HyperDrive Next USB4 NVMe SSD Enclosure (Review)

As we wait for the world to slowly embrace Thunderbolt 5 technology, it’s important to point out (or remember) that technologies like USB4 and Thunderbolt 4 haven’t gone anywhere and already offer lightning-fast performance for our devices. Most importantly, devices that support these standards are readily available, and we get to dive into one of these now. Specifically, the HyperDrive Next USB4 NVMe SSD Enclosure.

NVMe drives have come so far, and thanks to USB4 and TB4, we can really tap into the speeds they offer, even when running them externally. With these modern USB-C standards, we are able to tap into speeds as high as 40 Gbps, covering many of today’s NVMe Gen 3 and Gen 4 models.

With the HyperDrive Next USB4 NVMe SSD Enclosure, you are doing exactly that. You are tapping into the full potential of some of these drives. Something we have been working on doing for around a week now, as we tested it against a few drives and across various systems and ports.

As long as we made sure to connect it to a system capable of USB4 or TB4, we were able to push things to the limit. At least, within certain environmental and data conditions. Making for a successful overall experience and plenty of transfers back and forth as we attempted to explore it.

This enclosure comes with a short USB4 cable (1.6ft), although it isn’t as short as some external enclosures (with some, you are lucky to get 6 inches). Making it easy to use with systems of virtually any size/style, including one where the only USB4 port was located on the back of the computer and we rested the drive across the top of the case (cable provided plenty enough length to do so).

There are also two thermal pads that are to be used between the drive and the lid to help redirect heat and dissipate it across the entire shell/unit. You only need one, but this gives you a brand new one in case you ever swap the NVMe out and need to replace the pad as well. As well as an additional rubber piece that secures the drive flat inside, in case you lose the one that is already inside somehow.

Other than some instructions, that is all it comes with since it doesn’t need anything else (other than a NVMe to go inside).

The enclosure features a silicone sleeve that protects it from scratches and bumps, giving it a little added durability. The enclosure is well-manufactured aluminum, so it doesn’t need much to protect it, but it’s nice to have this nonetheless, due to the amount of money you are spending to buy into something like this.

The sleeve easily pulls away to reveal the enclosure inside. From there, you can access where you store the NVMe, simply by prying the lid off with your finger. No screws are needed at all when working with this unit, which is a bonus.

It supports all sizes of NVMe drives, and you shouldn’t have to open anything else with the unit, as all you need to do is stick a drive in, secure it, close everything up, and connect it to your system using the cable (or any other USB4 cable).

Inside, it is more than obvious where the drive goes. Simply pop the little rubber piece (that is acting as the screw), insert the drive, and place the little rubber piece back in (pops right into place after a few wiggles). Then apply one of the thermal pads over the top, close the lid, stretch the silicone sleeve back over it, and you are done.

As you can see, there is some noticeable size to this enclosure. With plenty of surface area, it is easy to spread heat around to help reduce the chance of any thermal throttling that may occur during heavy transfers.

The only trade-off is that it is larger than normal USB-C enclosures (ie, USB 3.2). In the above image, we placed it next to a plain USB 3.2 Type 2 enclosure that is capable of up to 10 Gbps. It is less than half the size of the HyperDrive USB4 enclosure. So you can see what is needed between the two standards when it comes to performance and needed dissipation.

In fact, the heat dissipation plays a key role in making sure you get the most out of your drive. Heat can (really) be your enemy, and even with this unit, we were able to eventually make it hit a bit of a wall with a heavy transfer of over 2TB in various large content, using a 4TB NVMe, and connected to a USB4 port.

We hit top speeds (this enclosure supports up to 3,800 Mbps), but long, consistent transfers eventually created enough heat to slow things down a bit. It didn’t ruin the mood, but it was noticeable. Of course, if you connect the drive to any USB port that is slower than USB4/TB4, you can pretty much transfer away without having to worry about that (you just don’t get to play with those higher speeds).

This enclosure also offers an IP55 rating, meaning it can fend off some splashing of water or dust, in case you accidentally dump your glass of water all over your desk. I couldn’t say the same thing for your laptop/computer and any other accessories in the same area, but this drive should be able to survive such an adventure just fine.

So not only is it scratch and shock-resistant thanks to its robust construction and silicone sleeve, but it can also take a little abuse from water and dust as well.

Our Conclusion

All-in-all, this enclosure gave us exactly what we were hoping to get from it, when it comes to pairing it against the right ports and content. We were able to achieve some impressive speeds with this, while also having the advantage of supporting any USB-C port (proper backward compatibility). This is a powerful enclosure for anyone looking to maximize their productivity (especially for gaming or encoding graphics).

Although we were able to experience a little throttling during one of our longer transfers when we pressed it for speed (using larger drives), this wasn’t so surprising, as we tend to get this with any enclosure. We felt that it held its own pretty well for the level of abuse we gave it.

Its price point is a little higher than some enclosures, but this comes naturally with USB4 or TB4 solutions. So this didn’t weigh down the score much at all.

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Are you a manufacturer or distributor that would like us to test something out for review? Contact us and we can let you know where to send the product and we will try it out.