INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   It's no secret that both government and large company employees fall victims of data theft quite often (industrial espionage also happens to be on the news lately) so for such people data security/safety is of the outmost importance when out to get a new portable drive. Of course, performance and storage capacity are also two very important factors when choosing a portable drive and so it all comes down to what choices are available in the market and of course just how good they are (cost on the other hand is usually of no concern to such buyers). For good or bad only a handful of manufacturers are in the business of hardware authenticated portable drives and iStorage is among them so after testing their diskAshur PRO2 512GB SSD model aimed towards buyers who are after high-performance today with us we have the diskAshur PRO2 5TB HDD model which is aimed towards buyers looking for the sweet spot between performance and capacity.

   iStorage is the trusted global leader of award winning PIN authenticated, hardware encrypted data storage devices. Delivering the most innovative products to securely store and protect data to military specified encryption levels; safeguarding valuable business information whilst ensuring compliance to regulations and directives.

   Just like all the previous products we've reviewed by iStorage the diskAshur PRO2 is also a tamper-proof (protected against brute attacks, external tamper, bypass laser attacks and fault injections) PIN authenticated (platform/device independent / 7-15 digit codes) USB 3.1 portable drive (currently available in 500GB/1TB/2TB/3TB/4TB/5TB for the HDD line and 128/256/512/1TB/2TB/4TB for the SSD line) that features real-time military grade FIPS PUB 197 validated AES-XTS 256-bit hardware encryption (FIPS 140-2 Level 2-3/NCSC CPA/NLNCSA BSPA/NATO Restricted Certified). Safety/security measures however once again expand into other areas of the drive so leaving out the usual epoxy covered keypad (makes it virtually impossible for people to tell which have been used) and the super tough epoxy resin layer placed over its interior components (virtually impossible to remove without causing severe damage) the enclosure of the diskAshur PRO2 is also IP56 certified (dust and water resistant). For all of you who may be wondering as to what HDD models iStorage is using for their diskAshur PRO2 line our sample arrived with the Barracuda 5TB model by Seagate (ST5000LM000 - 5400RPM/128MB Cache).

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the front of the box we see a large product picture placed next to the main product features and a sticker with the capacity and type of the included drive.

 

 

A drawing of compatible devices and several drawings showcasing the bundle contents are placed on the right side.

 

 

The serial number, barcode and product capacity are all printed on a sticker located on the left side.

 

 

Turning the box around we see the complete product features and specifications list printed in 5 languages.

 

 

Wrapped inside bubble wrap and placed in a formed piece of cardboard the drive is secure during transport.

 

 

Along with the diskAshur PRO2 Portable HDD iStorage also packs a carrying/storage case, ESET DriveSecurity and NERO BackItUp license papers, product disclaimer paper and a quick start guide.

 

 

THE DISKASHUR PRO2 5TB PORTABLE HDD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Measuring 124mm in length, 84mm in width and 28mm in height the 331g heavy diskAshur PRO2 5TB Portable HDD is quite compact (still just like the other models of the line because of the top keypad and all the interior components of the drive size is not its strong selling point).

 

 

To have a better idea about its size we placed the diskAshur PRO2 5TB Portable HDD right next to the diskAshur PRO2 512GB SSD and diskAshur 2 1TB by iStorage and the SECUREDRIVE BT 2TB by SECUREDATA.

 

 

At the top of the enclosure we find the epoxy coated keypad and 3 activity LEDs (locked/unlocked/activity).

 

 

An integrated USB cable is stored on the right side of the enclosure (unfortunately the cable is short so you may need an USB extension cable).

 

 

4 small rubber feet are placed at the bottom of the drive.

 

 

Here we see a picture of the ST5000LM000 2.5" HDD by Seagate used in this version of the diskAshur PRO2.

 

 

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 is repeated for a total of 6 times and after that the average (not peak) numbers are recorded into our charts. As always every test was performed in a fresh installation of Microsoft Windows 10 Pro with every update installed up to February 8th 2019.

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Once again iStorage has released a top-notch product in the market that not only features industry leading data security/safety features but it also combines very good performance with a massive storage capacity (for a 2.5” portable model). Granted the HDD version of the diskAshur PRO2 line may not be quite as fast as the SSD one (although since the SSD version doesn’t use the fastest models difference is not what one would expect) but the 5TB model topped our portable HDD charts. True we haven’t tested every single portable HDD in the market to say that it’s the fastest one around still the ones we have represent a very good chunk of what’s available out there. That being said at the end of the day the short USB cable of the diskAshur PRO2 is our sole concern although getting your hands on an extension cable is very easy not to mention cheap (and it should come in handy in general).

   PIN authenticated drives are aimed towards specific buyers and so they don’t exactly fall in the affordable category. To be more specific at the time of this review the diskAshur PRO2 5TB PIN Authenticated Portable HDD by iStorage retails for USD451 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 512Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) a price tag which for most people will seem as a bit hefty. Still we need to remember that such drives are aimed towards people who need them for work and simply put to them money is of no concern. Overall the diskAshur PRO2 5TB PIN Authenticated Portable HDD has it all, top of the line security/safety features, very good performance and a massive capacity which is why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality (IP56 Certified Enclosure)
- PIN Authenticated
- Security Measures (AES-XTS 256-bit Hardware Encryption/EDGE Chip/Interior Epoxy Layer)
- Very Good Performance (For A Portable HDD)
- Hardwired USB Cable
- Available In 500GB/1TB/2TB/3TB/4TB/5TB Capacities
- HDD & SSD Models
- Epoxy Coated Keypad (Wear Resistant)
- DriveSecurity & NERO BackItUp Software License
- Bundled Carrying/Storage Case

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- USB Cable Length