Silicon Power Armor A65 1TB USB 3.0 Hard Disk Review

Introduction There are a lot of different methods for portable storage and one of them is external hard disk drives. Today I'm taking a closer look at such a solution and it isn't just the run of the mill drive either. Silicon Power released the Armor A65 back in march and I'm really looking forward to seeing how it performs with everything it can do. One of the big selling points in this drive is the durability and protection. The drive is shockproof, waterproof and dustproof, comes with encryption software, and it has been rigorously tested. The Armor A65 is the first portable hard drive that passes the IP67 standard in the industry that certifies complete protection against dust penetration, has passed the U.S military's drop test and can stay submerged in up to 1 meter of water for up to 30-minutes. The outside of the drive has a rubberized surface that gives you a great grip on the drive, so even though it is shockproof you most likely won't drop it by accident. The downside to this surface is how well it holds onto dust and other particles. Below is a photo of the drive after I tried to wipe it with a cloth and it had the completely opposite effect. Instead of getting clean, it sucked anything out of the cloth. Good thing that the drive is waterproof, so cleaning it isn't any issue. I just held it under running water and rinsed it off before drying it with a paper towel. The result is a great looking drive again. The Armor A65 consists of two layers of rubber and a middle frame to create a unibody design which makes the casing very resistant and durable. The internal suspension system provides a vibration damping function to reinforce overall stability while the outer rubber cover not only creates a shockproof shell but makes the surface anti-slip and anti-scratch. Featuring advanced 3-layer protection, the rugged Armor A65 is an expert in shock resistance which I'm really looking forward to testing. It's rare that I get to be reckless with hardware. We've established that the drive is very robust and can withstand a lot, but it is also a portable drive and has to be convenient - and it is. The Silicon Power Armor A65 comes with a built-in ledge on the bottom of the drive where you can insert in included USB 3.0 cable and have everything neatly store together. To meet different storage needs, the Armor A65 is available in 500GB and 2TB capacity options besides the 1TB that I'm testing today. Armor A65 Product Features: Compliant with the U.S. military drop-test standards MIL-STD 810G Method 516.6 Procedure IV (transit drop test), a freefall test (122cm) on 26 contact points. Industry's first to meet IP67 dustproof/waterproof standards Advanced internal hard drive suspension system Delicate cable storage design SP HDD Lock Utility free software download for full disk encryption (Note: Please remember your password and keep it safe. If you forget it you will not be able to access your data.) SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface Intelligent LED indicator Easy to plug and use; no external adapter required SP Widget free download software, providing 7 major back-up and security functions Armor A65 Product Specifications: Dimensions: 143.4 x 86.7 x 20.7 mm Weight: 242~277g (by capacity) Capacity: 500GB、1TB、2TB Material: Rubber/ Plastic Color: Black Interface: USB 3.0 / USB 2.0 compatible Data transfer rates: Max. 5 Gbps (USB 3.0 Mode); Max. 480 Mbps (USB 2.0 Mode) Power supply: DC5V (Power supplied through USB) Supported operating systems: Windows 8.1/8/7/Vista/XP, Linux 2.6.31 or later, Mac OS 10.5 or later Operating temperature: 5℃~ 55℃ Storage temperature: -40℃~ 70℃ Warranty: 3 years Test Procedure Test system: Gigabyte Z79X UD5H-BK Intel Core i7-4790K Corsair Vengeance 16GB 2400MHz Kingston HyperX Savage 240GB EVGA GTX 980 SC Software used: AIDA64 Storage Benchmark Anvil's Storage Utilities ATTO Benchmark CrystalDiskMark I'll be running almost all the benchmark tests on the empty drive first followed by a fillage scenario of 25%, 50%, and 75%. This will give us a detailed analysis on how the drive performs under different load scenarios. On each of the following pages, I'll be inserting screenshots from each test as well as a performance analysis chart and drive comparison chart. As the AIDA64 write tests require the drive to be unpartitioned we don't get any fillage report here, instead we get a great view on the drives bare performance. This drive is both shockproof and waterproof and those two features also have to be tested. I'll drop test it from my desk several times and fully submerge the drive in water to see if it survives as it should. AIDA64 AIDA64 is a streamlined Windows diagnostic and benchmarking software for home users. It provides a wide range of features to assist in overclocking, hardware error diagnosis, stress testing, and sensor monitoring. It has unique capabilities to assess the performance of the processor, system memory, and disk drives and is compatible with most Microsoft Windows operating systems. It also has a disk benchmark tool, and that is the one I'll be