Combrite Premium M.2 SSD Enclosure, For NVMe And NGFF Dual
Combrite Premium M.2 SSD Enclosure, For NVMe And NGFF Dual Protocol, USB-C 3.2 Ultraspeed External HDD Caddy Tool-Free Design, For M2 NGFF PCI-E SSD 2230/2242/2260/2280, Aluminum Metal
Solid SSD enclosure
This enclosure is tool-free with some rubber plugs included to secure the SSD (not included, I used one of my own) in place. I had no trouble inserting one, the main benefit of this enclosure is how easy it is to swap drives in and out. A pair of USB cables is included, one USB-A to USB-C and the other USB-C to USB-C.
The enclosure has a metal shell so overall build quality seems good and my laptop can read the SSD with no issues and at decent speeds so the enclosure works fine but I am careful not to use it for long periods as I am not confident there is sufficient protection against overheating.
Compatable with all M2 drives
This is compatable for all M2 drive interfaces, both NVMe and SATA which is useful, especially when you are mending older PC’s or laptop when the interface type is not always easy to see by just looking at them. M2 drives can both come with the same key arrangements regasrdless of the interface type. Nice useful piece of kit.
A Sleek and Efficient Storage Solutio
As a tech enthusiast, I’m always on the lookout for reliable accessories to enhance my storage capabilities. The Combrite Premium M.2 SSD Enclosure caught my attention, and after putting it through its paces, I’m impressed. Let’s dive into the details:
Dual Protocol Compatibility
The Combrite enclosure is a versatile performer. It supports both NVMe and NGFF (SATA) M.2 SSDs. Whether you’re upgrading your laptop or need extra storage for your desktop, this enclosure has you covered. Plus, it accommodates SSDs up to 2TB in capacity—ample space for your files, photos, and videos.
Ultra-Speed USB-C 3.2 Gen2
Connectivity matters, especially when transferring large files. The Combrite enclosure boasts USB-C 3.2 Gen2 for blazing-fast data transfer speeds of up to 6Gbps. Whether you’re backing up your work or transferring multimedia files, this enclosure ensures swift and efficient performance.
Wide System Compatibility
Whether you’re a Windows, Mac, or Linux user, the Combrite enclosure has your back. It’s compatible with Windows ME/2000/XP/Vista/7/8/10/11, Mac OS, and Linux. Plug and play convenience means you can start using it right away.
Nicely designed and useful caddy
I had a spare 1TB M.2 NVME drive laying around so thought why not get this caddy so it could be used on the go? Glasd I did, it’s proved to be very useful indeed.
Easy to install the drive with it’s toolless design and it seems secure enough, The case is a nice anodised metal finish and the whole thing seems built to last. It’s especially useful if you have multiple drives you need to swap on the go as it takes literally 30 secs to change a drive over.
Performance is of course limited by the USB interface but it maxes that out so no complaints here. Very useful bit of kit 🙂
Good External SSD Enclosure
I got this to use my old SSD as an external drive
The caddy is well made from a metal construction and is easy to install the SSD.
In use I have experienced no issues so far with file transfers being speedy and reliable
Overall for the price, this is a good value produc
Very smart and easy to use M2 case
Great value little M2 case for external storage use.
No tools required at all as it opens by means of a lock button and then slides apart.
Any size of M2 (NVME only rather than SATA ones I believe) will fit by slotting in at an angle and then popping the rubber grommet in place.
Slide the top back on and you are done – very easy.
It has a USB C connection and comes with both USB-C to USB-C and USB-C to USB-A leads which is a nice bonus.
Worked immediately on Windows 11 and presented an old 500GB M2 straight away.
Handy tool for imaging hard drives when upgrading.
Super.
More of a handy thing for occasional use, rather than long term use
Right so let’s get this out the way. If you want a NVME caddy that you are going to fit and forget an nvme disk to, and carry around everyday, or keep hooked up 24/7, then this is not for you, you can stop reading if you want and look at similar products instead.
If you’re the sort of hobbyist or IT professional that finds themselves constantly transferring data to and from multiple NVME disks however then this may be perfect for you.
You see very thoughtfully Combrite saw fit to equip this with a tool less design, which means swapping disks in and out of this thing is a breeze, and a thick aluminium casing which pretty much guarantees that it will work when you need it, and won’t be a crushed broken mess rattling about in your tech bag.
