Crucial X9 review: this portable SSD is small but mighty

A portable SSD is a handy thing to keep around the place, as this kind of speedy storage can be used to quickly suck up photo or video files, or even make a speedy backup of important documents, before being tucked into a bag or pocket and taken somewhere more private. They’re better than USB flash drives thanks to the speed of data transfer they provide, which means much less waiting around while a terabyte copies across, and there are many options available in different casings and colours. The Crucial X9, from storage stalwart Crucial, comes in a flat plastic case with a degree of drop protection, and even bundles in a few apps that may be useful to someone who hasn’t already invested in a backup solution. Otherwise, it’s just a cost-effective way to copy a lot of files, and you don’t need to be psychic to foresee the value in that.

Design and build

You’d be able to say that the Crucial X9 looked like a credit card if credit cards were a slightly different shape and about five times as thick, but it’s close enough. What this flat, low-profile shape means is that the X9 is easy to slip into places. It has ‘portable drive’ written on the back, so slipping it into things is definitely the intention, and you’ll be able to find a pocket on a laptop or camera bag that will serve to contain it. Another place it will excel is hanging off one of the USB hubs that proliferate on modern monitors – it’s discreet, and if you use a short cable it won’t be too noticeable.

The drive comes with some software options: Acronis backup software and Mylio Photo Organizer. These aren’t in themselves a reason to choose this drive, as most people reading this will have a backup solution in place and will be using something else to organise their photos, but they’re nice to have, especially the backup app, though the drive is compatible with Windows File History and Apple Time Machine.

Performance

Crucial claims its SSD’s read speed is 1,050MB/s. These claims are often based on use in the very best of circumstances and with a strong tailwind, but in our tests the X9 crosses the line and actually manages a little bit more, topping out at 1,053MB/s when connected to a USB 4 port with an appropriate cable. Its interface is USB 3.2, so you’re not going to get much better than that even with Thunderbolt 4. As we’ve discovered in SSD reviews before, read and write speeds are heavily influenced by the cable you use, so it’s worth picking up a high-rated cable to get the most out of a drive. The one in the box isn’t necessarily the best.

Crucial’s X10 Pro portable SSD claims twice the X9’s speed, for a relatively modest increase in price, so if read and especially write speed is important to you, then a bag full of those would be a better bet for hoovering up 4K video footage or anything else equally space-consuming. The Crucial X6 comes in at 800MB/s read speed (and doesn’t divulge its write speed) for a £10 saving, making it something of a false economy and positioning the X9 as the king of the range.

Price

The Crucial X9 retails for £110 on the company’s website. There’s a lot of competition to store your data in a portable form. Western Digital’s My Passport SSD is cheaper and red, Kingston’s XS1000 is cheaper and red, and the Corsair EX100U is more expensive but faster (and not red). If you can get a good deal for it, and there aren’t features on other drives that you really need, then the X9 is an excellent choice, but it’s worth shopping around first.

Who’s it for?

Anyone looking for a small SSD that’s fast enough that you’re not kept waiting around too long.

Buy it if…

• You need large, fast storage
• You want to slip it into a bag
• You’re not going to drop it from 8ft up

Don’t buy it if…

• You need ruggedness or security
• Saving every penny counts
• You need more than 4TB