34 AUGUST 2019|COMPUTER SHOPPER|ISSUE 378
ADATA SD600Q
★★★★★
£60•From http://www.alternate.co.uk
Smallfiles
Largefiles
Hugefiles
0% -50 Reference + 50 + 100
Seepage110forperformancedetails
CAPACITY480GB•COSTPERGIGABYTE12.5p•
INTERFACEUSB3•CLAIMEDREAD440MB/s•CLAIMED
WRITE430MB/s•WARRANTYThreeyearsRTB•DETAILS
http://www.adata.com•PARTCODEASD600Q-480GU31-CBL
SPECIFICATIONS
216MB/s
429MB/s
345MB/s
ASUSEFULASexternal SSDs can be,
genuinely interesting examples are fewand
farbetween. Recently,the only two that
have really stood out are the Samsung X5
(Shopper370) and T5 (Shopper358).
Besides these coming from the same
manufacturer,theyalso share the same
traits of high speeds and high prices.
In short, there’s room forsomething
that’s alittle different, while also costing less
than Samsung’s premium drives, and the
Adata SD600Q might well be it. With an
eye-catching design and overdraft-dodging
pricing, it’s got charm to spare,and that’s
not something you can sayabout most
storage hardware.
FUDGINGTHE NUMBERS
It’s not exactly packing bleeding-edge tech,
however.Adata rather sneakily claims –on
its website, the packaging and the
documentation –that the SD600Q uses a
USB3.1connection. This is true in asense,
but it’s only USB3.1Gen 1, or USB3 by another
name.This has alower 5Gbit/s throughput
than ‘true’USB3.1, also known as USB3.1
Gen 2, which can hit 10Gbit/s.
While this means you can plug the
SD600Q intoUSB3 ports –which are farmore
common on PCs and laptops –without any
sense that you’re hamstringing performance,
it also means you shouldn’t expect that
performance to be particularly blazing in the
first place.Adata itself claims some merely
decent maximum read and writespeeds of
440MB/s and 430MB/s respectively,about
on apar with abudget internal SATA SSD.
Still, it’s cheap enough that lower speeds
aren’t aturn-offinthemselves. We tested the
480GB version, which works out at avery
attractive 12.5p per gigabyte. There’s also a
240GB model, which is 15.6p per gigabyte, and
a960GB model, which is the best value of the
bunch at just 11.2p per gigabyte. Compare and
contrast with the Samsung T5, which has
been around since 2017 and still costs 20p
per gigabytefor the 500GB model.
VERDICT
Theoddperformancewobbleisn’tenoughto
spoilthischeapandcolourfulSSD
EXTERNAL SSD
It’s nicely put together,too,even with
some slightly flimsy plastic. This is largely
down to the patterned, textured silicone
that extends in an Xshape to all four
corners. Because this is raised slightly over
the plastic bits, it’s almost impossible forthe
latter to come intocontact with surfaces.
That, and the rubbery softness of the
silicone,grants the SD600Q alimited degree
of shock-proofing. Adata has apparently
drop-tested it from 1.2 metres, and we
didn’t suffer any problems after dropping it
from similar heights.
The silicone can also optionally add adash
of colour: blue or red on the two smaller
capacities, although the 960GB model only
comes in black. All three models, however,
are cutely compact at 80x80x15.2mm, and
with an airy weight of 60g, the SD600Q is
well and truly pocket-sized. You’ll just have
to find room forthe 330mm-long detachable
USB cable as well.
OVERWRITTEN
Performance testing with CrystalDiskMark
initially yielded some disappointing results:
the standard sequential test typically sees
storage drives hit their highest quoted speeds,
but the SD600Q only managed aread speed
of 303MB/s and awritespeed of 398MB/s.
The 4K test was punishing, too, with the
SD600Q averaging a98MB/s read speed
and a92MB/s writespeed –relatively better
than the sequential results, but nowhere
near the Samsung T5’s 299MB/s read speed
and 203MB/s writespeed.
Amazingly,however,Adata’s SSD outpaced
the T5 (which actually does use aproper
USB3.1connection) in our huge files transfer
test: 544MB/s to the T5’s 457MB/s, crashing
through its official speed estimates in the
process. It’s highly unusual foradrive to do
better in our Windows transfer tests than in
the synthetic CrystalDiskMark, but repeated
testing showed this wasn’t afluke.
Otherwise,the T5 remains amuch faster
external SSD.The SD600Q’s huge files read
speed maybebrilliant, but its 314MB/s write
speed is much more down to earth, and its
showing in the large files test was middling,
too. Its 389MB/s read speed and 300MB/s
writespeed are further proofthat the
SD600Q is significantly better at one type
of workload than the other.
A239MB/s read speed result in the small
files test is pretty good, although yet again,
writespeeds couldn’t match it, coming in at
192MB/s. That’s getting close to mechanical
hard disk territory,soifyou’re likely to be
dealing with lots of little files at once (as the
small files test entails), be prepared.
MONEYTALKS
One standout read speed result won’t be
enough to bother the mighty T5, and we’d still
recommend Samsung’s SSD if performance is
paramount. The SD600Q still has plenty of
appeal, however –speed discrepancies with
the T5 are alot easier to look past when
you’re paying close to half as much, and
some bold design touches help mask the
fact that this is abudget-friendly drive.
There maybequicker SSDs, but the SD600Q
is acapable –and interesting –alternative.
JamesArcher
Amazingly,Adata’s SSDoutpaced Samsung’s T5 in our huge
files transfertest: 544MB/stothe T5’s 457MB/s, crashing
through its official speed estimatesinthe process
