The ROG Strix Arion is an SSD enclosure that fits an M.2 PCIe NVM Express SSD 2230/2242/2260/2280 and features USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x1 connectivity to provide data transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps. Its...
The ROG Strix Arion is an SSD enclosure that fits an M.2 PCIe NVM Express SSD 2230/2242/2260/2280 and features USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x1 connectivity to provide data transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps. Its sleek aluminum alloy case has thermal pads for excellent heat dissipation, exclusive ASUS Aura Sync lighting effects, and a protective stand with an R-hook, making...
The ROG Strix Arion is an SSD enclosure that fits an M.2 PCIe NVM Express SSD 2230/2242/2260/2280 and features USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x1 connectivity to provide data transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps. Its sleek aluminum alloy case has thermal pads for excellent heat dissipation, exclusive ASUS Aura Sync lighting effects, and a protective stand with an R-hook, making the ROG Strix Arion a high-performance portable storage solution.
Support for M.2 PCIe NVM Express SSD
The ROG Strix Arion fits 2230/2242/2260/2280 M.2 PCIe NVM Express SSD up to 2 TB with M key B+M key.
The ROG Strix Arion does not support B key / B+M key based on SATA and M key based on PCIe/ACHI. The ROG Strix Arion currently does not support Micron P5 SSD controllers and Realtek RTS5765DL/RTS5766DL, such as the ADATA SWORDFISH and ADATA XPG SPECTRIX S20G.
Aggressive heat dissipation
An aluminum alloy case with built-in thermal pads drastically reduces operating temperatures, allowing your SSD to maintain high transfer speeds and extend its lifespan.
Innovative Screwless Installation
The ROG Strix Arion features a pin-design system and screw installation that facilitates the placement of your SSD in the enclosure. No screwdriver required.
Dual USB-C to C and USB-C to A Cables
The ROG Strix Arion comes with USB-C to USB-C and USB-C to USB-A cables for greater convenience and compatibility with a wide range of devices, including laptops, smartphones, computers, and gaming consoles.
ASUS Aura Sync Lighting Effects
With exclusive ASUS Aura Sync lighting technology, the ROG Strix Arion provides ambient lighting that perfectly complements your gaming rig for true expression of your individuality.
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UPDATE 3/1/25
I tested speeds with 2 identical WD SN770 drives (I recommend them). The internal one on the motherboard had speeds of 4727Mb/s with 5000+ (I don't remember exactly) and the external one 1034Mb/s. I didn't believe it and did another 15 tests where I slightly changed parameters. Nothing. I did the previous ones again thinking I might have messed up the internal tests.
Of course, I don't care, because I want it mainly for games where I can also transfer some code, and again I don't care about speed, so yes, it does its job just fine (very quality heatsink). If you care about speeds for professional or any other reason, look for another solution.
Initial Rating:
It does its job as you expect. I DID NOT test speeds but from experience and use (blind test) you WON'T notice a difference from internal. You might realize it when for transferring instead of taking 10 minutes it takes 12, which a normal user won't notice
Completely worth its money. I would buy multiple actually!!! I run multiple OS through it with 0 issues, great speeds and it can stand high temperatures.
It is relatively expensive, but it is beautiful, sturdy, and quite functional.
The disk is easily inserted and the instructions are clear in general.
Of course, it heats up when running it constantly, but overall I had no issues.
I use it for video and photo editing directly from the disk inside (Samsung 980) and I have no problems.
The clip it has is more decorative and I definitely wouldn't trust it that much.
It's an awesome enclosure. I have tried several. And this one is well-made in every aspect. Build quality. And speed. Maybe because it handles heat well too. It's just a bit bulky. It doesn't appear clearly in the photos. But it's over twice the width of a 2.5" hard drive. And 1.5 times the length. Maybe that's why it handles heat well too. Also, the hook it comes with doesn't inspire me with confidence to hang it on my bag. It's definitely worth its money though. And it maintained maximum transfer speed for a long time.
Although the instructions are not in Greek, they have many images and clear steps, so it doesn't take more than 5 minutes to install the disk.
A Samsung 970 EVOPlus 500GB (465GB actual capacity) was installed as the main disk, which I had for 3.5 years and upgraded to the KC3000 1TB. Its use is for backing up school work, which is around 150 to 200 GB at most.
