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PetaPixel has lengthy been a fan of SanDisk merchandise as a consequence of their once-sterling repute and sometimes glorious efficiency. Nonetheless, a few of SanDisk’s transportable SSDs fail so incessantly that we will not suggest them. So with that in thoughts, what are the perfect alternate options? Luckily, even with SanDisk, Western Digital (SanDisk’s mother or father firm), and sibling operation, G-Expertise, off the desk, photographers and videographers nonetheless have loads of glorious transportable SSDs to contemplate. This story was collaboratively written by Jeremy Grey, Jaron Schneider, and David Crewe. At a Look Why Purchase a Moveable SSD? Earlier than moving into which transportable SSDs are greatest, it’s price briefly discussing why somebody would possibly desire a transportable SSD in any respect. Exterior storage is a good way to develop a pc’s inside storage and have further backups of crucial information in case a drive fails — which might occur with any drive, albeit at a decrease fee than what is occurring with SanDisk.
Within the case of a transportable SSD, which stands for solid-state drive, customers additionally obtain incredible efficiency and speeds {that a} transportable exhausting disk drive (HDD) can not match. Utilizing an SSD as a working drive is a well-liked alternative for a lot of, as they’ll edit images and movies not saved on their laptop. One other benefit of SSD know-how is that it’s usually fairly sturdy. Whereas an HDD has spinning elements which can be prone to wreck when dropped or bumped, SSDs are flash storage and, subsequently, in a position to take far more abuse than HDDs. For photographers on the go, the ruggedness of transportable SSDs is crucial. If somebody is backing up images within the area, it’s essential that the exterior storage can survive a bump, drop, and even an unintentional swim. Some drives included on this information have IP scores for water resistance. In comparison with their HDD counterparts, SSDs are additionally smaller, lighter, and require much less energy. The transportable SSDs on this checklist are powered instantly from the pc (often known as bus-powered) and take up about as a lot room in a bag as an additional digital camera battery or two. In the end, transportable SSDs are a flexible, high-performance storage resolution that permits customers to again information up, work instantly from a drive, and, most significantly, preserve their information secure and safe. What to Search for in a Moveable SSD On condition that PetaPixel felt that it was essential to put in writing a information to the perfect alternate options to SanDisk’s transportable SSDs means that reliability and information safety is of paramount significance. Customers should consider their images and movies are secure on a transportable SSD. Efficiency issues too. For the transportable SSDs featured on this information, we’ve got evaluated their efficiency utilizing Blackmagic Disk Pace Take a look at. This app measures a drive’s sustained learn and write efficiency, measured in MB/s. A drive’s efficiency hardly ever matches producer specs.
Nonetheless, it’s critical to contemplate how shut efficiency is to absolutely the optimum velocity throughout real-world use and the way every transportable SSD compares to the competitors. If a videographer needs to edit 4K 60p video utilizing a transportable SSD as a working drive, their drive have to be quick sufficient to work in that utilization situation. Alongside efficiency, different elements of a transportable SSD have an effect on its worth to customers. Dimension and weight, the standard of the included cable, construct high quality, worth, and even fashion are all important elements. Testing Methodology and Examined SSDs With the intention to present our greatest choice for SSD, PetaPixel evaluated the drives on quite a lot of elements. We checked out pure efficiency (out of the field, when stuffed, and when emptied of information), which we are going to get into extra under, in addition to dimension, warmth generated whereas in use, included equipment, guarantee, and an organization’s historical past within the house. Whereas a few of these elements are subjective, a lot is goal. By combining all these elements and discussing the outcomes as a workforce, we have been in a position to present our picks for the perfect choices. In our testing, we did our greatest to imitate precise use instances for a drive, filling, utilizing when stuffed, and emptying. Consequently, that’s how we categorized a drive’s speeds. As a notice, we count on some deviation of speeds when working and re-running checks. It isn’t uncommon to see jumps and dips in efficiency by as much as 100 and even 200 MB/s with Thunderbolt-connected drives and between 50 and 100 MB/s on USB-C-connected drives. We count on a drive to run slower when full than when empty, and we additionally count on it to bounce again when that full drive is emptied once more. Along with the drives listed under, we additionally examined the Sabrent Rocket Nano XTRM, however as a consequence of some points with our unit and testing inconsistencies, we’ve got opted to go away it off this information for now. And as talked about, whereas we might have included SanDisk merchandise on this check, as a result of ongoing points at Western Digital, we’ve got determined to not focus on the model or suggest its merchandise till notable adjustments have been made that guarantee they received’t fail. Lastly, in all instances we make a remark of what the precise SSD flash unit is inside of every of those transportable drives. Whereas that’s simpler with some than others, we expect this degree of transparency is essential in order that the reliability of a drive over time might be tracked. If an organization is unable or unwilling to offer us with the precise mannequin variety of an SSD flash unit, we are going to notice that. LaCie Rugged SSD Professional LaCie, a Seagate model, was for years synonymous with the time period “rugged” due to its very talked-about sequence of transportable HDDs, the aptly named Rugged sequence. However as HDDs fell out of favor as a consequence of their weak reliability and huge dimension (though Seagate does nonetheless make them), the transition to SSD has not led to LaCie grabbing as robust a maintain on the transportable house because it as soon as loved.
