Fanxiang PS2000W portable SSD review | Tech Radar

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Fanxiang PS2000W review: A solid portable SSD that's another victim of the rising memory prices

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The Fanxiang PS2000W portable SSD ticks most of the boxes with the possible exception of hardware encryption. However, the price of flash-based external SSDs isn’t sustainable at current levels, including this drive.

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Fanxiang is a Chinese storage brand, most commonly known as Shenzhen Fanxiang Information Technology. The company grew out of a team with a decade of prior experience in storage design, firmware, and product sales, and they've built their range around four main product lines: solid-state drives, mobile storage, memory modules, and storage cards.

It’s been making external SSD storage for about five years, with a wide range of devices and specifications.

The PS2000W appeared in 2025, and delivers capacities from 500 Mb to 4TB in a slim aluminium case. It comes with a soft carry pouch and a cable that has an integrated adapter for both USB-A and USB-C connections.

The quoted performance is 2000MB/s reads, and 1800MB/s writes, but that assumes you have a USB 3.2 Gen 2x 2 port, and that’s not a common standard.

More realistically, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port will achieve a little over 1000 MB/s reads, and 950 MB/s writes with either a USB-C or USB-A connection.

For those wanting faster transfers, you either need a system with the rare USB 3.2 Gen 2x 2 port, or choose a different drive that supports the USB4 standard, like the Fanxiang PS3000 portable SSD.

However, that option costs

The problem the PS2000W doesn’t address is that this drive is double the price it was only eight months ago, and unless you have a system that can make the most of its enhanced performance, there are cheaper alternatives. In fact, if you have a spare NVMe drive, then buying an external enclosure for USB4 is probably a better choice.

Not the best portable SSD, or the worst, but sadly impacted by the outrageous cost of flash memory in 2026.

Where can you get it? Sold through online retailers and also directly from Fanxiang.

The Fanxiang PS2000W portable SSD comes in capacities starting at 500 GB, doubling each step to include 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB drives.

Directly from the maker, these are priced at

But the maker prices aren’t especially good, and I was able to find it much cheaper on Amazon. On Amazon.com in the US, the 500MB model is only

UK pricing via Amazon.co.uk is £64.60, £119.99, £169.99, and £319.99, and Amazon EU sites are €94.99, €139.99, €229.99, and €379.99, respectively.

For those curious, the UK is the cheapest place to buy this hardware, followed by the EU, and the most expensive is the USA.

While officially Crucial has exited the retail market, its equivalent product, the X10, is still available from many retailers. At

A cheaper option with the same spec is the PNY RP60, but the 1TB model is still $10 more than the PS2000W.

But many of the familiar brands are more expensive, such as the San Disk Extreme Pro V2, Samsung T9, Kingston XS2000 and La Cie Rugged Mini. Western Digital has its My Passport SSD, but it’s the same price as the PS2000W, but only offers half the performance.

Those looking for a cheaper option should consider the $82 Orico S20 with 512GB storage.

It’s tempting to look at the pricing of the PS2000W and see it as a good deal, when it’s far from that.

Price tracking the 1TB model: it was

Now, I should say that Fanxiang doesn’t control the price of Flash memory, which has spiked since AI companies and speculators decided to buy all of it. But in good conscience, I can’t recommend people spend this sort of money on devices that cost half as much a year ago.

Windows, Mac, Android, PS5/PS4, i Phone 15 and later via USB-C

Windows, Mac, Android, PS5/PS4, i Phone 15 and later via USB-C

Some brands, and you know the names, will try to make their external SSDs and HDDs as cheaply as possible, typically by using mostly plastic construction.

Thankfully, Fanxiang didn’t go down that path with the PS2000W, and this device appears to be entirely made of metal. And, based on its relatively low weight, it uses aluminium.

The package is a simple lozenge shape with curved sides and flattened ends, measuring 85mm long by 50mm wide and less than a centimetre thick.

Out of the box, it comes with a 30cm USB-C to USB-C cable that has a USB-A adapter permanently attached. The drive and cable fit neatly into a soft drawstring bag, also provided, making for a neat and easily pocketable solution.

The review model was a 2TB capacity drive, which translated into 1863 Gi B of usable space, and it connects to the host device using USAP (Serial ATA).

To achieve the best performance, it requires a USB 3.2 Gen 2x 2 port, but the drive is backwards compatible with USB 3.2 Gen 2, Gen 1, and even USB 2.0. However, as you move down the USB interface pecking order, the expected speed decreases.