The trade off is this also means due to the disk only being secured by rubber bungs it could come loose if jostled about, the tool less opening means if you’re very unlucky it could come open whilst being carried about resulting in damage to the disk inside, and although the thick aluminium casing is great for stopping the caddy getting crushed etc, it’s thermal potential is wasted by a lack of thermal pads to actually transfer heat from the disk to the case to be dissipated which won’t be great for the longevity of any drive installed long term. Basically I wouldn’t be using this transport anything precious from place to place every day, and I wouldn’t leave the same disk plugged in to for hours a day everyday or 24/7.
Cable wise it comes with everything you need, namely usb-c to usb a, and usb-c to usb-c which is a thoughtful addition, and speed wise well, manage your expectations and you’ll be fine. Speed wise it is going to throttle your disks speed a bit compared to a direct connection, but if you’re just copying files, it’s not going to add so much time going via the usb port instead that it’ll ruin your day. You could probably put a Windows 2 Go install on this and not even notice the speed difference compared to an older sata ssd.
Great M.2 caddy
I ordered this to use as an external Ssd, I have several external Hdd’s however the speed they transfer data is so slow nowadays and the Nvme M.2’s are usually priced cheaper than 2.5″ SSD’s, also the size of these is great they’re small enough to stick in your pocket (however this particular caddy is a little bigger).
The caddy is simple to use with a simple click latch holding the device closed, it is capable of being used with different length drives by simply installing the locking device in the suitable hole, there is a choice of USB c to c and c to USB a cables included so you can use this with multiple devices, the caddy is a nice design, more bulky than some others I have used in the past however the aluminium chassis stays nice and cool (there is no thermal pads included with this so if being used continuously I would suggest adding one so the heat sink can do its job better)
Pricewise this is currently listed at 18.50. this is pretty much in the middle of the prices of alternatives listed on Amazon.
Overall this is perfectly useable M.2 caddy, I like the more robust feel of the case and the choice of cables included, if I was being anal I would have preferred they included some thermal pads, it’s a thumbs up from me.
Working well so far..
I tested with a Netac NV7000-t 512GB NVMe SSD. It came with a Graphene thermal pad (had to install it myself). Probably acts as a heatsink.
The NVME was a 2280.. Looks like others can fit 2230/2242/2260.
The enclosure looked quite nice, probably Aluminium on the outside , internals plastic.
Speeds tested using CrystalDiskMark , AS SSD , HD Tune Pro. Used HD Tune Pro read/write 100GB , Didn’t go over 47C.
Pictures attached for speeds and enclosure.
The Combrite SSD Enclosure didn’t come with a thermal pad/heatsink..Most do I think.
Great M.2 enclosure, but only for NVMe drives
Firstly you need to know that this enclosure only works with NVMe M.2 SSDs, my PCIe-4 SSD didn’t work at all. With an NVMe drive installed, its great.
The enclosure comes with two short but goood quality cables that allow you to use either USB-C or USB-A ports on your PC, as long as they are USB3. The aluminium enclosure is well machined and finished and acts as a heatsink. The internals that contain the electronics and SSD mount slide in and snap in place securly with a pleasant click. Removing the drive is easy with the little slide catch at the opposite end to the USB-C port. Connection to my PC was very quick and file transfers are nice and speedy.
Ideal For Cloning My Old HDD When I Move to a New PC
I got this M.2 SSD, NVMe enclosure to prepare for the arrival of a new computer. My existing machine is thirteen years old with a spinning HDD and I need to clone this to solid state NVMe for the new computer. An accepted way of doing this is to remove the NVMe to an enclosure such as this and attach it to the old machine for cloning.
One thing that attracted me to this particular enclosure was the “no tools” insertion of the NVMe card. The plastic tray on which it is mounted slides out of the aluminium housing at the press of a button and the NVMe simply slots in at 45 degrees to be gently lowered onto the pins and secured in place with a silicone stopper plug – no screws!
I am not sure if the enclosure would be suitable for intensive use. The aluminium housing will conduct and dissipate heat, but there is no thermal contact with the chips and the NVMe is mounted on a plastic tray that will further insulate the underside.
The kit includes two leads, both of which I will need for my transfer; USB-C to USB-C for the new machine and USB-C to USB-A for the old one. I am pleased these are included, because random USB leads can be very variable in quality and I am confident that Combrite would not compromise their 10 Gbps enclosure by supplying indifferent cables.
