Sabrent Rocket Nano 2TB M.2 2242 NVMe SSD Review

Today’s storage review is of a classic, yet a little bit different drive. I’m taking a closer look at the 2TB Rocket Nano NVMe (SB-1342-2TB) from Sabrent. It is a 2242 form factor which is quite a bit smaller than the usual 2280 SSDs. It is also a DRAM-less design.

Sabrent Rocket Nano NVMe SSD

Most people will go for a 2280-sized M.2 module for their build, and they should if it fits. But it won’t always fit in smaller SFF or mobile systems. That is where physical smaller drives come into play, such as the Sabrent Rocket Nano. Sabrent takes close to everything known from the larger drives, compacts it, and creates the Rocket Nano.

As mentioned above, the Rocket Nano is a 2242-sized M.2 module which brings on a few limitations – mainly the physical size. It’s kind of a given, but it is also the reason that the drive is a DRAM-less version. There simply isn’t space for extra memory modules when there also has to be so much capacity. And yes, you can get a lot of capacity in this tiny drive. With up to 2TB capacity in a size of just 22 by 42mm, it’s impressive. Besides this 2TB version which I’m testing today, there’s also a 1TB and a 512GB version available.

There is one small thing to consider before you purchase this drive and that is whether your system supports a dual-sided drive. It features 4 NAND chips besides the controller which means that there are two chips on each side. Some tight notebooks only support single-sided modules.

Performance and Endurance

The drive utilises Toshiba BiCS4 3D TLC NAND which allows it to perform well, even without the extra DRAM chip. It is rated for a performance of up to 2500MB/s when reading and 2100MB/s when writing. While that isn’t as much as the full-sized version, it’s still a good speed. Even more so when you consider the size of the drive.

By default, Sabrent backs the drive with a 1-year warranty which can be extended to 5 years by registering the drive within 90 days of the purchase.

What Does Sabrent Have To Say?

“The Sabrent 2TB Rocket NVMe PCIe M.2 2242 DRAM-less Low Power Internal High-Performance SSD (SB-1342-2TB) delivers all the advantages of flash disk technology with PCIe Gen3 x4 interface and it is fully compliant with the standard Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF), commonly known as M.2.

Based on Toshiba’s BiCS4 TLC NAND Flash memory, its speed performance can reach up to 2500MB/s read and 2100MB/s Write.
DRAM-less Low Power SSDs use much less power than traditional hard drives, making it the best-embedded solution for new systems.”

You can read more about the drive and its details on the official product page and series page.

Feature Highlights

• Tiny size for the smallest SFF and portable systems
• Available with up to 2TB capacity
• PCIe 3.1 Compliant, NVMe 1.3 Compliant, Power Management Support for APST / ASPM / L1.2
• Supports SMART and TRIM commands. Supports ONFi 2.3, ONFi 3.0, ONFi 3.2 and ONFi 4.0 interface.
• Quality packaging and free Acronis True Image included