Orico NVMe M.2 Enclosure Round-Up Review

Whether you want to utilise an old drive that’s no longer in use of build a whole new portable storage drive, the latest M.2 SSD housings from Orico might be something for you. Today I have two of the latest ones in the office for a closer look. First, there is the beautiful PCM2-C3 which features a full aluminium alloy chassis while the other is the TCM2-C3 which is a transparent casing with an aluminium heat sink.

Orico NVMe M.2 Enclosures

The two M.2 enclosures are identical in the sense of features, functionality, and performance. The difference is in the design which allows you to pick the one best suited for you. Whether you want a clean style or fancy transparency.

You get an enclosure that delivers up to 10Gbps throughput to the installed drive, supports UASP for the best performance, and comes with the latest USB Type-C connector. But not to worry if you don’t have those ports on your system. The casing is naturally compatible with 5Gbps USB ports too and they come with a cable included for that too. The drive is also compatible with Thunderbolt 3 systems such as the MacBook.

The supported drive capacity is rated at 2TB, but in theory, there shouldn’t be anything hindering you from installing bigger M.2 drives. That is if you can find fitting drives with more capacity. The bridge controller which handles the connection is a JMicron JMS583 USB 3.1 Gen 2 to PCIe Gen3x2.

It’s also worth noting that the PCB features an upgradable ROM, allowing Orico to bring out firmware updates should they be needed.

Aluminium or Transparency?

As I mentioned above, which type you go for is only determined by your taste. The PCM2-C3 Orico NVMe M.2 Enclosure has a smooth finish that makes it feel great to touch. The rounded corners give it a perfect finish which makes it look very premium. You could pull it out at a high-level meeting and everyone would think that it’s a nice looking drive that you got there.

The transparent version is a bit more youthful, maybe. As I was younger, this would have been the one I would have gone for. It shows the internals off, including the drive which is installed. Now, acrylics aren’t the best heat conductor and that’s why Orico added a heatsink to it. It breaks the transparency a little bit, but not a lot. It’s a necessary thing to keep your drives cool.

Which Drives Can Be Installed?

The enclosures are for PCIe NVMe drives, but besides that fact, there’s pretty much free reign. You can install M-key drives from 2230 up to 2280.