Iodd recently released the iodd MINI Pro. The new features over the original iodd MINI are that it can now use a USB-C to USB 3.0 A cable (verus Micro B cable to USB 3.0 A cable) and a M.2 2280 SATA3 SSD (vs the 2242 SSD on the iodd MINI). Unforunately, it does not support a NVMe M.2 SSD, only a M.2 2280/2242 SATA3 with a B+K connector. You get your pick of 512GB, 1TB or 2TB sizes. You cannot just buy the enclosure itself which is a bit of a bummer.
Upon receiving the iodd MINI Pro, I opened the back up. There is a black sticker on the back that states “Warranty void if removed”. I removed this sticker and there is a very small screw that you need to remove under the sticker. There are tabs on the bottom and the sides: I highly recommend using an electronics toolkit with a prying tool so you don’t break the tabs off. Attempts to reinstall the screw failed, it is very small and I ended up stripping the threads in the head, so I just left it out (the tabs are good enough for securing the back plate).
Iodd rebranded the SSD with their own label. Looking up the part number on the back it appears to be a rebadge of a Verbatim M.2 SATA SSD from 2022. I’m assuming 22 = 2022 and 02 is the month, so it was manufactured in Feburary 2022.
The case of the iodd MINI Pro has a more premium feeling over the original iodd MINI. The buttons are bigger, have better tactical feel and the LCD display has a nice matte finish to it.
One oddity I found with the ST400 and iodd MINI Pro is that they can only display 30 files in one folder and then an error “Too many files” is displayed, however, on the original iodd MINI, it is able to display more than 30 files in one folder.
Benchmarks:
SEQ1M = Big file transfers speed.
RND4K Q32T1 = Small file multitasking performance.
RND4K (IOPS) = How many small file ops per second.
RND4K (µs) = Latency for those operations.
iodd MINI Pro with Verbatim 512GB M.2 2280 SATA III SSD (comes with iodd MINI Pro purchase)
iodd MINI Pro with Transcend 2TB M.2 2280 SATA III SSD with Dram Cache – MTS830S
iodd MINI with Kingspec 1TB 2242 SSD
iodd ST400 with 1 TB Samsung 870 EVO 2.5 SSD
Drive 1 – iodd MINI Pro with Verbatim 512GB M.2 2280 SATA III SSD
Drive 2 – iodd MINI Pro with Transcend 2TB M.2 2280 SATA III SSD
Drive 3 – iodd MINI with Kingspec 1TB 2242 SSD
Drive 4 – iodd ST400 with 1 TB Samsung 870 EVO 2.5 SSD
Unlike the iodd MINI, it does not come with a carrying case, so you will need to buy one yourself. After measuring the device, I went with this case.
My verdict: buy the ST400 enclosure with no drive and then supply your own 2.5 SSD unless you absolutely need the smaller form factor size. 2.5 SSDs are easier to come by and you aren’t forced into buying a bundled SSD.
- Soli Deo Gloria