Axagon EEM2-GTR in detail
Do you use an external SSD? We will be testing a few NVMe-enabled enclosures in the future. That’s in order to see which solution shapes SSD characteristics in what way, where speed (SSD) will always be limited by USB connectivity (and maybe sometimes cooling?). The first such external SSD enclosure that we will discuss in detail is from Axagon – the 10-gigabit EEM2-GTR model.!–more–>
Evaluation
From the tests, we know that the Axagon EEM2-GTR enclosure is able to exploit the maximum potential of the interface it connects to. This is evidenced by the speeds up to approximately 1095 MB/s, which are close to the limits of the 10-gigabit USB 3.2 gen. 2 capability.
Overall, the Axagon EEM2-GTR can be evaluated as a fast enclosure for NVMe SSDs in M.2 formats. At the same time, it has good prerequisites for efficient cooling, as shown by the stable speeds even during prolonged maximum loads. Thanks to the finned casing acting as a cooler, the enclosure will likely have a more decent margin even in adverse conditions, such as with excessive ambient temperature.
In our test conditions, the temperature on the surface of the enclosure did not exceed 40 °C. And although lower temperature may eventually mean worse contact with the SSD, this can be ruled out in this case. The thermal pads are in really close contact with the metal body of the enclosure, so much so that the SSD is harder to disassemble, or sliding it out of the rails is rather stiff. This is due to the higher friction of the thermal pads with the inner walls of the enclosure. Some sort of PCB lanyard to pull on when disassembling would certainly be beneficial to make things more comfortable. However, this is only a detail and for those who will never replace the SSD in the enclosure, also quite unimportant.
The power consumption of the SSD enclosure under load is about 4 W (it’s higher in the charts, but this includes the power consumption of the USB card through which we are testing, or mainly its controller). At idle, it’s 1–2 W less, but based on this data we still can’t claim how elegant with respect to power management this Axagon design is. That will only become apparent later, when compared to other enclosures. Even if the power consumption is always relatively low, it will affect the battery life of a laptop to some extent. Especially for models (laptops) whose power consumption is in the order of single digits of watts for typical office work.
Among the basic features of the Axagon EEM2-GTR one can highlight the robust metal structure and yet still relatively smaller dimensions and lighter weight. With a price of around 27 EUR, this enclosure is among the cheaper models with support for 10-gigabit USB interface. Taking other features of the Axagon EEM2-GTR into account, we give it the “Smart Buy!” editorial award. Although there are a few other solutions that will gradually appear in the comparison, this should not be a mistake.
English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš
| Axagon EEM2-GTR |
| + High speed, at the limit of the interface used... |
| + ... also suitable for mass data backups/transfers |
| + The case is nicely finned for more efficient cooling |
| + Robust, all-metal design... |
| + ... and at the same time a smaller footprint that still fits comfortably in your pocket |
| + Attractive price |
| - More laborious to remove the SSD than it could be |
| Approximate retail price: 27 EUR |