Nonetheless, that doesn’t imply the corporate doesn’t produce high quality transportable SSDs below that Rugged model title, and the LaCie Rugged SSD is a stable performer that retains a lot of the id of the unique Rugged line, sans the ostentatious orange coloration (that may be discovered on the non-pro variations of the SSD although). LaCie Rugged SSD Professional Just like the Rugged drives of outdated, the Rugged SSD is surrounded by a thick rubber layer that retains it secure from drops and even some liquid, offered none of it touches the open USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 port on the facet. LaCie advertises it as IP67 water and mud resistant, which is greater than most drives of comparable dimension can declare. Leaping into efficiency, we have been very happy with what the Rugged SSD Professional was able to. Out of the field, it averaged 2,650 MB/s learn speeds and 1,804.7 MB/s write speeds (examined with a Thunderbolt connection, so count on not more than half this degree of velocity utilizing USB-C). When practically full, the drive continued to impress, with 2,689.1 MB/s learn speeds and 1,375.2 MB/s write speeds. The learn speeds are inside an anticipated deviation vary when doing checks like this and the write speeds, whereas slower which is predicted, are nonetheless fairly excessive. As soon as the drive was emptied, it settled at nonetheless nice efficiency: 2,561.5 MB/s learn speeds and 1,530.4 MB/s write speeds. What additional differentiates the brand new SSD from the outdated HDDs is that it’s a lot smaller and lighter. It measures 3.9 by 2.6 by 0.7 inches and weighs a scant 0.22 kilos, making it one of many smallest and lightest drives we examined. Contemplating the problem in managing velocity, capability, and warmth the smaller a drive will get, that is all fairly spectacular. In use, the LaCie Rugged SSD Professional does get heat, however by no means will get scalding scorching like a few of its contemporaries, seemingly as a result of rubber case that surrounds the precise SSD, which seems efficient in sinking warmth. It’s accessible in 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB configurations for $210, $270, and — bafflingly — $1,000 respectively. You’ll wish to keep away from the 4TB model for what must be apparent causes; at that worth, it’s not deal. No matter which capability you choose, it ships with a really brief Thunderbolt 3 cable — like, very brief: it’s lower than a foot lengthy. It doesn’t ship with a USB-C cable or a USB-C to USB-A cable, so in case you don’t plan to make use of Thunderbolt 3, you’ll have to provide your individual connection.
For many who wish to verify on the reliability of the flash reminiscence, the LaCie Rugged SSD makes use of a model of the Seagate FireCuda 530 SSD. This SSD has some glorious efficiency and reliability numbers, which is one other constructive on the Rugged SSD’s facet. General, the LaCie Rugged SSD Professional is a worthy successor to the storied Rugged title and performs extraordinarily effectively. Additionally it is backed by a five-year guarantee — essentially the most we’ve got seen within the SSD house — and it’s a sturdy, light-weight, and really small SSD that has the advantages of Thunderbolt on its facet — solely considered one of two we’ve got examined that brings that functionality to the desk. You pay for it, nonetheless, and it’s not going to be the perfect worth for many who don’t need or use Thunderbolt. Execs: Very quick, stays cool, is sort of sturdy, is small and light-weight, and has a five-year guarantee.Cons: Costly, particularly in case you’re not utilizing Thunderbolt. Synology BeeDrive The Synology BeeDrive is a compact transportable SSD designed for transportable information backup that makes use of USB 3.2 know-how. Alongside fairly good {hardware} efficiency, the BeeDrive works alongside an accompanying app on desktop and cell to allow choose folder backup, model historical past preservation, and file syncing. Synology BeeDrive For customers with a number of computer systems, similar to a piece and residential laptop, Synology BeeDrive routinely syncs information from one gadget to a different as quickly as it’s plugged in. With BeeDrive for cell, customers can backup instantly from their cell gadget as effectively over Wi-Fi, guaranteeing that they’ll liberate invaluable storage on their cellphone or pill. BeeDrive can sync with as much as 5 cell units.
