Lexar Air Portable SSD AFA Edition 512GB USB 3.2 Gen 1

Lexar Air Portable SSD AFA Edition 512GB USB 3.2 Gen 1

Lexar
25 Overall Score
vs
Samsung 990 PRO 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280

Samsung 990 PRO 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280

Samsung
98 Overall Score

What Buyers Say

Lexar Air Portable SSD AFA Edition 512GB USB 3.2 Gen 1

No customer feedback yet

Samsung 990 PRO 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280

88 out of 100 low confidence 5 reviews

Users are highly satisfied with this SSD, praising its exceptional speed and reliable performance for gaming and photo editing. One user noted thermal concerns during heavy gaming, reaching 62°C without a heatsink, but overall sentiment remains very positive. The drive is easy to install and has proven durable over a year of use.

Pros
  • Blazing fast speeds
  • Easy installation
  • Reliable performance
  • Good value for refurbished price
Cons
  • Thermal concerns under heavy load
  • No heatsink included
👍 Speed 5
👍 Reliability 3
👍 Ease of installation 2
👍 Value for money 1
👎 Thermal performance 1

Scores

Workstation
Lexar
22
Samsung
94
Gaming
Lexar
11
Samsung
94
Console
Lexar
7
Samsung
94
Budget
Lexar
64
Samsung
88
Laptop
Lexar
13
Samsung
84
Portable
Lexar
37
Samsung
25

Specifications

Lexar Air Portable SSD AFA EditionSamsung 990 PRO
Drive
Capacity
512
2,000
Form FactorExternalM.2 2280
InterfaceUSB 3.2 Gen 1PCIe 4.0 x4
Protocol—NVMe
PCIe Generation—4★
External✓✗
Performance
Sequential Read (MB/s)
390
7,450
Sequential Write (MB/s)
400
6,900
Random Read (IOPS)No data
1,400,000
Random Write (IOPS)No data
1,550,000
Hardware
NAND—TLC★
DRAM Cache—✓★
Controller—Samsung
Reliability
Endurance (TBW)No data
1,200
MTBF (hours)No data
1,500,000
Warranty (years)35★
Features
Heatsink—✓★
Hardware Encryption—✓★

Pros & Cons

Lexar Air Portable SSD AFA Edition 512GB USB 3.2 Gen 1

  • Strong affordability (69th percentile)
  • Below average speed (3rd percentile)3rd %ile
  • Below average random (3rd percentile)3rd %ile
  • Below average feature (15th percentile)15th %ile
  • Below average capacity (34th percentile)

Samsung 990 PRO 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280

  • Strong feature (99th percentile)99th %ile
  • Strong random (97th percentile)97th %ile
  • Strong social proof (95th percentile)95th %ile
  • Strong speed (93rd percentile)93rd %ile
  • Below average affordability (21st percentile)

Pricing

Lexar Air Portable SSD AFA Edition 512GB USB 3.2 Gen 1

No current pricing available

Samsung 990 PRO 2TB PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe M.2 2280

Verdict

★ Winner: Samsung 990 PRO

Scores 98 overall, wins 5 of 6 usage categories and 13 of 18 specs.

Lexar Air Portable SSD AFA Edition Better at:

Portable

Samsung 990 PRO Better at:

BudgetGamingLaptopConsoleWorkstation