RIHAO USB4 SSD Enclosure + HP FX900Pro 2TB SSD: A Simple Unboxing and Review

RIHAO R40 Max (Fan Version) USB4 M.2 SSD Enclosure and HP FX900Pro 2TB SSD Unboxing and Review.

This enclosure and SSD were purchased to serve as an external system drive for a Mac Mini—Apple's storage upgrades are notoriously expensive... (Upgrading to 2TB costs ¥5,550).

RIHAO R40 Max Enclosure

Purchase link: https://s.click.taobao.com/tM84nws

Product Specifications

• Brand: RiHAO
• Product Name: M.2 USB4 High-Speed SSD Enclosure
• Model: R40 Max (Fan Version)
• Supported SSD: M.2 2280 NVMe
• Internal Interface: M.2 M-Key
• USB Standard: USB4 / Compatible with Thunderbolt 3/4 / USB3.0 / 2.0
• USB Transfer Rate: 40Gbps
• Material: Aluminum Alloy
• Net Weight: 79g
• Package Dimensions: 138x100x20mm
• Weight with Packaging: 136g
• Warranty: 1 year

Review

Packaging Front

Packaging Back

The back of the packaging indicates that the product is manufactured by Guangzhou Rihao Electronics Technology Co., Ltd., with a production date of January 2025.

Inside the Box

The box contains the SSD enclosure, a USB-C to USB-C cable, a manual, a screwdriver, and thermal pads.

Enclosure Internals

After removing the screws and opening the top cover, you can access the SSD slot. The circuit board has the marking U142-V2.2, likely the version number. One of the screws securing the PCB has a tamper-evident label, which can be removed carefully with tweezers for non-destructive disassembly.

Removing the PCB reveals a small fan and several chips, with thermal paste applied to the main chip.

Main Chip

The main chip is the ASM2464PD. Manufacturer information: https://url.zeruns.com/ASM2464PD

Translated description:

The ASM2464PD, developed by ASMedia Technology, is a next-generation USB4®/Thunderbolt to PCIe/NVMe accessory controller based on a proprietary PHY design. It encapsulates PCIe and USB protocols into the USB4/Thunderbolt architecture, enabling cross-domain transmission. The ASM2464PD is designed for various storage devices, such as portable SSDs and SSD enclosures, and supports a data rate of USB4/Thunderbolt 20Gbps x2. It is compatible with USB 3.2 and Thunderbolt 3 interfaces, and the downstream port is upgraded to PCIe Gen4 x4. The chip integrates USB4/Thunderbolt Gen3 x2, PCI Express Gen4, built-in USB Type-C CC logic, and BMC PHY, driven by a 25MHz local oscillator. It comes in a compact, RoHS-compliant package and supports multiple GPIO pins for customization.

Additionally, there's a P25D80SH chip, an 8Mbit (1MByte) Flash chip by PUYA, compatible with W25Q80, likely for firmware storage.

Other visible components include two DCDC power chips labeled HU3T and GU3T (no datasheets found), and another chip labeled 3124 4SJ1 (also undocumented).

Cable E-Marker Information

Using the WITRN C5 tester, the included cable is confirmed to support USB4Gen3/Thunderbolt 4. Manufacturer code: 0x315C, PD3.1 EPR 50V 5A support.

Thermal Imaging

Using a Uni-T UTi261M thermal imager (review: https://blog.zeruns.com/archives/798.html):

1. Without a heatsink, the idle temperature of the main chip reaches 76℃ and is still rising (ambient temperature ~20℃).
   
2. After reassembly, the back of the enclosure shows a peak temperature of 42.2℃ during heavy read/write (ambient temperature ~20℃).
   

HP FX900 Pro 2TB SSD

Purchase Link: https://u.jd.com/qDs3mLK

The main attraction of this SSD is its 2GB DRAM cache.

Specifications

• Interface: PCIe Gen4x4
• Capacity: 2TB
• Cache: 2GB
• Sequential Read Speed (MB/s): 7400
• Sequential Write Speed (MB/s): 6700
• Random Read Speed (IOPS): 1,344K
• Random Write Speed (IOPS): 1,122K
• Dimensions: 80 x 22 x 3.2 mm
• Weight: Less than 10 g
• MTBF: Over 1,000,000 hours
• Storage Temperature: -40 to 85℃
• Operating Temperature: 0 to 70℃
• Vibration Resistance: 3.1GRMS (2-500Hz)
• Shock Resistance: 100 G/6 ms
• Certifications: CE, FCC, RoHS, cTUVus, KCC, BSMI, VCCI, RCM
• Warranty/Endurance: 5 years / 1200 TBW

Review

Front Side of Packaging

Back Side of Packaging
The label states that the manufacturer is Shenzhen Biwin Storage Technology Co., Ltd.

Inside the Box
The SSD comes with a manual and a single screw.

Back of the SSD

Close-Up of Interface Details
The graphene heat spreader extends from the bottom, wraps around the central foam, and stretches to the top, increasing the cooling area but also adding to the thickness of the SSD.

Side View of the SSD
The SSD has four NAND flash chips, one controller chip, and two DRAM chips.
Research from other reviews reveals that the controller is the Rainier IG5236 by InnoGrit, built on a 12nm FinFET process. It supports PCIe Gen4x4 and NVMe 1.4, and its DRAM controller accommodates DDR3/DDR4 chips. The maximum sequential read/write speeds are 7400MB/s and 6700MB/s, respectively.

The DRAM chips, sourced from Nanya Technology, are DDR4 chips (model NT5AD512M16A4-HR) with a capacity of 1GB each, running at DDR4-2666. Combined, they provide 2GB of DRAM cache.

The NAND chips are Micron's BW29F4T08EULE, each with a capacity of 512GB. These four chips create the 2TB storage capacity, likely achieved through 3D NAND stacking technology.

Measured Thickness
The total thickness is 5.6mm as measured with a caliper.

Problem with Enclosure
Due to the SSD's thickness, it cannot fit properly in the enclosure.

Performance Testing in Enclosure

CrystalDiskInfo Results

Blackmagicdesign Disk Speed Test (Mac)
Sequential Write Speed: 2605.9MB/s
Sequential Read Speed: 2938.3MB/s
(Limited by the enclosure and interface speeds.)

AmorphousDiskMark 4.0.1 (Mac)
Sequential Write Speed: 3313.35MB/s
Sequential Read Speed: 3235.95MB/s
4K Random Read (Single-Threaded): 80.7MB/s
4K Random Write (Single-Threaded): 44.69MB/s
(Limited by the enclosure and interface speeds.)

Thermal Imaging Under Load
Maximum surface temperature: approximately 56.1℃ (ambient temperature ~20℃).
The heat performance is satisfactory.

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