Safe as in a safe: TOP-5 protected external hard drives

Silicon Power Armor A80 2.5" SP010TBPHDA80S3B 1 TB

In this review, we have two hard drives with metal cases — the Armor A80 and a more expensive drive from Western Digital (which will be discussed later). The cases of the other reviewed models are made of plastic, which, of course, gives them a gain in weight, but hardly provides additional resistance to shock. No wonder this model is called Armor, which means armor.

The Silicon Power hard drive has been on the market for a few years now, but the 1000GB model is relatively new. There is also a similar device on the market with 500 and 2000 GB. The engineers decided not to change the design of the model — simple, but familiar to many users. Therefore, outwardly, the novelty practically does not differ from its “older” counterparts in this line. In the review, there is another development of this manufacturer, Armor A30, which looks more original, although made of plastic.

Despite the low price for a drive with a protected case, the Armor A80 is well equipped with personal protective equipment. The drive fulfills the "standards" of two protection standards at once: MIL-STD-810F 516.5 (should withstand a fall from a height of 1.22 m without problems) and IEC 529 IPX7 (it can survive half an hour of being under water at a depth of 1 m and is not afraid of dust). Acceptable operating temperature is from 5°C to 55°C. Therefore, it is suitable for extreme working conditions, although it should be used outdoors in frost at your own peril and risk.

Like other models in our TOP-5, Armor A30 is connected to a PC and other devices via a USB connector and it supports both the USB 2.0 standard and the faster USB 3.0. Speed characteristics are normal: when connected to a computer via USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 interfaces, data copying speed is approximately 30 and 70 Mbps, respectively.

With case dimensions of 139.4x94x18.1 mm, the Armor A80 hard drive weighs 270 grams. Such dimensions cannot be called compact compared to conventional 2.5-inch form factor drives. In addition, Armor A80 is heavier than protected plastic drives. However, if you take into account the affordable price and the metal case that provides good protection, then you can turn a blind eye to this drawback.

The device comes with two cables of different lengths. For a short wire, a special groove is provided in the side of the disc body. At the opposite end there is only a connector covered with a rubber plug for connecting this cable. By the way, the developers decided not to use the usual microUSB, preferring a regular-sized USB connector. In the box with the device there is also an instruction manual and a CD with the SP Widget software. The programme allows you to synchronize the contents of selected folders on the user's PC with the hard drive, encrypt data, etc.

A-Data HD710 AHD710-1TU3 1 TB

The A-Data model looks more like some kind of sports accessory than a computer peripheral. The device has several colours — black, black with a blue or yellow insert. The LED indicates the connection to the PC and the performance of operations with files, and the microUSB connector, which is closed with a plug. And there are no buttons on the case. Perhaps the creators of the DashDrive Durable HD710 are hinting that the drive is suitable for people who combine business with an active lifestyle or lead it out of the office, such as photographers who shoot reports.

Despite the use of plastic rather than metal in the housing, DashDrive Durable HD710 supports the IEC529 IPX7 water and dust protection standard, as well as the US military standard MIL-STD-810F 516.6. According to A-Data, the device is quite capable of withstanding an hour under water at a depth of 1.5 m, a shock from a fall from a 1.4-metre height and temperature fluctuations in the range from 5 °C to 50 °C. Due to the “armor”, the device is larger and heavier than unprotected models — with dimensions of 132x100x21 mm, its weight is 221 g.

We advise you not to pay attention to the data transfer speeds claimed by the manufacturer (up to 5 Gb / s over USB 3.0. In fact, as reviews on various sites show, files are written and read at speeds of 50-75 Mb / s. A typical result for a form drive -factor 2.5".

Transcend StoreJet 25M3 TS1TSJ25M3G 1 TB Price from 2 826 up to 4 498 ₴ →

Another plastic drive, however, equipped with rubberized inserts that help the device stay on slippery surfaces. This is good, because for the safety of the device it is important not only to protect it from drops, but also to reduce the possibility of slipping and marks like scratches. The device from Transcend does not look as stylish as the previous model, but is more practical in everyday use.

