ROG STRIX Arion Aluminum Alloy M.2 NVMe SSD External Portable Enclosure Case Adapter, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (10 Gbps), USB-C to C and USB-C to A Cables, Fits PCIe 2280/2260/2242/2230 M Key/B+M Key

This Enclosure is an excellent choice for anyone looking to turn their NVMe SSD into a high-speed external drive. The build quality is top-notch, with a sleek and futuristic white design that perfectly matches a clean setup. The aluminum body with thermal pads helps with heat dissipation, ensuring consistent performance even during heavy file transfers. Installation is simple, thanks to the tool-free design, making it easy to swap out SSDs when needed. It supports USB 3.2 Gen 2, offering up to 10Gbps speeds, making large file transfers a breeze. Plus, the customizable RGB lighting adds a nice touch for gamers and tech enthusiasts. Overall, this is a premium, well-designed, and high-performance enclosure that’s perfect for gamers, content creators, and professionals needing fast and reliable external storage. Highly recommended!

I was in the process of updating my PC SSD, so I needed an external enclosure, this Asus ROG Strix Arion enclosure therefore served me two purposes; to hold my new SSD to be cloned and then to house my old SSD afterwards. For anyone not in the know, ROG stands for Republic of Gamers, and represents the gaming division of Asus so this SSD enclosure is oriented towards gamers but can be used by anyone looking for a high quality SSD enclosure. Off the bat the presentation is top notch, high profile, glossy, full colored box that contains the ROG Strix Arion SSD enclosure nestled within a dense foam container. No cheap plastic product containers here and of course it is a little bit of overkill, but the presentation cannot be denied. Inside the box is the ROG Strix Arion SSD enclosure, a short USB-C to USB-C cable, another short USB-C to USB-A cable, a rubberized protective covering for the unit that has a built in handle for the included strap and very plastic carabiner clip shaped into a "R" to represent ROG. The only shortcoming that I have with this is how extremely cheap the carabiner clip is, needless to say I will not be using it at all. Holding the ROG Strix Arion SSD for the first time, wow! This aluminum enclosure is one very solidly built device! It has some heft to it without being heavy and the fit and finish is top notch all around including the super awesome RGB LED lights. SSD installing is a breeze as this SSD enclosure opens up with just a pin eject tool, the same kind that opens up the SIM/SD card slot on cell phones. Inside there is a thumbscrew that is easily turned by hand, and if need be the pin eject tool can be used as a quick screwdriver. Place the NVME SSD inside the slot, reattach the thumbscrew, close the unit and you are ready to go. Connected to a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port on my desktop PC, I was getting 941 MB/s read and 882 MB/s write, good results if just a tad slow but very much in line with most other USB 3.2 Gen 2 external NVME drives, I also tested this on my laptop with Thunderbolt 3 and I was getting 1,050 MB/s read and write, much better and closer to the threshold for USB 3.2 Gen 2 which is approximately 1,250 MB/s. The drive inside is a 250 Gb Samsung 981a which is capable of 3,000 MB/s read and 2,200 MB/s write. I didn’t test the RGB software because I most likely won’t be using this drive for my PC, more than likely as a miscellaneous drive for maybe Xbox or music or something else so I’m not really concerned with whatever color it is but I do like the RGBs on this device, one of the reasons I chose it. Excellent enclosure and what I think is a respectable price for a quality product of this caliber. Highly recommended.

I bought this ASUS ROG STRIX Arion external SSD enclosure primarily so I could clone my Samsung 970 EVO Pro PCIe SSD onto a new drive in case I had a system SSD failure. Who want to have to reinstall everything again and start over on settings, etc. Not me. And I was looking for something that would be glitch free and something Windows would recognize as well as cloning software so I could do a reliable clone. And also something I could use to execute and play games. And this is the product in my opinion. It is not a flimsy product. Very well made with ample aluminum case and thermal pads to VERY EFFECTIVELY dissipate heat, which is a real concern with these SSD enclosures. After hours of use it is just warm to the touch. I was quite impressed and surprised. It comes with a A to C and C to C USB cable and everything you need other than a screwdriver to install you SSD disk. Just be sure to use the SSD install screw properly so the enclosure lid closes - place the SSD in between the grooves on the screw and tighten. I have an ASUS ROG STRIX Hero XI motherboard, and this enclosure uses the same lighting scheme I'm using on my system. And BTW, this enclosure is pretty cool to look at - shiny black surface with the RGB lighting very pleasing to the eye. All I did was install the SSD, plug the enclosure into a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port (it is backward compatible also) and I was off and running. And I mean Running - with the 3.2 connection you get blinding fast speeds. I cloned, which takes longer than simple copying, a 115GB system Windows drive in under 7 minutes. One caveat that I was aware of before buying the enclosure you need to keep in mind if you intend to use this to clone your system disk. Windows WILL NOT recognize the SSD brand (Samsung, etc) as a branded product - i.e. Samsung 980 Pro, etc. It will only recognize the enclosure but will know it is an SSD with 512GB, etc. Just not the brand. Which means Samsung or any OEM cloning software WILL NOT work to clone your system disk. However, products such as Acronis True Image 2021, which I used will and will accurately clone the drive. This is not a limitation with this enclosure - it's a windows USB thing. I highly recommend this product.

