Samsung
Samsung T9 Portable SSD
$140
Released 2023-10
Best Portable Ssds · head-to-head
A sourced, side-by-side comparison. WD My Passport SSD (2022) is cheaper at $100. Every spec and price links to its source.
Samsung
$140
Released 2023-10
WD
$100Cheaper
Released 2022
The Samsung T9 Portable SSD wins 3 of the 3 specs we compare head to head; the other wins 0. The WD My Passport SSD (2022) is the cheaper at $100. Get the Samsung T9 Portable SSD for the stronger spec sheet, the WD My Passport SSD (2022) to spend less.
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The numbers that decide it, drawn to scale — longer bar wins, the accent bar is the stronger figure.
✓ marks the stronger figure where "more" — or "less", for price and weight — is unambiguously better.
| Spec | | |
|---|---|---|
| US price | $140 | $100 |
| Brand | Samsung | WD |
| Released | 2023-10 | 2022 |
| Capacity (GB) | 1000 | 500 |
| Read (Mbps) | 2000 | 1050 |
| Write (Mbps) | 1950 | 1000 |
| Interface | USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps) | USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) |
| Encryption | AES 256-bit hardware | AES 256-bit hardware |
| IP rating | — | — |
| Weight (g) | 122 | — |
| Release | 2023-10 | 2022 |
Sources — Samsung T9 Portable SSD: storagereview.com (verified 2026-06-15). WD My Passport SSD (2022): newegg.com (verified 2026-06-15).
Where the two actually differ on the specs we track (4 of 7). Matching specs are omitted.
Sourced tester consensus for each — the "what people who used it think" layer, not just specs.
Across three whitelisted lab reviews (StorageReview, TechRadar, PCWorld), the Samsung T9 is a fast, rugged USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 portable SSD that nears the ~2,000 MB/s interface ceiling, but is only a middle-of-the-pack 20Gbps performer, is overpriced at launch, and needs a rare USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port to hit those speeds. (3 sourced reviews, 3 lab-tested.)
Praised: Fast Gen 2x2 performance, near the theoretical interface limits (roughly 1,900-2,000 MB/s reads); Rugged, premium build with a grippy textured/sculpted exterior; Strong sustained-write / large-file transfer behavior, especially on higher capacities.
Flagged: Expensive at launch versus the T7 and rival 2x2 drives; Only middle-of-the-pack among 20Gbps drives; SanDisk Extreme Pro V2 / Crucial X10 Pro faster; Requires a rare USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port or speed is roughly halved.
Two whitelisted labs benchmarked the WD My Passport SSD NVMe (1,050/1,000 MB/s, USB 3.2 Gen 2, DRAM-less Blue SN550E): Tom's Hardware (Feb 2021) and StorageReview (Sep 2020). Both call it slim, secure and fast in real-world use but note it falls ~200 MB/s short of its rated speeds and, being DRAM-less, lags DRAM-based rivals like the Crucial X8 in file-copy/moderate-dataset tests. Tom's found a small 12GB SLC cache that drops sustained writes to ~710 MBps once saturated, though the drive stays cool (45C surface). (2 sourced reviews, 2 lab-tested.)
Praised: Slim, light, pocketable design with AES-256 hardware encryption and 5-year warranty; Fast large-file read-back and solid real-world portable-SSD performance; Runs cool under sustained load (45C surface).
Flagged: DRAM-less design; falls behind DRAM-based rivals (Crucial X8) and lags in file-copy tests; Fell short of WD's rated 1,050/1,000 MB/s in real benchmarks (~200 MB/s under); Small SLC cache (12GB) drops sustained write to ~710 MBps once saturated.