Nonetheless, BeeDrive’s spectacular software program options are at present solely accessible on Home windows, Android, and iOS. BeeDrive additionally works alongside iCloud Photographs on iOS. A macOS model is within the works and coming quickly. Whereas the software program for BeeDrive remains to be in improvement for macOS, the gadget stays an interesting transportable SSD possibility on macOS within the interim. Obtainable in 1TB ($119.99) and 2TB ($199.99) variations, the BeeDrive is a compact, ready-to-go transportable SSD with good software program. The transportable SSD can be very light-weight. Not like among the different transportable SSDs on this information, the BeeDrive has a plastic outer shell. Whereas which will appear “low-cost” at first look, it’s nonetheless rated to outlive drops as much as two meters (about six and a half toes) and the plastic shell stays impressively cool throughout use. The BeeDrive ships with a 0.3m (11.8 inches) USB-C to USB-C cable. Nonetheless, the drive additionally features a dongle for USB-A that one finish of the USB-C cable plugs into. It’s a intelligent resolution and a lot better than delivery two separate cables. Synology BeeDrive The cable feels high-quality and sport BeeDrive branding on them, which is a pleasant contact. The BeeDrive’s USB-C port feels a bit unfastened, however the cable stays connected even when frivolously tugged. As for efficiency, Synology BeeDrive is aggressive with lots of the choices on this information. The BeeDrive’s learn velocity averages simply above 870 MB/s when the drive is empty and round 841 MB/s when it’s full. The gadget’s write velocity hovers from round 765 to 800 MB/s throughout the board.
Synology was unable to present PetaPixel any indication as to what the flash unit contained in the BeeDrive is or who manufactures it. It’s protected by Synology’s five-year guarantee, although. Synology BeeDrive General, the Synology BeeDrive is a pleasant transportable SSD with clever software program for file syncing and file backup throughout units. It’s barely disappointing that the BeeDrive is just not accessible in a 4TB model, nevertheless it stays a compelling alternative for individuals who desire a transportable SSD extra for backup and file switch moderately than as a super-powered working drive. Execs: Compact and light-weight design, stays comparatively cool throughout use, and works alongside clever syncing and backup software program.Cons: Not very quick and the software program is just not accessible for macOS (but). Samsung Defend T7 The Samsung T7 Defend transportable SSD is compact, light-weight, and sturdy. With IP65 ranking for mud and water resistance and Dynamic Thermal Guard to regulate warmth, it’s a nice alternative for photographers and videographers on the go. Additionally it is rated to outlive drops of as much as about 10 toes. The T7 Defend is available in 1TB ($79.99), 2TB ($119.99), and 4TB ($249.99) capacities and in three colours (black, blue, and beige). The gadget has a ridged design with a soft-touch rubber end that retains the drive firmly planted on a desk or desk. Samsung T7 Defend SSD
PetaPixel examined the 4TB T7 Defend, which is just accessible in black, and it weighs just below 3.5 ounces and is is 3.5 inches lengthy. The gadget is 2.3 inches tall and 0.5 inches thick. Its footprint is about the identical as a bank card. The included USB-C to USB-C and USB-C to USB-A cables are 0.45 meters lengthy (1.48 toes), which is unusually lengthy for a transportable SSD, and are completely effective in use. The T7 Defend’s USB-C port provides a robust connection to the connected cable. As for efficiency, Samsung guarantees learn/write speeds of as much as 1,050/1,000 MB/s. In testing, the drive didn’t fairly attain these speeds and was among the many slowest SSDs that PetaPixel examined. Contemporary out of the field, the learn velocity got here up simply in need of 800 MB/s and the write velocity was round 650 MB/s. When full, the learn velocity dropped right down to about 650 MB/s whereas the write velocity stayed regular at round 650 MB/s as effectively. Samsung T7 Defend SSD This efficiency is just so-so, however there’s nonetheless fairly a bit to love in regards to the Samsung T7 Defend SSD, together with its aggressive worth, rugged design, and Samsung’s respected flash storage know-how. Samsung says that the flash contained in the T7 is made in-house however didn’t give us a particular mannequin quantity, which makes it troublesome to trace reliability over time. Samsung’s SSDs are largely well-respected, although, and it’s protected by the corporate’s three-year guarantee.