using. The Linear Read and Write tests measure the sequential performance by reading or writing all sectors without skipping any. It gives, as the name says, a linear view on the drives overall performance from start to end. The Random Read and Write tests measure the random performance by reading or writing variable-sized data blocks at random locations on the surface of the drive. The Random tests are actually a combination of both speed and access times as it moves the position before each new operation. The Access time tests are designed to measure the data access performance by reading or writing small 0.5KB data blocks at random locations on the drive surface. Anvil's Storage Utilities Anvil's Storage Utilities is a new benchmarking utility that we have started using here at eTeknix, it's completely free to download and has the ability to test mainly hard drives and solid state drives, but also any other form of storage medium that you can throw at it. As well as testing the drive in a variety of benchmarking tests, it also has a drive endurance test that consistently reads and writes data to the selected medium to give days, months and potentially even years of use in a shorter period of time to see how the drive copes in the longer term. Compressible Incompressible Drive Performance Drive Comparison For the purpose of drive comparison, I will be using the performance figures from both unconditioned and conditioned tests with 0% data-fill. ATTO The ATTO Disk Benchmark performance measurement tool is compatible with Microsoft Windows. Measure your storage systems performance with various transfer sizes and test lengths for reads and writes. Several options are available to customize your performance measurement including queue depth, overlapped I/O and even a comparison mode with the option to run continuously. Use ATTO Disk Benchmark to test any manufacturers RAID controllers, storage controllers, host adapters, hard drives and SSD drives and notice that ATTO products will consistently provide the highest level of performance to your storage. Drive Performance Drive Comparison For the purpose of drive comparison, I will be using the performance figures from both unconditioned and conditioned tests with 0% data-fill. CrystalDiskMark CrystalDiskMark is a small HDD benchmark utility for your hard drive that enables you to rapidly measure sequential and random 4KB/512KB read/write speeds. Drive Performance Drive Comparison For the purpose of drive comparison, I will be using the performance figures from both unconditioned and conditioned tests with 0% data-fill. Drop & Submerge Tests The drop test and submerge test are the two I have been looking most forward to with this drive, it is rare that i get to be reckless with hardware on purpose. The submerge test is very easy to perform and I simply placed it in a container filled with water and set the timer for 30 minutes. When the 30 minutes are over and the alarm goes off, I take the drive out and dry it off. After having made sure that it's completely dry I connect it to my system again and see there, everything works as it should. The drop test is also very simple, I placed the drive near the edge of my table and 'accidentally' pushed it down a couple of times. An easy thing to do and one that will happen to a lot of people over time. Luckily this drive easily survives that part too. Final Thoughts Pricing At the time of writing this review, you can find the Silicon Power Armor A65 1TB portable hard drive for $64.99, £61.00, or €90.00 at the respective Amazon. Conclusion Silicon Power have created a great portable hard drive with the Armor A65. It comes with a full range of features to protect your valuable data while you're out on the go as well at home. It is shock proof, water proof, and dust proof, making sure that the environment won't cause you to lose data even if you should be a bit clumsy or unlucky. The drive didn't break any performance records, but that was to be expected as it's a 2.5-inch HDD on the inside and it runs at a lower RPM than some other drives. It still performed very well with at least 80MB/s throughput. The upside to it being a 2.5-inch drive is that it gets enough power through the USB 3.0 cable and doesn't require any extra power sources. Who would want to carry around a bulky power supply while on the go? The design is beautiful and the drive feels great to hold. The outside features an anti-slip rubber surface that doesn't just let you hold onto the drive, but also holds well onto dirt, hairs, and dust. Luckily you can just hold the drive under water and it's clean again. The included cable ledge helps to keep everything in one place and it is the cheapest USB 3.0 HDD per GB that we've tested so far. Pros Good performance Dust, Water, and Shock-proof Light and Portable Extra durable Good price Cons Anti-slip coating also holds on to dirt well. "If you're clumsy by nature or just out in nature a lot and want a portable hard disk that can survive you, then get a Silicon Power Armor A65. It's cheap, well protected, and performs well." Thank You Silicon Power for providing us with this sample.