This is a very high quality enclosure, all aluminum! it has just enough style but isn't overboard

Love this enclosure, works great and matches up to all my other ROG stuff

I've never dealt with SSD enclosures before. I was looking to add storage space but didn't feel like opening devices. I have to say, after using it for a little while, purchasing the ASUS ROG STRIX Arion was a great decision. Setup for the ASUS ROG STRIX Arion was rather easy...for the most part. It came with everything needed. Didn't even require the M2 screw to be removed. The device includes a heatsink, which, at first I was a little wary about. I struggled to get the device to lock closed. I've looked over the instructions a million times to see if I'm missing something, if I am, it wasn't written clearly. While I can close the device, it doesn't quite lock back shut. With everything installed, I connected it to my computer. With the tests I ran, the speeds come pretty close to the 10 Gb speed promised by the ASUS ROG STRIX Arion. Close enough to not complain. 10 Gbps (gigabits, not gigabytes) equals around 1250 Megabytes, my tests came back with speeds of around 1000. For me, that's close enough considering this storage was added via USB. A lot of other USB devices that have promised similar speeds have come up short, and while I could install the Samsung 990 in my computer to get the speeds up to its max capacity, with the ASUS ROG STRIX Arion, this internal SSD becomes a USB storage device that can be used with anything I choose, which is a major win. The RGB lighting is a nice little addition, but what has really impressed me is the way the device maintains a cool temperature even while in use. I have no fear of the storage failing due to overheating while using the ASUS ROG STRIX Arion. For those looking to add some extra storage, the ASUS ROG STRIX Arion is a wise choice for turning internal storage into external USB storage. While it is a bit pricier than some of its competition, I'd say its ability to keep a decent temp while in use makes it worth it. I'm willing to wager I made some error in attempting to relock the device, hopefully, you don't run into the same issue.

I use several ASUS products, including a motherboard on my homebuilt high end i7 editing workstation so i like their brand, similar to Anker devices. Most other external USB cases are made out of plastic and under $20. So, you don't NEED to spend $49 on this, but you will WANT to due to the good design and components. The only issue is you can't open the case unless you use a very tiny pin attached to a cardboard card and could easily be lost. BUT I tried using a large paperclip and it DID fit in the unlatching hole and worked fine, so you don't have to use the pin. The "feel" for this device is like having a high quality knife or gun, vs a lightweight piece of plastic. One issue is you cannot easily open the device without removing the rubber rail around it to see the hole for inserting the pin. The whole case acts as a metal heat sink, so we will see if the heat damages the external rub rail. The hole for the pin is right next to the USB C port, so I cut a slight section of the rubber "bumper" off so I could insert the pin in the hole. That meant I did not have to remove the bumper and could use a paper clip to open and remove the case cover easily. ASUS should just make the type C hole slightly larger so you can see the hole for the pin and use it without removing the rubber case. But when cutting the hole to see the pinhole, be carefull to leave most of the rubber case intact so it doesn't split. I would suggest leaving a small heat resistant card inside with your name and phone or write it on the back of the case cover in case you lose it and a good samaritan finds your info to return it. Since it only has a USB C port, you might get an extra USB-C to USB-A cable in case you lose or break the one they supply. To wrap up, this is a well-designed NVMe M.2 case that should last you years unless manufacturers revise the electronic design and it won't work with future computers (like Microsoft does to enable planned obsolescence).

So historically there hasn't been enough power on a serial bus to support power for an external hard drive, so they've always needed a power brick, or best case 2 USB ports to supply enough power over a USB Micro-B Super Speed cable. Now however the USB type C ports have the power, and they have the high speed data to make an external unit like this convenient on the level of a standard USB key, but with the speed and capacity of whatever m.2 drive you want to stick in there. Initially I was thinking this was just such a cool piece of hardware I wanted one for when I had an m.2 drive laying around, but then I realized I had a 6 year old Ultrabook that had finally died, and it had a 500gb m.2 in it. I immediately opened it up slotted it into the Asus Arion, and boom I had a 500gb drive smaller than my cellphone... and that I could plug into my phone to watch movies on if I wanted. With the included USB-A cable transferring from another external Type C drive I could get 25 MB/s, but with type C to type C I averaged around 135 MB/s. I'm sure that'd be faster if you were directly transferring from an internal hard drive, but overall, with 1 cable for fast data transfers and for power and the cute RGB, it's honestly the best external drive I've owned in 33 years of computing. Mine came with type C and type A cables, a SIM tool which you use to open it, and a rubber bumper case to surround it and cover that release hole. In the rubber bumper there's a slot for an included velcro attached strap with a spring loaded hook in the shape of an R. Cute, but since it's entirely flimsy plastic and the only other holding it in is velcro, well, I wouldn't rely on that for anything and I'll either be modding that or replacing it entirely with something respectable. All told though, if you have an m.2 laying around and want to use it for a sneaker net, this is an awesome piece of kit.