For content material creators who benefit from the nice outside and don’t require absolutely the quickest doable transportable SSD storage resolution, the T7 Defend SSD is a wonderfully affordable possibility. Execs: Rugged design with climate resistance and reasonably priced pricing.Cons: The slowest general possibility within the information. OWC Envoy Professional FX OWC’s Envoy Professional FX is what you get in case you care about efficiency and nothing else. Whereas it’s not by any means massive, particularly in comparison with the HDD choices that was once the norm, it’s far and away the biggest SSD we examined by a minimum of an element of 4. It measures 0.8 by 4.3 by 2.6 inches. It’s huge, chunky, and shockingly heavy, nevertheless it does convey the perfect efficiency to the desk. OWC Envoy Professional FX Identical to the one different Thunderbolt SSD on this checklist, the Envoy Professional FX is IP67 rated. In a fall, given its beefy aluminum building, we don’t doubt it’ll be extra prone to break no matter it lands on than be damaged itself, too. We preserve citing the burden however that’s as a result of it’s so absurd: the OWC Envoy FX Professional ideas the scales at a frightening 0.54 kilos. Greater than half a pound! By comparability, you could possibly match six Essential X10 Professional SSDs into the burden of 1 Envoy FX Professional of the identical capability. Whereas it’s not going to win any contests for its portability, it does shine in efficiency. Out of the field, it clocked in at 2,720.2 MB/s learn speeds and a pair of,121.2 MB/s write speeds. As soon as stuffed, that expectedly dipped to 1,504.2 MB/s learn speeds and 1,787.8 MB/s write speeds. As soon as emptied once more, it rebounded to 2,682.4 MB/s learn speeds and a pair of,103.5 MB/s write speeds. We did notice it acquired fairly scorching throughout use to the purpose it wasn’t snug to the touch it for very lengthy. The Envoy Professional FX completely hauls in comparison with the remainder of the drives we examined, exhibiting the perfect efficiency by margin. It additionally ships with a fairly lengthy 2.3-foot Thunderbolt 4 cable (despite the fact that it’s only a Thunderbolt 3 drive) that comes with a USB-A adapter, which is a pleasant addition. It additionally contains OWC’s three-year guarantee.
OWC Envoy Professional FX Given its heft and bodily dimensions, we suggest the Envoy Professional solely for many who really want the velocity — video editors, particularly, come to thoughts. They’ll get essentially the most worth, however in case you don’t want these excessive speeds or don’t take care of Thunderbolt, you’ll be greatest served Essential or Samsung’s choices. One thing else to notice is that the SSD contained in the Envoy Professional FX is a Kioxia Fifth-gen BiCS Flash which, whereas designed by Kioxia, is manufactured by Western Digital. WD is in scorching water with the SanDisk state of affairs (and different issues), so something related to the model carries with it some stigma. We don’t have any cause to consider this drive will fail like first-party WD drives, this explicit SSD has reviewed effectively, and we belief OWC, however those that wish to keep away from WD completely will seemingly wish to look elsewhere. The OWC Envoy Professional FX is accessible in 480GB, 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capability choices at $195, $220, $300, and $450 respectively instantly from OWC. Execs: The quickest possibility we examined, sturdy construct, and comes with a three-year guarantee.Cons: Very huge and heavy Essential X10 Professional SSD Essential, a Micron firm, is a relative newcomer to the transportable SSD house, a minimum of in the case of supporting photographers and filmmakers. That stated, it’s a really well-known model within the PC house and makes among the best-quality reminiscence merchandise to be used in computer systems. Micron can be the previous mother or father firm of Lexar, which implies that it a minimum of has some expertise with constructing merchandise for creatives, even when it’s been a couple of years because it performed on this sandbox. The Essential X10 Professional is the nicest and highest-end SSD product the corporate makes now, which is why it was chosen for this information. Another excuse is that it’s most likely the drive that’s best with Samsung given dimension and promised efficiency.
