enclosure made sure to add all precautions to ensure your SSD is kept at the best temperature possible, it’s still just an enclosure without vents or exhaust fans. So, while it’s tempting to work solely on your extended drive, we urge you not to do that. When we needed more space on the laptop we’re working on, we simple transfer a huge batch of files from one place to the other to make ample space.
During our coverage of COMPUTEX 2024, we amassed more than 40GB of RAW footage between me, Alli, and Carlos – content that we had to sift through and share and split among us constantly throughout the trip.
The easy plug-and-play nature of the ASUS TUF Gaming A1 External SSD Enclosure made it possible for all of us to take advantage of a physical storage space that we can easily pass it amongst ourselves.
So, thank you ASUS ROG PH for saving our COMPUTEX 2024 coverage by sending this over 2 days before my flight. You guys are amazing!
You can purchase one for Php 2695 at Datablitz or DynaQuest. Other retailers carry the unit as well but a much higher price-point.
