ORICO 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 M.2 Smart SSD Enclosure – Last Hours on Kickstarter

Storage Media

by Jeff LochNovember 16^th, 2023

If you’re looking for one of the fastest single-drive Thunderbolt 4 external SSDs on the market, the ORICO 40Gbps M.2 Smart SSD enclosure might be the right choice for you. This enclosure can take M.2 SSD up to 8TB, it is Thunderbolt 3/4, USB4, and USB 3.2 Gen1/2 compatible, and you can connect the drive directly to your camera and record to it. So, let’s take a closer look at this interesting enclosure as the Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign is reaching its end!

ORICO is a Chinese manufacturer specializing in data storage, data cables, and power storage/delivery solutions since 2009. The company has been making hard drives and SSD enclosures for a couple of years, and they are now back with a compact and versatile 40Gbps M.2 Smart SSD enclosure.

ORICO 40Gbps M.2 Smart SSD Enclosure – features

The ORICO 40Gbps M.2 smart SSD enclosure measures 130.9 x 49.9 x 14mm/ 5.15 x 1.96 x 0.55in and is made of polycarbonate and aluminum. This enclosure can take a wide variety of M.2 SSDs, including 2230, 2242, 2260, and 2280 SSDs.

The enclosure is easy to disassemble without any tools needed: slide the transparent lid, open the case, install the M.2 SSD inside, and clip everything back into place.

In terms of cooling, the M.2 SSD lays on a heat dissipation vest, the housing is made from aluminum, and there is a built-in fan to help dissipate some of the heat. According to ORICO, the cooling fan generates a noise of around 19 decibels, which is very low and should be hard to notice.

The ORICO 40Gbps M.2 smart SSD enclosure is compatible with Mac/Windows/Linux computers but also smartphones/tablets, and you can even plug it into your mirrorless camera and record directly to it.

The enclosure has one connection port compatible with Thunderbolt 3/4, USB4, and USB 3.2 Gen 1/2 devices. Theoretically, you’ll be limited by the speeds of your M.2 SSD but not the enclosure itself. Regarding write speeds, you’re looking at around 2.5Gb/s and read speeds of around 2.9Gb/s.

Pricing and availability

The ORICO 40Gbps M.2 smart SSD enclosure is available to preorder on Kickstarter and should start shipping next month. The enclosure retails for $139, and multiple SSD kits are available starting at $229 with a 1TB drive. If you’re interested, hurry up, as the crowdfunding campaign is only running until November 16th at 16:00 CET and is already fully funded.

For more information, please visit ORICO’s Kickstarter page here.

At the end of every crowdfunding-related article, we remind you to please be aware of the risks when backing a project on a crowdfunding platform. Also, please read the platform’s use and remember there can be significant delays when delivering the product. Some projects don’t get delivered at all.

What do you think about this ORICO enclosure for M.2 SSDs? What is your go-to external drive? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!