Essential X10 Professional Talking of dimension, the Essential X10 Professional may be very small: it’s 2.5 by 1.75 by 0.25 inches, making it simply match within the palm of the hand and is smaller than a bank card outdoors of the thickness. It additionally weighs subsequent to nothing at 0.09 kilos (40.7 grams). It’s the smallest SSD we’ve got ever examined. Essential says that it was in a position to pack critical efficiency into this tiny type issue with out compromising it with extreme warmth era due to some intelligent {hardware} choices. The X10 Professional makes use of single-ASIC transportable storage structure to ship a super-compact, high-speed drive that has essentially the most capability per sq. millimeter within the business whereas additionally producing much less warmth. I can affirm this final bit to be correct as whereas the X10 Professional did get heat, it by no means acquired so scorching that it was uncomfortable to the touch. It additionally performs very effectively. Whereas the corporate designed it to work greatest with USB 3.2 Gen 2×2, that’s not a standard connection proper now, so we examined it with the belief that almost all patrons wouldn’t have entry to it. The X10 Professional registered 919.7 MB/s learn speeds and 845.1 MB/s write speeds recent out of the field. That dipped barely to 652 MB/s learn speeds and 653.8 MB/s write speeds when practically stuffed to capability, however bounched again to 879.2 MB/s learn speeds and 831 MB/s write speeds when emptied once more. That may be very regular efficiency that bests Samsung’s T7, its closest competitor, throughout the board. Essential says that the X10 Professional makes use of Micron’s TLC NAND flash, stating that it’s at present Micron’s 176-layer TLC NAND. Whereas the corporate didn’t give us an actual mannequin quantity, that narrows the doable chips it could possibly be right down to principally one: the Micron 2400 sequence. Micron’s SSDs are largely effectively revered and it backs the X10 Professional with a stellar five-year guarantee, which is greater than common. The Essential X10 Professional ships with a fairly brief 9.5-inch USB-C cable and is accessible for in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB configurations for $120, $170, and $290 respectively — it’s already accessible for much less from choose retailers, piling on to an already glorious worth. This drive won’t have the “rugged” exterior of its friends, however is IP55 rated so it’s more durable than it appears to be like. It’s a quick, dependable, and intensely compact resolution price strongly contemplating. Execs: Tremendous small, moderately quick, reasonably priced, and stays cool throughout use. It additionally comes with a incredible five-year guarantee.Cons: The most effective efficiency is locked behind USB 3.2 Gen 2×2.
Exascend Explorer Moveable SSD The Taiwan-based Exascend won’t be a family title, however the model has been making storage units since 2006, so they’re no newcomer. The model has been supporting the photographer and videographer markets and not too long ago impressing with the efficiency of, particularly, its reminiscence playing cards. Exascend Explorer Moveable The Explorer Moveable SSD is considered one of three completely different transportable stable state drive choices from the corporate and is arguably essentially the most rugged, boasting powerful shockproof casing with added rubber exterior “pores and skin” and an IP67 ranking in opposition to water and mud. This extends past simply the exterior case because the protecting coatings are utilized to the interior circuit boards and embedded elements as effectively, successfully defending the whole gadget from any potential climate injury. The USB-C drive measures roughly 4.3 by 2.46 by 0.6 inches (110mm by 62.6mm by 1.55mm) making it not the smallest on this checklist, however nonetheless very simple to tuck away in any bag or pocket for straightforward journey. The Explorer weighs about 7.8 ounces (222 grams) with the included USB cable, which is on the heavier facet. The drive doesn’t get too scorching to deal with when in fixed use. Throughout testing, the Explorer was actively studying and writing information nonstop for a number of hours and whereas it get notably heat to the contact, it was by no means what we’d classify as “scorching.” The silicone case seemingly has rather a lot to do with that. Exascend Explorer Moveable Exascend declined to inform PetaPixel the precise mannequin and producer of the flash SSD contained in the Explorer, solely going as far as to say it’s a 3D TLC Flash unit. Moreover, whereas Exascend guarantees some fairly sky-high efficiency numbers, it suffers from the identical difficulty that the Essential X10 Professional does: you’re solely going to get these on the uncommon USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port. On typical USB-C connections, the unit reached 954.9 MB/s learn and 933.4 MB/s write speeds when empty, 827.5 MB/s learn and 805 MB/s write speeds when full, and 831.7 MB/s learn and 828.1 MB/s write speeds when emptied once more. General, superb numbers for a non-Thunderbolt gadget and whereas it isn’t as quick because it was straight out of the field, the numbers are nonetheless good.
