In a fresh development, it’s fast, handsome, has tool-less installation, and RGB lighting. The Asus Aiolos is easily one of our favorite 20Gbps, USB 3.2×2 enclosures to date.
In a fresh development, this value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined.
The report highlights that it’s fast, sturdily constructed, opens without tools, supports both M.2 SATA and NVMe, and serves up an RGB lighting strip that you can control with Asus’s programs. It’s not the least expensive 20Gbps box I’ve seen, but it’s one of the best. Asus’s ROG Strix Aiolos 20Gbps USB 3.2×2 enclosure is one of the classier such products to have passed through PCWorld’s portal.
Industry observers note that read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best external drives for comparison.
Industry observers note that the enclosure measures 4.55 x 1.8 x 0.6 inches (approximate) and weighs only around 1.4 ounces. The Asus Aiolos is a 20Gbps USB 3.2×2 SSD enclosure that will accept a single 2280, 2260, and 2242 (22mm wide, 80/60/42mm long) form factor NVMe SSD.
The report highlights that the enclosure opens easily for installation thanks to two spring-loaded latches on the side of the unit, which are shown in the first two images below. “Tool-less” installation is a major Aiolos selling point.
According to the latest update, starting it with a flathead screwdriver (the screw is slotted) would’ve been a lot easier, but I persisted so I could confirm that it’s actually “tool-less.” It was not, however, painless. I put “tool-less” in quotes as there’s a caveat — the thumb screw that holds down the NVMe SSD took more than a bit of force to remove.
The report highlights that asus includes short, but wide velcro attachment straps to help out with straps or strings that might be too thin to stay securely inside the hook. Why not a spring clip? Appearance would be my guess. Shown below are the tag and metal hook for easy attachment of the Aiolos to backpack straps and the like.
According to the latest update, as to that RGB lighting, it’s an angled LED strip on the top of the Aiolos that interfaces with, and is configurable using, Asus’s Aura Sync (now part of the Asus Armoury Crate utility).
In a fresh development, whatever effect you choose may also be shared/synced among all Asus RGB devices, creating a coordinated, all-encompassing light show. Aura Sync functions and effects include color selection, strobing, color cycling, rainbow, etc.
As part of the ongoing story, the SSD will be of your choosing. I did mention that this is an unpopulated enclosure, right? The controller/bridge chip inside the Aiolos is a Realtek RTL9220VC.
In a fresh development, i say currently because I was informed that existing (and difficult to locate) warranty policies are being debated. They may be shorter, or longer by the time you read this. Asus currently warranties the Aiolos for two years.
In a fresh development, considering the quality of the construction, good looks, performance, and RGB lighting, that price seems fair enough. But there are certainly less expensive USB 3.2×2 enclosures out there. The Asus Aiolos retails for $70 at the moment.
The report highlights that yup. Fratricide. Regardless, it bested everything else and I have zero complaints about the Aiolos’s performance. The Asus Aiolos is the second fastest 20Gbps NVMe SSD enclosure we’ve tested, falling behind only Asus’s own TUF Tech industry A2 by a slim margin.
The report highlights that you can read about the competing GlyphAtom EX20 here. CrystalDiskMark 8 rated the Aiolos as a very good sequential performer.
According to the latest update, the Aiolos isn’t bad, the A2 is just that good. On the other hand, the TUF Tech industry A2 whomped it in the CrystalDiskMark 8 4K tests.
Industry observers note that both in Windows Explorer and with FastCopy. In our real-global stage 48GB transfers, the Aiolos more than held its own.
According to the latest update, fastCopy makes far less of a difference with very long files, and in some cases can actually be slower as with the Aiolos, which turned in a very good time under Windows Explorer.
According to the latest update, base your buying decision on other factors. Performance is not an issue with the Asus Aiolos — it’s basically on par with or better than anything else on the market.
As part of the ongoing story, and I dig the lighting. If you want a solid piece of 20Gbps storage kit that looks good from any angle and is easy to tote, the Aiolos is worthy of the expenditure.
As part of the ongoing story, the CPU is a Core Ultra i5 225 feeding/fed by two Crucial 64GB DDR5 5600MHz modules (128GB of memory total). Drive tests currently utilize Windows 11 24H2, 64-bit running off of a PCIe 4.0 Samsung 990 Pro in an Asus Z890-Creator WiFi (PCIe 4.0/5.0) motherboard.
The report highlights that intel CPU/GPU graphics are used. Internal PCIe 5.0 SSDs involved in testing are mounted in an Asus Hyper M.2 x16 Gen5 adapter card sitting in a PCIe 5.0 slot. External enclosures are tested using a Crucial T710. 10Gbps, 20Gbps USB, and Thunderbolt 5/USB4 are integrated into the motherboard.
The report highlights that then we run a series of 48GB transfer and 450GB write tests using Windows Explorer drag and drop to show what users will see during routine copy operations, as well as the far faster FastCopy run as administrator to show what’s possible. We run the CrystalDiskMark 8.04 (and 9), AS SSD 2, and ATTO 4 synthetic benchmarks (to keep article length down, we report only the first) to find the storage device’s potential performance.
According to the latest update, formerly the 48GB tests were done with a RAM disk serving that purpose. A 25GBps two-SSD RAID 0 array on the aforementioned Asus Hyper M.2 x16 Gen5 is used as the second drive in our transfer tests.
Industry observers note that note that in normal use, as a drive fills up, performance may decrease due to less NAND for secondary caching, as well as other factors. This issue has abated somewhat with the current crop of SSDs utilizing more mature controllers and far faster, late-generation NAND. Each test is performed on a NTFS-formatted and newly TRIM’d drive so the results are optimal.
The report highlights that he writes reviews on TVs, SSDs, dash cams, remote access programs, Bluetooth speakers, and sundry other consumer-tech devices and programs. Jon Jacobi is a musician, former x86/6800 programmer, and long-time computer enthusiast.