TerraMaster D1 Portable SSD Enclosure Review: Quiet and Fast Storage

With modern, high-resolution camera systems, photographers are capturing tens or even hundreds of gigabytes of files per shoot, before even considering video. Your storage workflow is now almost as important as the camera and lenses you use to capture everything. This is why portable, interchangeable Solid State Drives (SSDs) like the TerraMaster D1 SSD Plus have become commonplace among photographers.

The $109.99 Terramaster D1 SSD Plus is a “compact”, fanless NVMe SSD enclosure that promises up to 40 Gbps of throughput, silent operation, and compatibility with multiple file systems. Over the last few weeks, I’ve tested it on a variety of systems — Windows, Macs, Unix machines, and even video game consoles like the Sony PlayStation 5 — to see what it gets right and where it falls short.

It is also worth noting that this device is just an enclosure, and the NVMe SSD is not included. We’ll touch on that a little later in the review, but buyers should be aware of this before pulling the trigger. Since it doesn’t have a built-in drive, TerraMaster included a 1TB WD_Black SSD when they sent this device for review.

TerraMaster D1 SSD Plus Enclosure Review: Setup, Design, and Build Quality

The D1 SSD Plus features a CNC-machined aluminum enclosure with a finned design that’s reminiscent of an old-fashioned radiator but does more than just stoke nostalgia. This odd-shaped enclosure is definitely bulkier than most other portable SSD drives, but it is meant to keep the SSDs much safer and provides passive, fan-free cooling through an open-finned design that reportedly prevents overheating-related throttling that can occur with more traditional SSDs.

The finned housing is designed to improve silent heat dissipation, keeping your drive quiet during operation and under long-term stress loads while maintaining temperatures between 36 and 44° C. This makes it ideal for studios or offices where keeping noise to a minimum is a priority.

The enclosure itself weighs about 0.5 pounds (250 grams), not including the NVMe, which is a minimal addition, and is a bit bulkier than most other SSD drives like the Samsung T7, T9, or SanDisk Extreme portable drives. But this setup does provide the NVMe drive with more protection against drop, crush, and bending damage should you ever accidentally sit on it or drop something heavy on it. It also includes small rubber feet to prevent it from sliding on desks during use.

The box includes the enclosure, a USB-C cable, a screwdriver, a travel pouch, and the system manual. The setup is straightforward: use the provided screwdriver to open the case (located at the bottom of the enclosure), then install the NVMe SSD of your choice. A small feature I personally liked here was that the case screw does not come out entirely, meaning you only need to loosen the screw to gain access to the inside, and you never have to worry about misplacing the screw to keep it closed and functioning properly.

As you can see, once it’s opened, one side of the case has all of the electronic components, while the other has a thermal pad with a sticker that should be removed before the first use. Overall, it took longer to open the boxes for the NVMe SSD and the enclosure than to actually install the drive and plug it into my computer to start testing.

The USB4 connection is at the end of the device, seated right below the power/data LED, closest to the enclosure screw. Like most hard drives, you’ll need to format it for the operating system you intend to use it with, and then you’re good to go.

TerraMaster D1 SSD Plus Enclosure Review: Performance

The TerraMaster D1 SSD Plus offers users a 40Gbps connectivity for data. What this actually means is that with a proper connection using USB4, users can expect read and write speeds topping out around 3800MB/s. In my use case with an M4 Pro Mac mini using the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test app for more than two hours, I was able to get an average read speed of about 3500MB/s and a write speed of about 3390MB/s, all while maintaining a temperature of just above 46° C (114.8° F). Yes, this is higher than the stated in-use range from TerraMaster, but it’s still acceptable and impressive after several hours of continuous use.

What does this mean to the average user? You can transfer a 3GB file to or from this drive in a single second, making it fantastic for editors working on resource-hungry projects like 4K or 8K video renders. Obviously, some of these read and write times will vary depending on the type of NVMe drive and USB-C type connection. According to TerraMaster, this D1 SSD Plus is backward compatible with Thunderbolt 5/4/3 as well as legacy USB standards, and will support a single NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 SSD with up to 8TB capacity, which is more than enough for even the most demanding of creatives. The only caveat is that if you have an older machine, you will likely tap out at about 1,000 MB/s, which is still acceptable for many use cases, especially photographic ones.

Additionally, the system will support EXT4, APFS, NTFS, exFAT, and FAT32 file systems, meaning it’s useful for pretty much any use case and operator out there, including simply for gaming. Yes, I even formatted this drive and connected it to my PlayStation and Steam Deck to test playing games directly off of it without any hiccups.

It’s also worth noting that the power consumption of this enclosure is relatively low. It uses just 7.5W while in action and about 5 to 5.5W in sleep/hibernation mode, so it’s quite user-friendly for laptops and portable use out in the field.

TerraMaster D1 SDD Plus Review: SSD Reliability and Speed, Your Way

While the TerraMaster D1 SSD Plus is a pretty great storage system, it still has a few cons readers should be aware of. As I mentioned above, this setup is designed for a single drive only, with no RAID options or expansion capability, it can get hotter than reported (especially in hotter environments), and for the security focused, there is no hardware encryption or additional data security built into the device.

That being said, these “cons” are minor inconveniences in the grand scheme of things, given all the “pros” mentioned throughout the review. In a “speed vs convenience vs silence” trade-off, the D1 SSD Plus leans heavily toward performance and portability, and it definitely delivers on that front.

The system seems largely targeted at working professionals, but I believe it has value and can be a great fit for the average consumer, given its quiet operation and variety of uses (including gaming).

Are There Alternatives?

The D1 enclosure sells for $109, putting it toward the higher end of the NVMe enclosure market, but the price ranges you’ll find here are pretty close. The good news is that there are still a few alternative options out there for the discerning buyer. These include the $169 Acasis 40Gbps NVMe SSD enclosure, the $119 Satechi USB4 NVMe SSD Pro enclosure, and the $119 OWC Express 1M2 NVMe enclosure

Should You Buy It?

Yes. If you’re in the market for a fast and fanless NVMe enclosure that you can carry with your camera kit and not worry about it, the $109 TerraMaster D1 SSD Plus is a great choice for you. It can’t replace a RAID array or a NAS, but as a high-speed scratch disk, offload drive, or bootable external SSD for creative work, it definitely hits the mark and is one I’d include in my own toolkit.