"An external SSD that can beat Samsung T3," read the title of an email that I recently received. Curious, of course, I investigated further to observe that ADATA was backside the bold claim. Its purported 'T3 destroyer' was also the smallest external SSD you can buy with an IP68 rated shockproof, waterproof and dustproof enclosure.

I couldn't pass on taking a look at this tiny yet apparently mighty portable SSD. Dubbed the SE730, it weighs a mere 33g (1.1oz) and measures 72.7mm long, 44mm broad and 12.2mm thick (2.8" x i.7" x 0.4"). The bulk of the enclosure has been constructed from aluminum and depending on your preference comes in either an anodized blood-red or golden finish.

Like Samsung's T3, ADATA's SE730 features a Blazon-C (USB 3.1 Gen2) connector simply comes with a Type-C to Type-A USB cable for broader compatibility. The drive only requires four.5 watts to operate so it can be powered from the USB interface.

ADATA claims that the SE730 is good for a throughput up to 550MB/due south when reading and up to 450MB/s when writing data, based on sequential read/write numbers from ATTO Disk Benchmark.

In contrast, Samsung's offering lists up to 450MB/s for both the read and write throughput of the diverse T3 models, so on paper ADATA certainly await to be at least a olfactory organ alee in the functioning section.

Something worth noting however is that while the T3 can be purchased in 250GB, 500GB, 1TB or even 2TB models, the SE730 only offers a 250GB chapters. That'southward a little disappointing for a product that is meant to put the T3 out to pasture.

Variety certainly isn't the SE730's strong point, but how about value? Well we know the Samsung T3 series costs $100 for the 250GB model ($0.40/GB), $170 for 500GB, $370 for 1TB and a absurd $730 for the 2TB unit of measurement ($0.36/GB), which is to say the smallest model represents the worst value.

Unfortunately, the SE730 does zero to improve that situation at a toll of $120 or $0.48 per gigabyte. Priced near eighteen% higher than the 250GB T3, the SE730 will take to be quite a bit faster for it to make financial sense. Let'southward find out if it is...

Benchmarks

The ADATA SE730 is indeed faster than the T3 in our single big file download test, sustaining a transfer speed of 441MB/s, or 15% faster than the T3 -- a great start for ADATA.

Unfortunately, the SE730 did skid behind the T3 in the game download test, dropping to a throughput of 263MB/south making it 13% slower here.

The SE730 struggled massively in the plan download examination. Hither it managed a transfer speed of 117MB/s making it almost 50% slower than the Samsung T3.

When measuring single file upload operation, the SE730 roughly matched the quondam T1 drive, making it slightly slower than the T3.

The SE730 is again less than ten% slower than the Samsung T3 in the game upload test, though it'southward concerning to meet that it's slower at all.

Finishing upwardly the upload testing is our program data and here the SE730 was 14% slower than the T3 as the throughput dropped below 100MB/southward.

The copy tests combine the read and write functioning and here we see when working with big files the SE730 can sustain well over 100MB/s. That said, with a throughput of 149MB/s, the SE730 was still xi% slower than the T3.

This fourth dimension when copying our game data on-deejay, nosotros again notice that the SE730 is 11% slower than the T3.

Finally, the program copy exam and every bit was the case with the download examination, the SE730 really struggles here. ADATA's piddling portable SSD was down 42% on the T3 every bit the throughput maxed out at 74.3MB/s.

Final Thoughts

We're not sure what to make of ADATA's new portable SSD. The company came out swinging with claims of its drive being faster and ameliorate than Samsung's T3 series. That's a tall lodge and they ultimately fell brusque on commitment.

Perhaps the biggest issue is that you can refer to Samsung's T3 as a 'series', whereas the SE730 is a single 250GB bulldoze. We wonder how ADATA plans to compete in a space so populated with portable SSDs of varying capacities.

At $120+ the SE730 250GB is competitively priced, just the T3 tin can be bought in many sizes with the 250GB model currently going for $100. For a fleck more than money, you can also buy the 500GB T3 ($170). It has to be said that the Samsung T3 looks and feels higher in quality, even the USB Type-C cable is a lot nicer. The T3 is also slightly faster, at least the 1TB model that we take is.

ADATA's compact packaging certainly has appeal so does being waterproof, dustproof and shockproof. Aesthetically, the gold version didn't do much for me but I did like the cerise model.

Shopping shortcuts:

  • ADATA SE730 External Rugged SSD on Amazon
  • ADATA SE730 External Rugged SSD on Newegg

In the cease, performance, capacity, design and pretty much everything else tin accept a back seat as the price is what'due south problematic here. We realize ADATA is coming upwardly against a titan in Samsung, but information technology's a fight they picked so nosotros were admittedly hoping the SE730 packed a more than powerful punch.

Pros: Compact enclosure that'south water/dust/shockproof. Strong single big file download speeds.

Cons: A bit slower, pricier and cheaper feeling than Samsung'due south T3, which also comes in more than capacities.