We are committed to providing fast, efficient, and affordable software solutions that set new standards in the software development industry.
  • OCZ Enyo 128 GB Review
Technology Articles > Gadgets > USB devices > OCZ Enyo 128 GB Review

The OCZ Enyo 128 GB USB 3.0 solid-state portable hard drive costs nearly $300. But there’s a reason for that. The OCZ Enyo is one of the top of the line portable hard drives on the market, and it got to the top by delivering stellar speed, performance and portability. This isn’t any throwaway USB thumbdrive you’d get at a corporate event—this is the real deal. But depending on your needs, your system and your budget, the OCZ Enyo 128 GB solid-state USB drive may be overkill, or flat out wrong for you. Read on for the full review.

Price – Three Stars

At the same price as a budget netbook, the OCZ Enyo definitely isn’t for bargain shoppers. But among other solid state drives, its $289 price tag is on par with its competitors on a dollar per gigabyte basis. But given that the OCZ Enyo USB 3.0 drive is a performance USB device, price won’t likely be an object for its target market. Compared to a hard disk drive, however, you could definitely get 10 times the capacity for one fifth of the price.

Speed – Four Stars

USB 3.0 is so new that many computers don’t even support it yet. But for those who do have USB 3.0 on their PC or Mac, the OCZ Enyo’s USB 3.0 transfer speeds will knock your socks off. It’s rated at a max read speed of 260 MB/s and a max write speed of up to 200 MB/s. Compare that to the raw data transfer speed of a USB 2.—60 MB/s—and you can imagine how much of a difference that makes. As a high speed USB 3.0 device, the OCZ Enyo is great for backing up files, booting entire operating systems or use as a caching or ReadyBoost device.

Portability - Four Stars

The OCZ Enyo isn’t small enough to be called a thumbdrive. In fact, the OCZ Enyo comes boxed with a USB 3.0 cable, meaning you won’t be plugging it directly into the USB port like you might a smaller thumbdrive. But overall, it is extremely slim and portable—especially when compared to hard disk drives. It’s about the width of a credit card and about twice as long as a USB thumb drive. It’s highly pocketable, and because it’s a solid state, you don’t have to worry as much about damaging it in transit (no moving parts).

Compatibility – Four Stars

As mentioned above, not all computers support USB 3.0. Luckily, the OCZ Enyo is backwards compatible with USB 2.0. While you won’t enjoy the full speed benefits of USB 3.0, this backwards compatibility lets you plug in to older machines for transferring files.

Conclusion

Should you buy the OCZ Enyo? That all depends on how often you use an external hard drive. If you work as a tech support professional or frequently back up or transfer large files (i.e. raw HD video), then this could be a seriously good investment. It’ll save you time and space and thanks to its one million mean time hours before failure and product health monitoring system, it won’t quit on you anytime soon. But if you are looking for a drive to sit on your desktop for scheduled backups, go with something less expensive.