In addition, the StoreJet 25M3 has its own "chip" — a button, pressing which starts data backup. A useful feature for those who plan to use an external drive to back up important documents, photos, music and other files. In addition, it allows you to activate the drive without disconnecting from the USB connector and reconnecting if the user has disabled it in the Windows settings. And Transcend Elite's proprietary utility will allow you to use 256-bit AES encryption so that no one else copies your files.

Of the supported security standards — army MIL-STD-810F METH. 516.5 Proc.IV. The device theoretically should remain operational after accidental shocks or falls from a height of up to 1.22 m. There are no plugs for connection and data connectors in the case. That is, the device is not immune to moisture.

The dimensions of the device are 129.5x82.4x20.4 mm, and the weight is 216 g for modifications with a capacity of 0.5 and 1 TB and 230 g for the version with a 2 TB HDD. Technical parameters and speed of work are similar to competitors. Only a few of the users on the forums complain about a noticeable heating of the case when recording large amounts of information.

Silicon Power Armor A30 2.5" SP010TBPHDA30S3K 1 TB Price from 2 552 up to 4 899 ₴ →

With this model, Silicon Power takes revenge in this review. Because unlike the first hard drive in the review, Armor A30 can hardly be blamed for lack of style or excessive overall dimensions. On the contrary, this is the lightest device in today's review, while looking quite original. The dimensions of the device are 134x87.5x18.6 mm, and its weight is 181 g.

Among the supported protection standards are the military MIL-STD-810F 516.5 IV (the device is not afraid of several drops from a height of 1.22 m and survived after one fall from a height of 3 m) and waterproof IEC529 IPX7, which is able to protect the device in "submarine" mode ' within half an hour.

According to the manufacturer, additional impact resistance of the hard drive is provided by special silicone protrusions on the sides, which usually take a hit when dropped. Their second function is to fix the cable used to connect to the PC. Also, the company's engineers applied a special design inside the case to increase stability during shaking. Finally, the special surface of the case protects the Armor A30 from scratches and fingerprints, and the metal screws that hold it together also inspire confidence in its durability.

The manufacturer claims data transfer speeds of up to 5 Gb / s when using a USB 3.0 connection. However, in fact, the speed, at best, reaches 70-80 MB / s. Also note that, like the Armor A80, this model comes with SP Widget for file encryption and backup.

WD My Passport Pro 2.5" WDBRMP0020DBK 2 TB

The outer "armor" of My Passport Pro is made of anodized aluminium, which adds rigor and solidity to its appearance. This drive has not been certified to military standards, but is more reliable than most conventional external HDDs. Actually, Western Digital does not have such models in its assortment. And there are other drives with a metal case, in particular WD My Passport Ultra Metal.

The dimensions of the device are 143.4x88.5x28.7 mm, that is, it is noticeably thicker than other disks. However, given the presence of two drives inside, this can be put up with, because in this case the means justifies the end. A distinctive feature of this hard drive is increased reliability not only against unforeseen adventures, but also protection against failures of the HDD itself, implemented using RAID technology.

The factory configuration is set to RAID 0, which provides high speed file copying. And to ensure maximum data security, it is recommended to install RAID 1. All data will be duplicated on different disks. This greatly reduces the risk of data loss if one of the built-in drives fails or partially fails, but the capacity available for writing files (2 or 4 TB) is halved. The drive comes with the WD Drive Utilities application, which allows you to independently diagnose the drive according to the SMART standard, configure RAID, etc.

The second feature of My Passport Pro is the use of a proprietary Thunderbolt interface and compatibility with Mac OS. Therefore, the audience of the device is Apple computer users. So, the drive is suitable for creating backup copies of files using the Apple Time Machine programme. The Thunderbolt interface not only provides power to the device over the same cable that transmits data, but also allows you to transfer information at high speeds. For example, WD estimates that high-definition (HD) video can be copied to a PC at up to 233MB/s (when RAID 0 is selected). Although, in fact, the results will not be as impressive, it is still an excellent result. By the way, the Thunderbolt cable is not disconnected from the gadget, so it will not get lost.