'ZDNET Recommends': What exactly does it mean?
ZDNET's recommendations are based on many hours of testing, research, and comparison shopping. We gather data from the best available sources, including vendor and retailer listings as well as other relevant and independent reviews sites. And we pore over customer reviews to find out what matters to real people who already own and use the products and services we’re assessing.
When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers.
ZDNET's editorial team writes on behalf of you, our reader. Our goal is to deliver the most accurate information and the most knowledgeable advice possible in order to help you make smarter buying decisions on tech gear and a wide array of products and services. Our editors thoroughly review and fact-check every article to ensure that our content meets the highest standards. If we have made an error or published misleading information, we will correct or clarify the article. If you see inaccuracies in our content, please report the mistake via this form.
How to easily connect an internal SSD to a USB-C port on your PC or Mac
There are times when USB flash drives aren't enough, and you need something a bit bigger or a bit faster. This is when using an SSD is the way forward.
While you can buy specific external SSDs, I find it better and more convenient to use internal SSDs.
ZDNET Recommends
They're cheap, lightweight, and durable.
And all you need is an SSD (my current favorite is the 1TB Samsung 870 EVO SSD) and a SATA to USB-C adapter.
I've been testing a number of SATA to USB-C adapters, and I've settled on the UGREEN SATA to USB-C adapter cable for 2.5-inch SSD and HDD drives.
I like this adapter for a number of reasons. It's small and lightweight, fast, comes with a cable attached, and it's very reasonably priced at $12.99.
In terms of speed, the UGREEN adapter features USB C 3.1 Gen 1 data transfer speed of 5Gbps, so it's a no-compromise way of attaching external storage.
- USB-bus powered, no need for extra power supply for 2.5-inch SATA HDD/SSD
- Plug and play, no driver needed
- Support hot-swapping the drives (no need to disconnect)
- Built-in LED indicator
- Supports UASP (USB Attached SCSI Protocol) and TRIM
Pros:
- Small
- Lightweight
- Cheap
- Built-in cable
Cons:
- If the built-in cable gets damaged, the whole adapter is junk
Also: The best Macs: Is the Mac Studio or MacBook Pro right for you?
For a professional photographer or videographer, being able to use cheap internal SSDs is a great way to have an abundance of storage on the cheap.