INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   While typing the review of a portable hard drive (PHD) roughly a year ago i mentioned that it was the first time that 2.5" drives closed in to 3.5" ones in terms of capacity since back then we had up to 1TB of the first and 4TB of the second (1/4). Unfortunately today things are not just as good and although the same 1/4 ratio still applies the end result is very different since aside the very popular 2TB 2.5" models in the market also available are 8TB 3.5" ones. So yes although the 1/4 ratio remains the same in the end 3.5" drives can still offer up to 6TB more compared to 2.5" ones. Regardless 2TB is still lots of space for data on the go and although some of you may argue that we now even have 1TB USB flash drives the price/capacity ratio gap between those and 2TB PHDs is huge. Today on our test bench we have the latest 2.5" USB 3.0 portable hard drive from Silicon Power the Armor A60 model.

 

   Silicon Power Computer & Communications Inc., founded in 2003 by a group of enthusiastic specialists of flash data storage industry. Well dedicated in brand image and product quality, SP 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. With superior quality and innovative design, our products stood out in several competitions and awarded Taiwan Excellence and COMPUTEX Design & Innovation Award in 2009 and 2010. Winning trust of global consumers SP holds a record of successive double-digit revenue growth for last seven years. For SP, the product we introduced is not only a digital storage device but also a real promise to create and preserve your most valuable memory in every moment.

 

   As the name suggests just like the USB 3.0 compatible A80/30/15 models we've tested in the past the A60 is the latest addition in the Armor line of 2.5" rugged portable hard drives by Silicon Power. Unlike however the extremely rugged IPX7 certified enclosure of the Armor A80 model the A60 model features an IPX4 water-resistant enclosure which is also shockproof for drops from heights up to 122cm (certified via the U.S military MIL-STD 810G Method 516.6 Procedure IV). The A60 also uses the same system to "store" the cable (more like route around the drive itself) like the one used in the A30 model and although i don't really agree with it (i prefer the A80 solution) still it works as advertised. All that's left is to see how well it performs compared to the rest of the Armor line (and more) so let's do exactly that.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just like with past Armor models the box allows you to take a look at the drive from the clear plastic opening at the front while right next to that you can see the main unit features and its capacity.

 

 

Some examples on how many media files you can store in 500GB/1TB/2TB are present on the left side.

 

 

The features of the Armor A60 are listed at the rear in 14 languages right above the specifications table, bundle contents, OS compatibility list and company contact information.

 

 

Along with the A60 and the attached USB 3.0 cable you will also get a user’s manual.

 

 

THE ARMOR A60 2TB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 280g heavy black/green rubber enclosure of the A60 PHD measures 138.5mm in length, 85.9mm in width and 23.2mm in height.

 

 

We placed the A60 right next to our favorite A80 and as you can see the 2nd is just slightly larger.

 

 

Both the company logo and the line name are printed on a polished area at the top of the drive.

 

 

The USB 3.0 cable is held in place via two small hooks but since the hooks are attached on the soft rubber area of the drive don't be alarmed if you remove them while trying to detach the cable (you can place them back easily).

 

 

A small rubber piece covers the USB 3.0 port which is placed on the lower end of the drive.

 

 

At the rear we see a sticker with the company logo, certification logos and model capacity.

 

 

Inside the drive Silicon Power has placed a 2TB Green HDD by Western Digital. The WD20NPVX model is 15mm thick, features a rotational speed of 5200RPM (via intellipower) and 8MB of cache.

 

 

TEST BED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TESTING METHODOLOGY

 

   Keeping things simple so even people new in the field of computers can understand will always be our way so once again our testing procedure is almost exactly the same as the one we use with 2.5/3.5" external docking stations. This time however we will be comparing the product at hand with a wide range of 2.5" portable drives and standalone 2.5" enclosures all of which were benched using a HGST 7K750 SATA II hard disk drive. Our standard selection of benchmark suites is used here as well including the famous HD Tach RW (Long Bench 32mb Zones), HD Tune Pro (read/write -when possible- speeds), Sisoftware Sandra Pro (Read/Write - also when possible- speeds), AIDA64 (Linear Read/Random Read), Crystal Disk Mark x64 (100MB/1000MB read/write speeds) and finally the quite outdated yet highly reliable ATTO 2.47 (Max Read/Max Write speeds). Every test was repeated for a total of 6 times and after that the average (not peak) numbers were recorded into our charts. As always every test was performed in a fresh installation of Microsoft Windows 7 Service Pack 1 with every update installed up to September 3rd 2014.

 

 

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK X64

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - TEMPERATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   We've always enjoyed testing portable hard drives from the Armor line by Silicon Power because let’s face it, we all have data we need protected at all times and that particular line offers exactly that (it's no surprise that we've been using the A80 1TB in the lab since the day we reviewed it almost two years ago). However that's not all the A60 2TB has going for it and so thanks to the WD20NPVX 2.5" Green HDD by Western Digital it also offers very good performance numbers and although not the highest in our charts this is just the 2nd PHD we get with a 2TB drive inside so for more "conclusive" results we should wait and see what other similar capacity models have to offer. The green/black color combination of the enclosure is not my favorite (black and red would look much better) but everyone else here seems to like it so i doubt that would stop consumers from purchasing the A60 (however i hope Silicon Power eventually offers their PHDs in more than just a single color combination).

 

   At the time I’m typing these lines the A60 2TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive by Silicon Power retails for just USD107.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 124Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) so this is yet another plus since you can only find regular non-rugged 2TB models for around the same price point. As far back as i can remember we never had a problem with any of the drives in the Armor line we've tested to date and although we wish there were more color combinations for one to choose from with so many models currently available Silicon Power has certainly covered most tastes (the A80 is blue, the A30 is available in black/orange and white/grey and the A15/A60 models are available in green/black). Overall the A60 is a worthy addition to the Armor line of portable hard drives and that's why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Design
- Size
- Military Grade Rugged Enclosure (Water/Shock/Drop-proof)
- Very Good Performance
- Low Temperatures
- SP Widget (Free Download From Silicon Power)
- 3 Year Warranty

 

CONS

- Design May Not Appeal To Everyone