As for features, this drive is basic. It supports S. M. A. R. T. NCQ, TRIM and GPL, but it doesn’t offer hardware encryption like on the Kingston XS2000 or the Crucial X10 Pro.

There are also no software tools included, though you can download a utility for SSD management from the Fanxiang website. I didn’t notice any means to update the installed firmware, or any firmware releases.

To be blunt, this is a basic USB SSD with a Gen 2x 2 interface, but otherwise it’s unremarkable. And therefore, if you don’t have that interface, there appears to be no compelling reason why you would choose this one over another brand.

Let’s be brutally honest: USB 3.2 Gen 2x 2 was a dead standard walking from its inception, and USB4 didn’t really include it in its repertoire of supported prior standards. There are a few exceptions, but in general, if you don’t actually have a port to the 2x 2 standard, then you won’t see the true performance that this drive can muster.

For that reason, I’ve presented the performance via a Gen 2x 2 port and a much more common Gen 2 variety. How does it compare with the best Gen 2x 2 drives?

Well, read speed is below the Crucial X10 Pro, ADATA Elite SE880 and La Cie Rugged Mini SSD, but write speed is close to what all those achieve.

Given the different controllers and implementations of Gen 2x 2 interfaces, the Fanxiang PS2000W portable SSD doesn’t have a compelling reason to be chosen over any other drive in Gen 2x 2 mode, but it can get close to the maximum realistic speed for this interface.

But if speed is the prerequisite, then a USB4 or Thunderbolt external drive, like the Corsair EX400U or the San Disk Extreme PRO with USB4, would be a better choice if you have a USB4 port. These drives can hit read speeds of 3800MB/s or higher, and 3650MB/s writes.

And, if I were rushing to catch a plane or train, and needed to transfer files, I know which I’d prefer.

If the Fanxiang PS2000W portable SSD had appeared during the golden age of Gen 2x 2, when the Kingston XS2000 appeared back in early 2022, and at a reasonable price, then it might have been something I’d recommend.

And the fine irony of that comparison is that the price of the PS2000W is almost exactly the same as the XS2000's MSRP was nearly four years ago. And the Kingston device supported hardware encryption, where the Fanxiang does not.

To be clear, the construction quality and performance of the PS2000W are absolutely fine, but what isn’t is the amount of money being asked for.

If money isn’t an issue for you, I’d buy the Crucial X10 Pro before they’re extinct, as it has hardware encryption. Or I’d consider a USB4-capable drive, like the Corsair EX400U, if you have a port that supports that specification.

Metal construction, comes with a carry pouch and a dual standard cable

Metal construction, comes with a carry pouch and a dual standard cable

Works well at Gen 2x 2 speeds, if you have that port

Works well at Gen 2x 2 speeds, if you have that port

You have USB 3.2 Gen 2x 2 If you have a USB port that is Gen 2x 2 (not just Gen 2), then this might be the drive you want to exploit the extra speed that it offers. However, unless all the ports you are likely to plug it into are this spec, the advantage will be limited.

Money isn’t a concern Buying RAM, storage or GPUs is currently only for those people not paying with their own money. Since, depending on what you are buying, the price hikes range from 100% up to 400% and higher, if you can wait for the AI bubble to burst, you could save yourself, or your business, lots of money.

You have USB 4.0 If you have USB4 or Thunderbolt 4, then this isn’t the drive for you, at whatever price. There are USB4-specified drives that are twice the speed of this one, and most of them only cost a little more.

You need bigger than 4TB The largest drive available in this range is 4TB. And those wanting 8TB or more need to look for a different product entirely.

Nextorage NX-PS1PRO Series One of the first USB 4.0 capable external SSDs available, the Nextorage NX-PS1PRO Series comes in 1TB, 2TB or 4TB capacities.

OWC Envoy Pro FX If you have Thunderbolt 3 ports or intend to add this functionality soon, then the Envoy Pro FX might well be worth your time. A beautifully engineered external storage option that can provide exceptional performance in the right circumstances, the OWC Envoy Pro FX is effective if expensive.

We've also tested out the fastest external SSDs around.

Mark is an expert on 3D printers, drones and phones. He also covers storage, including SSDs, NAS drives and portable hard drives. He started writing in 1986 and has contributed to Micro Mart, PC Format, 3D World, among others.

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