It should be noted that Combrite specify this enclosure as having speeds up to 10 Gbps, (Giga bits per second), whereas NVMe drive manufacturers quote GBps (Giga Bytes per second), or GB/s. There are eight bits in a byte so this enclosure will support transfer speeds up to 1.25 GB/s which is slower than many of the NVMe drives on the market.
Brilliant Quality NVME Enclosure
This is a really great enclosure for NVME drives. I needed this because my computer can hold 2 drives, which are full, and I wanted to upgrade my capacity. So unfortunately, one of the drives needed to be evicted, but the thought of such a fast drive sitting on a shelf doing nothing seemed a waste.
The casing of the enclosure is aluminium, which dissipates the heat of the drive under heavy usage. The good thing about this enclosure is how easy it is to use. The install is designed to be done without tools. The holding pin is a squeezable silicone pin. Two cables are provided: a C-C and an A-C cable so you can connect it regardless of the standard of USB you are using.
The transfer speeds of the enclosure are good. Unfortunately, USB is not going to give the maximum speed of most NVME drives, but that is a limitation of USB, not the enclosure.
For the price, though, the quality and flexibility this device offers is really great.
Plug n play all day
I’ve have installed a 1tb SSD NVMe within my enclosure which works with zero lagging issues and being plugged directly into a USB 3 port on my gaming PC. I particularly liked how easy it was to install, having followed the instructions although the silicon plug was a little fiddly.
The enclosure is very made extremely well and has a locking mechanism which has to be switched before you can gain access to install your SSD. Having removed the caddy you can see the level of detail and ingenuity that has gone into the design to ensure that your SSD card will remain in place and should never fall out. Although not tested, once together the enclosure has a certain robustness about it and I’d bet that it would survive a number of drops and bumps.
This product is easy to install, easy to transport, it will fit into your pocket – what more can you ask for. I fully recommend this
Clever adapter to quickly connect M.2 SSD drives to USB ports.
This is an enclosure for quick access to the contents of M.2 SSD drives.
These drives are usually installed in a slot on the motherboard. But this slot is often covered by a graphics card or an oversized CPU cooler. Therefore, in a typical setup, it can take forever to access and install an M.2 SSD drive.
In my computer, I’ve to remove the GEFORCE RTX graphics card if I want to access the M.2 slots.
So this case is perfect when it comes to quickly formatting M.2 cards or checking their contents.
However, I wouldn’t install an M.2 card permanently in this enclosure or adapter because it won’t work at its full performance level. The idea behind the M.2 protocol is to create a lane (actually a PCIe lane!) for the storage or I/O devices to reach the CPU. The closer you’re to the CPU, the faster the data can be processed and used for calculations. However, if you place storage behind a USB port, your peak performance is now tied to the USB port itself. You can get decent transfer rates with USB 3+, but if you connect it to earlier generations of USB, the transfer will be very slow.
To make a long story short:
– Ideally, install an M.2 SSD drive directly on the motherboard (for maximum performance)
– Use this enclosure if you want to quickly check the contents of an M.2 SSD
It comes with 2 different USB cables but you can use yours if you want longer cables.
Excellent product. Highly recommended!
A good enclosure with some caveats
This is a pretty solid SSD enclosure that works with a variety of SSD protocols.
I set mine up with a spare Crucial NVME I had lying around and very quickly noticed that the little plastic push pin to secure the drive down to the case can be an unholy nightmare to use and will fight you every step of the way to install the drive. This part of the drive could do with a change. I eventually got it down and the drive secured but it was way too much of a faff to do.
The enclosure doesn’t include any real kind of heat dissipation so I don’t recommend using a top of the line huge performance SSD in here – you may find it gets a little too hot if it doesn’t have it’s own cooling. My Crucial drive was OK but it’s not the highest performing drive out there.
The speeds are pretty decent and far above any external HDD out there, of course. Despite it’s faults I find it decently well built, quite svelte but could use some additional cooling for the faster SSDs out there.
I would recommend this enclosure.
Useful
The key selling points of this M.2 enclosure are the ability to support dual SATA (NGFF) & NVMe protocols, and also the 3.2 USB-C 10Gbps speed and tooless access.
These features make it a flexible choice, as Combrite’s enclosure supports most M.2 SSD formats except “B key.”
No heat sink is included, which may be an issue in some cases. I did not find the drive felt especially hot, no more so than other enclosures I have used.
If you intend to change the drive frequently, the plastic inner tray may wear with use; that said, this is a common feature of this kind of case.
