External storage just took a massive leap forward. Wired dropped its comprehensive 2025 drive guide today, crowning LaCie's new Rugged SSD Pro5 as the speed king with blazing 5,787 MB/s transfers via Thunderbolt 5. But speed comes at a price - $600 for 4TB makes this a premium play for video pros editing 8K RAW footage in real-time.
The external storage market just shifted into high gear. After what feels like an eternity of waiting, Thunderbolt 5 drives are finally hitting shelves - and the performance numbers are staggering.
LaCie leads the charge with its Rugged SSD Pro5, ditching the iconic orange padding for blue while packing serious speed underneath. The drive achieved 5,787 MB/s read and 5,188 MB/s write speeds in testing, falling just short of the claimed 6,700 MB/s but still leaving everything else in the dust.
The real-world implications are enormous. Video editors can now work directly with 8K and 6K ProRes RAW footage without transcoding, something that was impossible just months ago. One tester successfully edited 6K footage from a Nikon Z6III using DaVinci Resolve Studio straight off the drive.
But Thunderbolt 5's premium pricing creates a clear market divide. At $600 for 4TB, the Pro5 targets professional videographers and content creators who need maximum speed. For everyone else, the sweet spot appears to be USB4 drives like Corsair's EX400U, which delivers 3,800 MB/s speeds for under $200.
"Testing was tricky since Thunderbolt 5 devices are still rare," noted the Wired reviewer, who had to borrow a brand-new MacBook Pro 14 to properly benchmark the Pro5. This scarcity explains why Thunderbolt 5 adoption has been painfully slow despite being announced years ago.
The drive landscape is stratifying rapidly. At the budget end, Crucial's X6 Portable SSD remains the value champion at $147 for 2TB, though its SATA interface limits speeds to 550 MB/s. For photographers needing field backup speed, the X9 Pro hits 1,110 MB/s while staying compact enough to toss in a camera bag.
Samsung dominates the internal SSD space with its 990 PRO achieving 7,458 MB/s in testing - nearly matching its claimed 7,450 MB/s specification. The drive runs remarkably cool even under heavy workloads, making it ideal for video editing and software compilation tasks.
Gaming drives occupy their own niche, with Western Digital's P40 Gaming Drive adding RGB lighting for enthusiasts willing to pay $130 for 1TB. Performance proved inconsistent in benchmarks, but real-world gaming use cases don't typically stress sequential transfer speeds.
The rugged drive category sees fierce competition between LaCie's Rugged SSD4 and Samsung's T7 Shield. Both offer IP65 water resistance, but LaCie's iconic Neil Poulton design commands a premium for its extra padding and style.
Pricing trends favor consumers willing to wait. The report notes frequent sales dropping the 8TB Western Digital Elements from $170 to $150, while 10TB and 12TB versions sometimes cost barely more than smaller capacities.
For backup applications, spinning drives still make economic sense. The basic Elements desktop drive achieved 120 MB/s sequential writes - slow by SSD standards but perfectly adequate for overnight backups at a fraction of the cost per gigabyte.
Seagate's Ultra Compact SSD bridges the gap between thumb drives and traditional external storage. Its built-in USB-C connector eliminates cable hassles while delivering 1,034 MB/s speeds in a thumb drive form factor.
The testing methodology reveals the complexity of modern storage evaluation. Drives now require benchmarking across Windows CrystalDiskMark, macOS Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, and Linux KDiskMark to capture real-world performance across platforms and file systems.
The storage revolution is finally here, with Thunderbolt 5 drives delivering unprecedented speeds for creative professionals. While $600 pricing puts top-tier performance out of reach for casual users, USB4 alternatives like Corsair's EX400U prove you don't need to break the bank for substantial speed gains. The market segmentation is clear: choose spinning drives for backup, portable SSDs for everyday use, and Thunderbolt 5 for professional video workflows. As device adoption increases, expect these premium speeds to become more accessible - but for now, early adopters pay handsomely for cutting-edge performance.
