INTRODUCTION

   I'm a firm believer that no matter how much storage space one has it's never enough at least not the way things are currently so i always like to keep quite a few TB's of empty space around just in case. Unfortunately although 5TB 3.5" desktop hard drives are just right around the corner the small size of 2.5" HDDs has kept things slightly less impressive and so it may be quite a few years before we finally see even 4TB portable drives. However in a way the very definition of portable means that you can't expect to have the same things on the go like you do at the comfort of your home or work so for most people even 500GB are obviously more than enough to handle their mobile storage needs. Today on our test bench we have one such portable hard drive and more specifically the latest Diamond D20 500GB USB 3.0 model by our friends over at Silicon Power.

   Silicon Power Computer & Communications Inc., founded in 2003 by a group of enthusiastic specialists in International Business, Global Marketing, and Technical Engineering of flash data storage industry. Well dedicated in brand image and product quality, Silicon Power has been recognized and well accepted by millions of end-users in more than 100 countries, becomes the world's leading manufacturer of flash memory cards, USB flash drives, card readers, DRAM modules, solid state disks, and portable hard drives in less than a decade. Headquartered in Taipei, we continuously established various branches throughout the world including Netherlands, Japan, Russia, Mainland China and other emerging market to reach the worldwide market. Silicon Power's overall performance has gradually drawn great attention worldwide. In 2006, we received Taiwan Rising Star Award for our foreign business achievement. In 2008, we won 17th National Outstanding Small & Medium Enterprise Award for our outstanding progress. Moreover, with superior quality and innovative design, our products stood out in several competitions and awarded Taiwan Excellence and COMPUTEX Design & Innovation Award in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Winning trust of global consumers, Silicon Power holds a record of successive double-digit revenue growth for last seven years. According to the Common Wealth Magazine's 2010 Survey of Taiwan Top 1000 Manufacturers, our 2009 revenue growth rate was ranked No.11 among Taiwan's top 1000 manufacturers, and even ranked No.1 in semiconductor industry. Positioned as Passionate, Creative and Hungry for Success, Silicon Power introduces products for users who are seeking individualized, unique and personal digital storage devices. With the mission of creating unprecedented experience for users, Silicon Power will endeavor to deliver a full range of high quality products that have innovative designs, distinctly unique features and comprehensive after sales services to create and fulfill your personal memory.

   At first glance the specifications of the Diamond D20 pale in comparison to the previously reviewed Armor A80/A15 portable hard drives again by Silicon Power mainly because it lacks a rugged anti-dust, pressure, shock and water resistant housing. However it's Silicon Power we are talking about so not all is lost and this time over the Diamond D20 is a lot smaller and features an aluminum anti-scratch housing. Under the hood Silicon Power has placed an Scorpio Blue 2.5" HDD by Western Digital featuring a rotational speed of 5400RPM along with 8MB of buffer. As always the drive is accompanied by the SP Widget software suite by Silicon Power which allows you to check the health of the drive, backup your important files onto the drive, lock your computer and much more. However as usual we are mostly interested in the drive itself so let's see how well (or not) it does against the competition.