The ASUS TUF Gaming A1 enclosure is another premium option for those looking for the toughest enclosure out there. The good thing about this enclosure is that it supports both M.2 SATA and M.2 NVMe drives. This one is the best M.2 SSD Enclosure for everybody who wants ASUS’s reliability but at a little higher price point.

Generally if the drive is readable I'll boot off a custom WinPE disk I built and run USMT to salvage the user profile data to a compressed MIG store. Then I'll replace the drive or laptop, re-image, and restore the salvaged profile. So the faster the drive is the faster I can complete these tasks. Which makes users happier. I've been using a M2 Sata enclosure, but I also have 2.5" external cables that let me plug a 2.5" directly into a USB port.The Sabrent EC-USASP has an on / off switch, something you won’t find on most SSD enclosures but a nice convenience if you want to leave it plugged in but only power it on when you need it. Most 2.5-inch SATA enclosures have USB 3.0 micro B as their output port and come with USB Type-A to micro B cables. However, the EC-USASP has a USB 3 Type-A port (5 Gbps) and comes with a Type-A to Type-A cable. So, if you are planning to connect the enclosure to a laptop that has only Type-C ports, you can use a USB Type-A to Type-C cable (something many people have lying around the house) to do so. The ultrafast performance that this enclosure guarantees stems from its USB-C 3.2 Gen 2×1 interface that supports transfer speeds reaching up to 10 Gbps.

When I look at the military-grade toughness, it translates to a robust build quality, fulfilling the MIL-STD-810H standards for drop resistance, alongside boasting an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance. This promises enhanced durability, potentially making the enclosure a long-lasting companion for users, safeguarding the housed SSD from common environmental adversities. The SSK Aluminum M.2 SSD enclosure stands out as a portable option to house your NVMe PCIe and SATA M-key/B+M connector M.2 SSDs. First, focusing on the applicable SSDs, it caters to M-Key and B+M connectors and accommodates 2242, 2260, and 2280 size solid-state drivers. In short, you can use both M.2 NVMe and M.2 SATA SSDs.Another aluminum enclosure that is sleek and reliable in thermal performance. This enclosure is only available for M-Key M.2 SSDs i.e. M.2 PCIe NVMe SSDs of up to 80mm in size. Most popular brands such as Samsung and Sabrent produce them. One last caveat to drop in before we get to our product recommendations surrounds Intel's SSD line. Intel for a while sold a family of M.2-based storage products under the brand name Optane, in two very distinct types of drive. Intel's"Optane SSDs"were SSDs like any other, bootable drives that can serve as a stand-alone boot drive or as secondary storage. They were discontinued for consumers in 2021, but you may still see them around. (Intel sold its SSD business at the end of 2021 to SK Hynix, which spun it off into a new subsidiary, Solidigm.) I actually did a bunch cause it I was a bit bored at work. I did a Sandisk Extreme 64GB, Sandisk Ultra Flare 32GB, Samsung EVO 850 1TB 2.5", Intel SSD Pro 2500 256GB SATA too. Almost regardless of the SSD used, any USB 3.2 Gen 2 M.2 enclosure should be able to use all of its 10 Gbps bandwidth. The exception would be if you use a SATA SSD in the M.2 form factor, which would then of course be limited by its internal 6 Gbps interface. Although some enclosures support these drives, the drives themselves are rare and most will use at least a PCI-Express 3.0 (Gen3) SSD. It is plug-and-play supported. However, you would need a screwdriver to install your drive inside it. You also get an LED indicator. Designed to accommodate M and B&M keys along with a broad spectrum of SSD sizes ranging from 2230 to 2280, it offers a home for SSDs with capacities of up to 8TB.