By: Aaron Lai
December 29, 2023
One thing that I have started watching in the last year is Formula 1. I had always known about the racing sport and the greats of the 2000s and 2010s, such as Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, and Lewis Hamilton. However, prior to this year, I had yet to watch any race. So, when my girlfriend started watching, I thought it would be an interesting sport to get into. The first thing that surprised me was the number of recognizable people still racing. Drivers like Hamilton, Alonso, and Daniel Ricciardo show it is possible to continue to compete and show their prowess despite their age over newer drivers. The second thing that was neat came more from the continued influence of social media, as it led me to learn more about the drivers' personalities. However, it is no surprise the real allure of F1 for me is the raw speed of the cars. From behind the camera, I do not think I can really get the sense of the immense pace of these cars. Even when I play games like F1 23, the speed does not translate into a feeling. However, when I hear announcers talk about drivers taking corners at 200mph, or how their safety car limits the cars to our typical highway speeds, it gives a bit of a perspective in the numbers. Until I actually watch a live race, I do not think I will get an understanding. In a similar way, when ADATA announced their latest SE920 1TB drive, they provided estimates of up to 3800MB/s read speed. The numbers themselves did not really jump out of the page at first until I realized this was an external SSD. As one of the first USB4 drives available to users, what does the SE920 1TB bring? Are there any other differences other than speed? Read on to find out!
Today's review unit of the ADATA SE920 1TB arrived from ADATA's offices in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Traveling with DHL and their Express Worldwide service, this box arrived in relatively average condition. It was shrink-wrapped to prevent water damage and seal off the contents. The edges were slightly dented, but all in all it was alright. You can also see a blue tape wrapped around all of the crevices to ensure unintended recipients are detected if they open it.
Out of the shipping container, you can see the box of the ADATA SE920 has a very bright and pink retail box. It is interesting to see how they made such a bright box for what is otherwise a pretty average looking portable SSD. At the top, we have the company logo followed by the product name. Underneath, you can see the "External SSD" description, along with one of the major features being "USB4 40Gbps Type-C", which we will get into afterwards. In the middle, we have the SSD itself with a bright blue LED illuminated on the drive. Underneath, we have other specifications, including a maximum speed of 3800 MB/s, compatibility with two current generation consoles from Sony and Microsoft, as well as the capacity. A 2TB variant of this external drive is also available.
Before we continue, I have grabbed the specifications from the manufacturer's website for your viewing pleasure:
Specifications
Color: Black
Capacity: 1TB / 2TB
Dimensions (L x W x H):
- Fan-off(Case closed): 105 x 64.2 x 15.9mm / 4.13 x 2.52 x 0.62inch
- Fan-on(Case extended): 122.56 x 64.2 x 15.9mm / 4.82 x 2.52 x 0.62inch
Weight: 181.52g / 6.4oz
Interface: USB4 (USB 40Gbps) ( backward compatible with USB 3.2/2.0 )
Sequential Read (Max*): Up to 3,800 MB/s
Sequential Write (Max*): Up to 3,700 MB/s (USB4), Up to 3,200 MB/s (Thunderbolt4)
Operating system requirements: Windows 10 / 11, MacOS 13 or later (formatting required for use), Linux Kernel 6 or later, Android 13 or later
Op. Temperature: 5°C(41°F) to 35°C (95°F)
Op. Voltage: DC 5V, 3A
Accessories:
- USB4 Type-C to C cable
- Quick Start Guide
Warranty: 5-year limited warranty
Out of the box, we have the ADATA SE920 1TB external SSD packaged in a plastic shell. We have a braided USB Type-C to Type-C cable, which is said to support the transfer speeds required for 40Gbps speed. The cable is packaged separately in a translucent bag. Finally, we have a small quick start guide, which includes information about the free backup software provided by ADATA as well as the warranty information. As you see in the specifications above, we have a five-year warranty included with this SSD, which is similar in length to the current competition.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look, Test System
3. Benchmark: AIDA64 Disk Benchmark
4. Benchmark: ATTO Disk Benchmark
5. Benchmark: Crystal Disk Mark 8.0
6. Benchmark: HD Tune Pro 5.70
7. Conclusion