The material is some metallic alloy with a nice finish. I don't know how well it withstands falls, so I will research more about its construction materials as I'm not sure. It comes with a plastic frame that provides extra protection on the corners and sides against minor impacts. The clip they provide to hang it somewhere, for example, inside your bag, is a joke... it's the cheapest plastic clip you can find. It could have been slightly thicker and made of metal, considering the product costs 50 euros. The USB-C to USB-C and USB-A Male to USB-C cables that come in the package are short (10-15cm) but very thick, high-quality, and sturdy. I may have never seen cables with such good construction materials and protection up close. They remind me of DisplayPort cables that transmit 4k 120Hz in terms of thickness. I was impressed that they even emphasized this, over there at Asus.
The lighting is beautiful and not too bright, just as needed for an M2 case. I like it, and it was one of the reasons why I didn't go for the cheaper option, the IcyBox case, which is also quite popular.
The process I followed through the computer:
The disk was connected to the rear Type-C port of the motherboard (ASUS Prime X370 PRO). After formatting and allocating it through the Disk Management tool in Windows 10/11, its health was checked with HardDisk Sentinel, which seems to be between 97-98%. It was formatted as exFAT instead of NTFS to be recognized by the MacBook Air M1 as well. The whole process took me 5-10 minutes.
With only one negative point, the clip mentioned above, Asus earns 4.5 stars in my opinion. I will come back to update the review as it is still too early to draw safe conclusions about the disk's speed, the characteristics of the connected computers, and of course, its durability over time: 1, 3, and 5 years of use.
Metal construction, with a gaming design but very elegant. It appears durable, but time will tell. Its speeds, along with the Western Digital Blue SN570 SSD 1TB M.2 NVMe PCI Express 3.0, on a MacBook Pro M1 are very satisfactory, as it runs programs from the disk as if they were installed internally.
I was swayed by the reviews. It was purchased for video editing. I have the Samsung T5 & T7, 560mb/s & 970mb/s respectively on a 16" MacBook Pro measured with Blackmagic. I got this particular case and put a 980 Evo inside with the hope for higher speeds and the idea of having 2-3 Nvme drives and swapping them inside the case when they get full instead of buying T7 (which is 30-40e cheaper for 1Tb), but the case limits it to 960mb/s. I had hopes for over Gb/s. Unfortunately, installing the Nvme drives is easy but not as convenient to constantly swap them. The case is quite heavy and bulky, contrary to the comments that mention it being lightweight. It's 2-3 times heavier than the T7 and twice as bulky. Lastly, the case heats up quite a bit compared to the others, and as for the LED lights, what can I say... at least it had software to disable them. Mine doesn't go into sleep mode even when the computer is idle. For cloning, as others mentioned, it might be worth it, but for buying as an external SSD, definitely not. It's much better to go for a more compact option from Samsung or Sandisk. Just for the speed limitation alone, I personally don't think it's worth it as an external SSD solution. With the same amount of money, you can get something much smaller, portable, practical, fast, and economical.
***In Premier, if you leave it on standby for 10 minutes, it experiences a lot of freezes, as if it goes to sleep and the finder doesn't open the disk for about 30 seconds
Very good construction quality.
Initially purchased to clone an m.2 with another one.
It did its job without even heating up the case.
From there on, as an external disk, it is just what it should be.
Light, small, and convenient!
I had bought a cheap one and it was getting warm and sticking. This one works perfectly. It wouldn't have the light adjustment. A simple LED would be enough.
Excellent quality. I connected it to my PS5, with a 980 evo 1tb, and it works like a charm. It has thermal pastes inside because the truth is that it gets hot. Anyway, it's value for money!
Very good in appearance and construction material. With thermal conductivity both in the disk and in the parts of the device so that you never have a problem. The speeds it reaches, obviously are not the maximum that the same nvme will reach if it was in a port inside the computer, but still it is extremely fast for all the tasks that may be needed. Higher speeds when transferring large files and not many small ones.
It was purchased for portable 4K video editing with high speeds.
At first glance, it has a sturdy and beautiful construction. The installation of the M.2 was easily completed within a minute. The lighting is unnecessary but definitely beautiful.
Test results (CrystalDiskMark) with a Samsung EVO 970 1TB and direct connection to a USB Type-C 3.1 Gen2 motherboard port:
Read 949.0 mb/s
Write 958.0 mb/s
Good speeds, I didn't expect more due to the 10Gbps limitation of USB 3.1 Gen2.
The price is a bit steep (-1 star), but I wouldn't go anywhere else.