Adata SE920 2TB External SSD Review

Adata SE920 is a model for all speed freaks. For most people this will be overkill, but for those of you who don’t mind throwing money to the wind, this is a blazing brisk external SSD.

It is part of the recent generation of USB 4 portable SSDs. The USB 4 standard allows transfer speeds of up to 40 Gb/s, or 5 GB/s, while the still quite recent and much more common USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 standard cuts this speed in half. It’s also worth noting that if you have a Thunderbolt 3, 4, or 5 port, it should support USB 4.

However, don’t expect the full 5 GB/s of an external USB 4 SSD right now. In practice, as with the previous generation of USB, the speeds of the drives are slightly lower than the theoretical maximum of the transfer protocol. For Gen 3.2 2×2 drives this means 2000 MB/s and for USB 4 drives like the SE920 this means around 3800 MB/s.

Which is still almost twice as brisk as the still brisk but much more popular and affordable 3.2 Gen 2×2 drives like the Adata SD810. In other words, we should not underestimate the SE920’s rated speed. However, keep in mind that if you don’t have a USB 4 port, the speed will be much lower than stated.

With high speed comes the need for excellent cooling, which is why this external drive has an compelling, opening design. Press the top edge and the case slides back further, allowing for more airflow for dynamic cooling with a “built-in micro fan.” This, Adata saysmakes it “10% cooler than fanless products with the same specifications.”

It seems that the problem with external USB 4 drives is the same one that plagues PCIe 5.0 SSDs: they get very scorching. Therefore, while an opening case may seem a bit gimmicky, when combined with dynamic cooling it may not be a bad idea. Even 10% less heat can prevent thermal throttling.

The SE920’s speeds are indeed what you’d expect given the lofty 3,800MB/s speed requirements and the inclusion of dynamic cooling, but it comes with a massive caveat. But let’s start with the good, shall we?

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This external SSD is incredibly brisk, outperforming even the fastest USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 drives with almost twice the performance. In my benchmarks, I decided to compare the SE920 with the Adata SD810 and the Samsung T9 – the former because it is currently the best external SSD on the market in terms of price/performance of the current generation, and the latter because it is the most premium and consistent external SSD of all drives in the current generation. generation (i.e. 3.2 Gen 2×2) that I tested.

The SE920 does both exceptionally well. During my testing, I found that sequential transfers – shown in the IOMeter tests above and the CrystalDiskMark SEQ1M Q1T1 tests below – reached the rated speed of 3,800 MB/s for about 45 seconds, then again after a few minutes, and then again after a few minutes. a few minutes if dynamic cooling is turned on. This means that approximately 170 GB of data is transferred in just 45 seconds.

Moreover, even if the drive speed drops below its rated speed, as is the case with almost all drives, the speed will remain faster than the peak speeds of USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 drives like the SD810 and Samsung T9. Eventually (after about five minutes) the speed drops to around 1,200 MB/s, but keep in mind that this is higher than even the T9’s miraculously constant, continuous 1,000 MB/s.

In other words, for sequential transfers it is an absolute beast.

But not only is it great at transferring files, it’s also great at randomly downloading data, which is required for gaming. As you can see from the CrystalDiskMark 7 RND4k Q1T1 SE920 test results, the SE920’s 4K random performance is much better than the other two drives. It’s not quite twice the performance – and the T9 once again shows its capabilities here – but it’s not quite close either.

In practice, this means faster loading times and greater consistency in running applications and games from disk. For gamers, this means one thing: the SE920 should be a fantastic choice as a drive for storing and running games. For example, it can be especially useful as external storage for a portable gaming PC if you don’t want to upgrade your mobile device’s internal storage.

This can be clearly shown in the 3DMark storage results. While the index and throughput results are useful as an overview, the really significant results are in the “Average Access Time (µs)” section. The SE920 can access your data much faster than previous generation drives. By the way, this benchmark tests real-world gaming scenarios such as “Loading Battlefield V from launch to main menu” and “Saving game progress in The Outer Worlds.”

Just to be sure, I ran my usual Crab Champions test (which surely must be the industry standard by now… right?). I found that the 1.7GB game was immediately copied to the SE920 and the levels loaded immediately, with gameplay remaining silky throughout.

As for the good, it’s great. However, it has one massive drawback: it seems to require disk write caching to be enabled to run at a reasonable speed. As you can see below, leaving this option results in simply terrible performance. I also confirmed this with CrystalDiskMark 7, which showed a sequential write speed of around 300MB/s with write cache disabled.

Why is this a bad thing? Two reasons. First, while this setting isn’t complex to enable, the drive is certainly not plug-and-play. To enable write caching, go to the Windows device properties for the SSD, then go to Hardware > Properties > Policies, check the “Better performance” option, and check the “Enable write caching on device” option. Simple, but not perfect.

Secondly, and more importantly, enabling disk write caching means that the proverbial disk data lookup map is stored on the device in volatile memory (memory that stops storing data when the power is turned off). This means that there is a risk of data corruption if you accidentally disconnect the device at the wrong time, for example by unplugging it or losing power during a write operation. In other words, it’s riskier.

I asked Adata for further explanation as to why this is necessary for this particular drive, given that all the others I’ve tested over the past few months have not required it. For now, though, I can only say that it’s definitely true Is necessary. Compare the IOMeter results above and you’ll see what I mean. This drive is worthless without write caching enabled, but enabling it increases the risk of data loss or corruption. A glass cannon indeed.

And then we come to the price of the SE920. At $270 for the 2TB version I tested, it’s an incredibly steep item. To give some context, that means you’re spending just $0.14 per GB of capacity, while a drive like the Adata SD810 costs around $0.08 per GB. For about the same price, you can even buy a Samsung T9 with twice the capacity. Or you can choose another 2TB drive and spend half as much.

It’s almost twice as brisk as other drives, so the price is there technically justified. And it certainly feels premium in all its hefty, brushed metal glory – although the flared part of the shell rattles annoyingly when you move it, so it’s not entirely premium. As you’ve no doubt noticed, it’s also quite immense for a portable drive.

Besides, will you actually need this extra performance? It’s challenging to say. Fast 4K random speeds and dynamic cooling should ensure a very silky gaming experience. The problem is that most drives are brisk enough for gaming anyway. For example, the SD810 handled the Crab Champions session just as brilliantly as the SE920.

Yes, more demanding games will benefit more from the SE920, but do a few seconds shaved off from the loading screen justify such a price escalate? And also with the additional requirement of enabling write cache on the device? It’s challenging to make such an argument.

For most people, a cheaper USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 drive will be a much more reasonable option. However, if budget is not an issue and you want an incredibly brisk gaming drive, this external SSD will be as good as it gets. Provided you have a USB 4 port, otherwise the previous generation drive is your best bet. And provided you’re in the US, as it doesn’t appear to be available elsewhere yet.

And that’s it, really. Want blazing speeds with little concern for cost? Go get it. However, most will find that a much cheaper drive will be more than adequate. Just don’t forget about the issue of volatility. If you’re sure your USB connection will remain stable, this shouldn’t be a problem, but it’s certainly something to keep in mind.