Compact M. 2-based external SSDs have been growing in popularity and it’s no wonder why. They max out the performance of USB 3.2 Gen 2 connections with crazy read and write performance, are extremely durable, and their size is a lot better than any hard drive based external option. I’ve had the chance to check out a variety of the options in the past. Alongside of them, some companies make M.2 external enclosures that do all of the same things, but you just add your own drive inside. They are a nice option to use an old SSD or offer you the chance to be able to upgrade later. Viper, the gaming brand of Patriot has had a few including their latest Viper VXD which I’m going to check out today.