Whereas Exascend received’t say what precise SSD lives contained in the Explorer housing, the corporate does supply a stellar five-year guarantee and guarantees that it could deal with as much as 12,000 TB written earlier than the reminiscence cells begin to degrade. The Exascend 20Gbps Moveable SSD ships with a 18 inch USB-C cable (with included USB-3 adapter) and a silicone rubber case for added safety. It’s accessible in 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, and 8TB configurations for $159, $249, $499, and $1,259 respectively. Execs: Pocket Sized, moderately quick, and comes with a 5 yr guarantee.Cons: Heavy, and requires USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 to achieve most quoted speeds. Efficiency Outcomes At a Look To assist perceive the type of efficiency you possibly can count on from these drives, we’ve charted all their efficiency on a single graph: Throughout the board, we felt that the entire drives we examined carried out fairly effectively from a pure efficiency standpoint. Whereas some acquired hotter than others which could affect how lengthy a drive’s lifespan will likely be, we don’t suppose there’s a “dangerous” SSD of this group. Nonetheless, we do have our favorites. PetaPixel’s Prime Picks The Greatest USB-C Moveable SSD in 2023: Essential X10 Professional
The most effective USB-C Moveable SSD accessible now could be the Essential X10 Professional SSD. Backed by Essential’s and Micron’s sterling repute, the X10 Professional SSD delivers nice velocity in an impressively compact type issue. It’s the smallest SSD that we’ve got ever examined and it weighs simply 0.09 kilos (40.7 grams). It’s usually the case that packing swift storage right into a compact package deal can lead to extreme warmth. Nonetheless, that’s not the case with the Essential X10 Professional due to Essential’s intelligent transportable storage structure. The Essential X10 Professional SSD goes to indicate that good issues do are available small packages. It is very important notice that whereas the Essential X10 Professional SSD is our choose for the perfect USB-C transportable SSD in 2023, it’s not the outright quickest one which we examined. That honor goes to the Exascend Explorer. Nonetheless, the Exascend Explorer slowed down greater than the Essential drive after prolonged use and the Taiwanese firm refused to inform PetaPixel the particular flash storage used within the Explorer. Nonetheless, it’s nonetheless a terrific possibility. That stated, the Samsung T7 Defend and Synology BeeDrive are additionally compelling selections. They lack the velocity and efficiency of the Essential and Exascend transportable SSDs, however the T7 Defend and BeeDrive supply sturdiness and complex software program options, respectively. The Greatest Thunderbolt Moveable SSD in 2023: LaCie Rugged Professional The LaCie Rugged Professional SSD is the perfect Thunderbolt-equipped transportable SSD in 2023.
Its velocity is simply barely shy of the OWC Envoy Professional FX however the LaCie is considerably smaller and runs cooler. The OWC additionally makes use of SSD know-how designed by Kioxia — nice! — however manufactured by Western Digital — much less nice. For that cause, we desire the LaCie Rugged SSD Professional and its Seagate SSD. But when that doesn’t hassle you and also you don’t care that in regards to the further weight, it’s a speedy little SSD. Whereas we fortunately suggest the LaCie Rugged SSD Professional as the perfect Thunderbolt drive on this checklist, we advise in opposition to the 4TB model. Not due to any efficiency issues, however due to its eye-watering worth of $1,000 and relative rarity on retailer cabinets. The 1TB and 2TB variations are moderately priced at $210 and $270, respectively.
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