USB SSD drives, despite the wide availability of high-speed Internet and cloud storage, are quite popular. If you have a relatively old SSD left over from an upgrade, the best option instead of buying a new USB SSD may be to purchase a USB container for it. Such as, for example, the ASUS Cobble SSD Enclosure.
Specifications of the ASUS Cobble SSD Enclosure
| Model | ASUS Cobble SSD Enclosure |
| Interface | USB3.2 Gen 2×1 |
| Speed | 10 Gbps |
| Maximum capacity | 4 TB |
| Compatibility | M.2 PCI Express 2280, 2260, 2242 |
| Degree of protection | IP55 |
| Dimensions (W × H × D) | 44.35 mm × 16.63 mm × 128.96 mm |
| Weight | 92 g |
| Price in Ukraine | 1749 UAH |
Package contents
The main difference between ASUS Cobble and other SSD enclosures is its appearance. Almost all other models are ordinary black metal "bars", differing mainly in the presence and shape of radiators, while this one resembles a water-polished pebble in shape and texture. This is what its name - cobble - very clearly "hints" at, although, in our opinion, pebble would be better suited for it.
The container is available in two colors – gray and black; in our opinion, gray looks much more attractive. The top of the ASUS Cobble is metal, but due to the fact that its surface is not just matte, but even slightly rough and has a barely noticeable pattern in the form of small black dots, it really resembles a stone.
The bottom is more familiar plastic, but it does not have rubberized legs, so the container slides very easily on the table.
ASUS Cobble is a fairly large case: over 12 cm long, but relatively narrow and thin, and quite light (92 g). According to these indicators, it is much more compact than another case from this manufacturer that we once reviewed - the protected TUF Gaming A2.
The kit also includes a USB-C/USB-C cable, a coin key for opening the case, and technical documentation.
ASUS Cobble supports both SSD interfaces (NVMe PCIe and SATA) and allows you to install M.2 2242/2260/2280 SSDs with capacities up to 4TB. The installation mechanism is very simple and will not cause any difficulties for the average user.
The manufacturer states the degree of protection against dust and water – IP55 (protection against dust that can damage the device's operation, and protection against jets of water from any angle – but not against immersion).
Productivity
To test the speed performance of the container, we chose the Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1 TB, which is rated for up to 3500 MB/s read and up to 3300 MB/s write. This is not a new and not very fast model, but for this task it is more than enough: ASUS Cobble supports only USB3.2 Gen 2×1, that is, the maximum possible data transfer speed should be at the level of 10 Gb/s.
Overall, the test results did not reveal any surprises. First, we checked the sequential read/write speeds in the AIDA64 benchmark application. In both tests – both in the linear read and linear write stages – the ASUS Cobble delivers speeds of almost 1000 MB/s, which is a typical figure for a USB SSD with USB3.2 Gen 2×1 support.
The container shows slightly higher results (985/960 MB/s) in the AS SSD Benchmark.
In CrystalDiskMark 8.0.6 on our ASUS Cobble platform, it showed maximum speeds for both reading and writing: in both cases, the container "exceeded" 1000 MB/s.
In ATTO Disk Benchmark, we have a write speed of 982 MB/s, and a read speed of 1007 GB/s.
The lowest results were obtained in Anvil's Storage Utilities: the write speed here reached only 910 MB/s.
As for more "down-to-earth" tests, the speed of copying a large file in Windows Explorer also approached 1000 GB/s.
And finally - a couple of complex synthetic benchmarks.
Heating
Unlike many other SSD enclosures, the ASUS Cobble is only partially metal – the bottom of the case is plastic. It also lacks heatsinks to improve cooling of the drive – so it's interesting how effectively it copes with this task.
To check this, we ran a linear write test of the entire capacity of the drive in the AIDA64 utility. The upper part of the case heated up to 49 degrees after an hour of continuous writing. The CrystalDiskInfo utility immediately after the end of this test recorded the SSD temperature at 52 degrees.
At rest, the SSD temperature in the ASUS Cobble remained at 37 degrees.
