ADATA HD720 Durable 1TB External Hard Drive Review

Bohs Hansen / 9 years ago

Final Thoughts

Pricing

At the time of writing the 1TB ADATA DashDrive Durable HD720 USB 3.0 HDD can be had for $69.99 at Amazon, £53.21 at CCL Online, or for €72.49 through Geizhals.

ADATA HD720-Chart-PricePerGB

Conclusion

You need a very durable drive when you got an active lifestyle that involves technology or if you’re just clumsy and tend to drop your things or spill fluids over them. If you fit into either of these categories or if you just want a drive that is more durable than most, then the ADATA HD720 Durable External Had Drive will be a great choice. With its rugged design, the HD720 can withstand drops from up to 1.8 meters height and survive being submerged in up to two meters of water for up to two hours. The HD720 is also dust proof on top of the water and shock proofing. Overall, a drive that it’s hard to kill.

The performance is about what we would expect from a 2.5-inch mechanical drive, coming in around the 120MB/s at sequential operations. The access times will always suffer a little via USB in comparison to a native SATA drive, but the HD720 still managed 15ms to 18ms access times in our tests. The drive can’t just withstand shocks, it also warns you about them with its built-in G-Shock sensor. It will flash red when a shock is registered and turn back to blue when it’s safe to use the drive again.

The overall design is fresh and effective at the same time and the wrap-around USB cable makes sure that you have everything in one place and in a convenient form factor when on the go. The use of a 2.5-inch HDD inside the HD720 allows it to run of just the USB cable, eliminating the need for extra power adapters.

While I tested the 1TB model today, it is available with 500GB and 2TB capacities too. Just the right storage amount for your secure and portable storage needs. Coupled with a 3-year warranty and a cheap price makes this drive a safe purchase.

Pros

Dust, Water, and Shock-proof with built-in G-Shock Sensor
Good performance
Up to 2TB capacity
Wrap-around USB cable
3-year warranty

Cons

USB cable too short for some front-faced tower IO ports

“The ADATA HD720 Durable Portable HDD is a prime example on how it is done. A great durability with higher than common ratings and a solid performance make it a sure choice.”