Crucial set out to do something impressive with its X10 Portable SSD—make a drive that was tiny, rugged, and blazing fast. Somehow, they actually achieved all three. The drive is ultra-compact, hits 2,095MB/s read speeds, and is even IP65 rated, making this affordable SSD one of my favorites that I’ve ever used.
Storage capacity
1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 6TB, 8TB
Hardware Interface
USB-C 3.2 Gen 2×2
Brand
Crucial
The Crucial X10 Portable SSD features read speeds of up to 2,100MB/s using its USB-C 3.2 Gen 2×2 interface. With a drop rating of 9.8 feet and IP65 water- and dust-resistance, this drive is ready for whatever you can throw at it. Plus, it comes in storage capacities ranging from 1TB up to 8TB.
Pros & Cons
- Fast read speeds even for prolonged data transfers
- Extremely compact and lightweight
- Lots of storage options available
- Great price point
- Uses a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 controller, which isn’t available in all computers (Macs included)
Price and Availability
The Crucial X10 Portable SSD starts at $99.99 for 1TB at Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo. The Crucial X10 is also available in 2TB, 4TB, 6TB, and 8TB options, with pricing going up to $600.
Storage capacity
1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 6TB, 8TB
Hardware Interface
USB-C 3.2 Gen 2×2
Brand
Crucial
Transfer rate
2,100MB/s
Dimensions
2.53 x 1.93 x 0.37 inches
Weight
37.9 grams
A Small, Yet Mighty Design
Patrick Campanale / How-To Geek
When the Crucial X10 first arrived, I was utterly surprised with just how small the drive was. I have the 2TB model of the X10, but the 8TB comes in the same ultra-small form-factor.
I’ve had a Samsung T5 portable SSD since 2018, and I always thought it was pretty compact—and it is. However, the Crucial X10 makes the T5 look pretty massive. The X10 measures right at 1.9 by 2.5 inches. To put that into perspective, an SD card is approximately 1 by 1.25 inches.
Patrick Campanale / How-To Geek
It’s just impressive how small this drive is. It’ll easily slip into your pocket or purse as if it was a flash drive and packs thousands of gigabytes worth of storage wherever you need it most.
Not only is the X10 ultraportable, but it’s also built to be rugged. With an IP65 dust- and water-resistant design, this drive is built to take a tumble or go into harsher climates without skipping a beat.
While I didn’t take the drive into the desert (sadly there aren’t any around me in Tennessee), I can attest to the ruggedness of this drive as I’ve taken it on several excursions, and it’s still in fantastic condition and has zero issues.
I will have no problem bringing this drive with me whenever I go on photo outings to have my photo catalog with me everywhere I am. Waterfalls, landscapes, beaches, you name it, I’ll have the X10 with me.
Fantastic Performance Even With Large File Transfers
Patrick Campanale / How-To Geek
Crucial says the X10 Portable SSD 2,100MB/s read speeds. In my testing with 4GB files in CrystalDiskMark, I was able to see speeds of around 2,095MB/s read. Bumping the file size up to 32GB to test larger transfers with more heat and pushing through the cache, I achieved read speeds of 1,862MB/s.
I was particularly impressed by the extended testing speed. Often times, rated speeds are done in “ideal” scenarios with small file transfers that can just pummel the cache of a drive. However, Crucial didn’t cheap out here. The fact that the drive withstood long-term testing and large file transfers without losing much speed at all is quite impressive.
With transfer speeds like this, you’ll easily be able to edit video or photo footage directly off the drive. In fact, that’s exactly how I use it. I have nearly 1TB of photos stored on the drive and do all my RAW photo editing from the drive instead of my MacBook’s internal SSD.
I didn’t have the best experience with write speeds on my Crucial X10 SSD. On average, I saw sub-100MB/s write speeds on my Windows desktop. However, others have shown the drive hitting much faster speeds. I have a feeling this is simply a driver issue on my desktop, but it’s worth noting my experience here.
The Best Performance Is Delivered From Windows PCs, Not Macs
Patrick Campanale / How-To Geek
While the Crucial X10 has stellar performance, sadly it’s reserved for Windows computers for the most part. To achieve those speeds, Crucial utilized USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 at 20Gb/s. Apple’s Mac lineup is rated for Thunderbolt 4/5 and USB4, both at 40Gb/s and 120Gb/s depending on the standard, so there should be plenty of bandwidth available.
However, when it comes to lower USB standards, Apple typically falls back to the 10Gb/s standard instead of 20Gb/s. This cuts the theoretical maximum speed of the Crucial X10 drive in half, sadly.
Now, I will say, that limitation hasn’t really limited me at all. I do have a Windows PC that has a 20Gb/s port on it (which is how I did all my testing), but my real-world usage of the drive has all been on my M1 Max MacBook Pro, using the drive at 5Gb/s through my Thunderbolt dock or 10Gb/s when connected directly to my MacBook Pro.
I haven’t really seen much real-world performance difference in my use cases of the drive regardless of which speed I’ve used it at. Though my usage is mainly editing photos off the drive, it still provided me ample speed for the task regardless of how it’s connected.
It’s just worth mentioning that to achieve the highest transfer speeds possible, you need to use a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port with 20Gb/s of bandwidth available.
Should You Buy the Crucial X10 Portable SSD?
Patrick Campanale / How-To Geek
All things considered, I really like the Crucial X10 Portable SSD. It’s extremely small, rugged, and has however much storage you realistically need with you, since it can go from 1TB to 8TB. Plus, with its read speeds lasting well into large file transfers, it definitely gets a recommendation from me.
Compared to other drives, it’s smaller, faster, and more rugged. Samsung’s iconic T7 SSD has read speeds that are half of what the X10 offers, and it’s just $10 less on Amazon. The next drive that comes close is the Samsung Extreme Pro with 2,000MB/s speeds, but it costs $130 for the 1TB version, $30 more than the X10 (and it’s bigger).
So, if you’re in the market for a compact, durable, and fast portable SSD, then the Crucial X10 is my top pick.
Storage capacity
1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 6TB, 8TB
Hardware Interface
USB-C 3.2 Gen 2×2
Brand
Crucial
The Crucial X10 Portable SSD features read speeds of up to 2,100MB/s using its USB-C 3.2 Gen 2×2 interface. With a drop rating of 9.8 feet and IP65 water- and dust-resistance, this drive is ready for whatever you can throw at it. Plus, it comes in storage capacities ranging from 1TB up to 8TB.