The silicone plug used to secure the drive is tricky to fit and is better fitted to the SSD and then pushed into the retaining socket.
For 19.95 at the time of writing, this is a good way to enclose a surplus drive at a reasonable price.
Easy to use
These offer a great way to add extra storage to a computer. It is really easy to fit drives though the rubber standoffs can be fiddly. There is no heat sink within it if that concerns you, certainly to some drives will run quite hot these days. Then it is just a matter of plugging it in. Speed is easily good enough but maybe not the best for running games from.
Good performance and easy to install NVME.
The ‘Combrite Premium M.2 SSD Enclosure, For NVME And NGFF Dual Protocol, USB-C 3.2’ arrived in a branded box that also contained USB C – USBC cable, USB C to USB A cable, user manual and two rubber buttons.
The plastic tray the NVME was in was smashed at one end, but when you consider its functional purpose, it protected the NVME.
The NVME case is nice and solid with its metal shell; Instructions are clear enough though I read them after installation, as installation is relatively intuitive. The slider releases a small catch that interlocks with the case. Once the tray was out of the case I found fitting the NVME was just a matter of locating the rubber button based on the NVME length, aligning the NVME and pushing down whilst holding the button to allow the NVME to locate.
Re-inserting the tray was a little more technical as you need the catch to align with the location in the case, but if the mark in the case is bottom left, you insert the tray from the right with the catch bottom left, I found it just needed a small amount of angle to allow the catch to slide into the tray during insertion.
For performance testing, I installed an older 1TB Crucial P2 NVME and connected the NVME case to my 10Gb/s port, I then and ran the performance tests using CrystalDiskMark 8, the results are included in the table in my pictures, suffice to say, the performance was quite acceptable. Obviously performance will be affected by quantity of data and type of NVME.
I am quite pleased with the cases construction and performance,
Criticism;
I was surprised to find there is no heat transfer pad supplied to fill the gap between NVME and case to aid cooling.
Nice quality, works great, didn't get too ho
I was pleased with the appearance and apparent quality of the enclosure when it first arrived. The little switch used to open and lock the enclosure worked really well. I was able to open it up and install my 500GB M.2 SSD drive easily enough, but I found the supplied silicone plug (pushes into a hole to secure the drive inside the enclosure instead of a screw) was difficult to get inserted. In the end I installed the plug first and then installed the SSD, bending the plug out of the way and then letting it spring back to secure the drive in place.
Something else I noticed is that there’s no heatsync or any physical contact between the SSD and the outer aluminium casing of the enclosure, so I was worried that the drive may get too hot when in use. It did indeed get slightly warm when I was transferring a large file (5GB) to and from the drive to test it, but it never got to a point where I would have said it was hot. I got some pretty good transfer speeds as well.
All in all I’m really pleased with the enclosure and it should suit my needs perfectly, so I am happy to recommend it.
Versatile enclosure that accommodates most M.2 SSD formats and sizes.
Without a doubt, the selling point of this M.2 enclosure are the dual SATA (NGFF) & NVMe protocols, 3.2 USB-C 10Gbps speed and tooless access – it pretty much makes it a safe and future proof choice to buy for supporting most M.2 SSD formats.
Measures: 115mm x 38mm x 14mm (Note: my measurements are accurate and they differ from the measurements given in the product images).
The aluminium case is very well machined (no flaws and no sharp edges) and has a good form factor.
However, there are a few other minor things to note that stop this short of a 5 star rating:
1) This (like most SSD enclosures), does get a bit hot. The machined ‘fins’ on the case could have acted as better heat dissapators if they had been a little taller. As it stands they are just ‘grooves’ and don’t really help release the heat that much. I don’t think that if the overall thickness of the case was increased by 1mm-2mm to allow for better dissipating fins would have impacted on the size and compact form factor.
2) The internal parts are all plastic – including the tiny little spring tab that clicks the unit into the locked position. As you pull out (or push in) the internal tray, this tab rubs along the entire length of the inside of the aluminium shell. I would imagine that this tab could wear out over a certain number of uses, to the extent that it may eventually not ‘click’ shut.
3) The silicone plug that is used to secure the SSD to the tray is IMPOSSIBLE to push through into the hole via the method shown in the instructions (i.e. pushing it through with the SSD flat in place). However, I found that if you press the plug into the SSD cut out tab when the SSD is still at 45 degrees and then press down the two together, the plug will slot into the hole and secure the SSD down.