SK Hynix Beetle X31 USB SSD Review

SK Hynix Beetle X31 2TB Performance

For this, we wanted to run through our standard benchmarks.

CrystalDiskMark Benchmark

CrystalDiskMark is used as a basic starting point for benchmarks as it is something commonly run by end-users as a sanity check. We use both 1GB and 8GB test sizes.

Here is the 8GB test:

Here is the side-by-side:

These numbers are some of the best in this category of SSD.

ATTO Disk Benchmark

The ATTO Disk Benchmark has been a staple of drive sequential performance testing for years. ATTO was tested at both 256MB and 8GB file sizes.

Here are the 8GB results:

Here is the side-by-side:

Again, these are very strong sequential read and write results.

Anvil’s Storage Utilities

Anvil’s Storage Utilities is a comprehensive benchmark that gives us a very in-depth look at the performance of the drives tested. This benchmark was run with both a 1GB and 8GB test size.

Here is the 8GB result:

Something notable is that the drive tends to perform relatively similarly at the smaller and larger transfer sizes.

AS SSD Benchmark

AS SSD Benchmark is another good benchmark for testing SSDs. We run all three tests for our series. Like other utilities, it was run with both the default 1GB as well as a larger 10GB test set.

Here is the 10GB result:

Here is the side-by-side:

Just for some comparison here is the Samsung T7:

In several of these tests, especially on the 10GB 4K ones, the Beetle does well.

BlackMagic Disk Speed Test

BlackMagic Disk Speed Test is focused on testing storage for use in video workflows.

Here we can see the 12K DCI 60fps ProRes 422 HQ get the “red X” meaning that this drive is not fast enough for those formats. On the other hand, that is a very high-end format, so perhaps that is the point where it makes sense to get something faster.

Final Words

This is a small and competitive drive. Part of it being small is the removable protection that is something we would see built into other drives. We have to say this was a bit of a surprise on the performance side as this is not an overly popular drive like those from some other large vendors. Looks wise, it might be a step below something like the Crucial X9 Pro or Samsung T7. Normally we do not comment on that, but for USB drives they are meant to be in bags and used in the field not as internal drives hidden from view.

Overall, this was one we were not sure how it was going to perform, so it probably exceeded our expectations on many of the benchmarks.

Where to Buy

We purchased our unit on Amazon. If you want to get a SK Hynix Beetle X31 2TB, here is the Amazon Affiliate Link.