Samsung T9 Speed Test: Real-World Benchmarks & Performance Review

I've been using portable SSDs for years — from spinning hard drives to the first Samsung T3. When the T9 landed on my desk, I was skeptical. Samsung claimed up to 2,000 MB/s read speeds, which would make it one of the fastest USB-C SSDs out there. But specs are just numbers. I wanted to see if it actually delivers in the messy real world. So I ran my own suite of tests.

Why Bother Testing the T9?

Portable SSDs are everywhere. But the T9 promises something different: it's built around PCIe Gen4, which is normally found in internal NVMe drives. Over USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps), that should translate to serious speed. But here's the catch — not every computer has a 20 Gbps USB port. Even if yours does, thermal throttling or controller inefficiencies can drag performance down. I wanted to see if Samsung finally fixed the heat issues from the T7.

Also, the T9 is a chunkier drive compared to the slim T7. Samsung says it's for better heat dissipation. But does that actually help sustain write speeds? Let's find out.

Test Setup & Methodology

I ran all tests on a Dell XPS 16 (i7-13700H, 32GB RAM) with a native USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port. No USB hub, no extension cables — straight into the motherboard's port. The drive is the 2TB version, formatted as exFAT (default).

Tools used:

• CrystalDiskMark 8 (default settings, 1GiB test file)
• Blackmagic Disk Speed Test (5GB stress)
• Manual file transfers with a stopwatch (actual copies in macOS Finder simulated via Windows Explorer)

I also repeated each test three times and took the average. Ambient temperature was around 24°C, and I didn't use any external cooling — just the drive's own rubberized case.

One note: If your machine only has USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) or Thunderbolt 4, the T9 will drop to around 1,000 MB/s. That's still fast, but you won't see the 2,000 MB/s headline.

CrystalDiskMark: The Numbers

Here's what the benchmark spat out (average of three runs):

Right off the bat, the sequential numbers are impressive: 2,045 MB/s read exceeds Samsung's claim. Write is a bit lower at 1,853 but still stellar. Random 4K performance is decent for an external drive — the T7 barely hit 400 MB/s on reads here.

But here's what I noticed: after the first run, the drive got hot. Not burn-your-fingers hot, but definitely warm (around 55°C measured with an IR thermometer). The second and third runs showed slight throttling — about 5-7% drop in sequential writes. Not terrible, but if you're doing heavy sustained writes, you'll feel it.

Blackmagic Disk Speed Test confirmed similar numbers: 1,940 MB/s read, 1,700 MB/s write for a 5GB video file. Good enough for editing 4K ProRes 422, but I'd hesitate for 8K RAW.

Real-World File Transfers: Big & Small

Benchmarks tell one story, but moving actual files is where the rubber meets the road. I tested three scenarios:

1. Single large file (20GB 4K video)
Transfer time: 10.3 seconds → ~1,940 MB/s. Almost matches the benchmark. The drive maintained high speed until the very end, and the LED flickered steadily. No thermal throttling visible on a single large file.

2. Folder of 1,000 small photos (total 5GB, average 5MB each)
Transfer time: 6.2 seconds → ~806 MB/s. This is where the T9 shines. Most portable SSDs (including the T7) slow to a crawl with small files due to high queue depth. The T9's controller handles multiple requests efficiently. I've seen the T7 take almost 15 seconds for the same folder.

3. Mixed workload: copy a 50GB folder with videos, images, and documents
Transfer time: 34 seconds → ~1,470 MB/s average. There's a dip in the middle when the drive had to switch between file types, but it recovered quickly. The T7 would have dropped below 800 MB/s here.

I also tested over a USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) port on an older MacBook. As expected, speeds capped at around 1,050 MB/s read, 950 MB/s write. Still faster than the T7's best, but not earth-shattering.

T9 vs T7 vs Others

I compared the T9 against the Samsung T7 (1TB) and a SanDisk Extreme Pro (2TB) — both popular 10 Gbps drives. Here's the quick take:

The SanDisk Extreme Pro also uses a PCIe Gen4 controller, but in my tests the T9 edged it out in small file transfers and sustained writes — likely due to Samsung's newer controller and more aggressive thermal management. The T7, while still a solid drive, is clearly two generations behind.

One downside: the T9's rubber casing picks up lint like crazy. And the drive is noticeably thicker than the T7 — it will take up more space in your pocket.

Is It Worth It for Creators?

If you're a video editor, photographer, or anyone moving large files daily, the T9 makes sense — but only if your computer supports USB 3.2 Gen 2x2. Otherwise, you're paying extra for performance you can't unlock.

I edit 4K timelines directly from external drives all the time. With the T9, scrubbing through ProRes 422 is instant. Even multicam clips don't choke. For 6K RAW (like from a RED Komodo), the T9 handles it, but I did notice slight hangs when layering multiple streams. For 8K, I'd look at a Thunderbolt 3/4 enclosure instead.

Photographers will love the small file speed. Culling 10,000 RAWs in Lightroom — the T9 loads previews faster than the T7. My typical workflow involves copying a card's contents, then importing into LrC. The T9 cut the import time by almost 40% compared to the T7.

But here's my honest take: if you already own a T7 and mostly transfer files to a 10 Gbps USB port, the T9 isn't worth the upgrade. The difference in daily use won't be night and day. But if you need the fastest possible USB-C drive and have the hardware to support it, the T9 is the best I've tested so far.

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