Oricos Bookdrive P10Plus Packs Punch Despite Slow Write Speed

Orico BookDrive P10Plus (512GB) Review: A Solid but Slow Sustained Write Speed Drive

In a market saturated with 10 Gbps external SSDs, Orico’s BookDrive P10Plus stands out for its unique features and magnetic back design. With a 100W passthrough charging port and compatibility with iPhones, this drive is an attractive option for smartphone users. However, its slow sustained write speed makes it tough to recommend when other drives that cost less perform better.

Design and Features

The BookDrive P10Plus has a solid metal shell and a magnetic back that attaches to compatible smartphones, making it easy to record video directly from the device. The drive also features a 100W PD charging port, which allows you to charge your laptop or smartphone while using the drive. This feature is particularly useful for those recording long-form video from their phones.

The included cable is only 5 inches long, but it’s a 20 Gbps cable that supports faster devices. The drive ships empty, and there are no software instructions in the box. However, Orico does provide magnetic rings to attach to the device if it doesn’t support MagSafe or Qi2 on Android.

Comparison Products

The BookDrive P10Plus is part of a crowded market of 10 Gbps external SSDs. At $184 for the 2TB model, it competes with excellent options like the Crucial X9 Pro and Samsung’s T9. However, these drives have faster sustained write speeds and are priced lower.

Storage Testbed

Our testing was conducted on an AMD Ryzen 7600X-based PC with an Asus ROG Crosshair X870E Hero motherboard installed in Lian Li’s Lancool 217 case. This system has native USB4 support, making it ideal for testing the latest external SSDs.

Transfer Rates – DiskBench

In this real-world file transfer test, the Orico BookDrive P10Plus lands in the lower-middle portion of our charts, competing with Kioxia’s 10 Gbps Exceria drive. However, it falls slightly behind other options like the Crucial X9 Pro and Samsung’s T9.

Synthetic Testing CrystalDiskMark

CrystalDiskMark is a free and easy-to-run storage benchmarking tool that gives us insight into how each device handles different file sizes. The Orico BookDrive P10Plus performs decently in bursty tasks, but its sustained write speed is slower than expected.

Sustained Write Performance

A drive’s rated write specifications are only a piece of the performance picture. Most external SSDs implement a write cache that absorbs incoming data. However, when the workload saturates the cache and slips into the “native” TLC or QLC flash, sustained write speeds often suffer. We use Iometer to hammer the SSD with sequential writes for 15 minutes to measure the size of the write cache and performance after the cache is saturated.

Our results show that the Orico BookDrive P10Plus’s performance craters into the 60-80 MB/s range for the rest of the test, occasionally dipping below 50 MB/s. This slow sustained write speed makes it less than ideal for users who need to perform large writes, such as video editors and content creators.

Bottom Line

The Orico BookDrive P10Plus is a solid drive with unique features like passthrough charging and MagSafe support. However, its slow sustained write speed makes it difficult to recommend. With prices starting at $184 for the 2TB model, it competes with excellent options that offer faster performance at lower prices.

For smartphone users who need fast recording speeds, the BookDrive P10Plus is an attractive option. Its magnetic back design and passthrough charging port make it easy to use directly from a phone. However, users who need high-performance sustained writes should look elsewhere. The Crucial X9 Pro and Samsung’s T9 offer faster performance at lower prices.

Best External SSDs

The market for external SSDs is highly competitive, with many options available that cater to different needs and budgets. When choosing an external SSD, there are several factors to consider, such as performance, capacity, and price. Here are some of the best external SSDs on the market:

• Samsung T9: A high-performance external SSD with fast sustained writes and a large 1TB capacity.
• WD My Passport 1TB: A compact and portable external SSD with fast reads and decent writes.
• G-Technology G-Drive Mobile Pro: A high-performance external SSD designed for content creators and video editors.

Conclusion

The Orico BookDrive P10Plus is a solid drive that offers unique features for smartphone users. However, its slow sustained write speed makes it less than ideal for users who need high-performance writes. With prices starting at $184 for the 2TB model, it competes with excellent options that offer faster performance at lower prices. For smartphone users who need fast recording speeds, the BookDrive P10Plus is an attractive option.

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