ADATA HD710M Pro External Hard Drive

amazon ADATA HD710M Pro External Hard Drive reviews

Love it or hate its camouflage, the ADATA HD710M Pro rugged external hard drive offers decent performance and durability at a competitive price.

In the world of complex external storage, you’ll see plenty of potential reasons why someone might need a drive that can survive extreme exposure conditions. Construction sites, movie sets, wildlife photography, or, in the case of ADATA’s HD710M Pro External Hard Drives, military areas — or at least, the situations hunters and weekend warriors encounter. While it has never been explicitly stated that this hard drive is made for battlefield applications, its camouflage exterior and rough and ready design indicate a drive for the soldier. The HD710M Pro ($119.99 for the 2TB version tested here) offers a host of features that are sure to cater to any customer.

Hunter or hunted? Hard drive version

If there’s one element of the HD710M Pro’s design that sets it apart, it’s camouflage-colored silicone. A fun design element, one can’t help but wonder if ADATA thought this would be a hard drive that hunters or military would carry them. This particular camouflage, as opposed to more conventional army green.

Unlike that latest winner, the HD710M Pro weighs the same in both the available storage capacities (1TB and 2TB). (The HD830 is slightly heavier in the higher capacity 4TB and 5TB versions than the 2TB tested) Both HD710M Pro models weigh 9.5 ounces and measure 0.85 x 3.9 x. 5.2 inches (HWD). In contrast, the HD830 is a heavy metal monster and weighs twice as much.

Speaking of portability, the HD710M Pro manages to be both much thinner and lighter than the HD830 — but, surprisingly, it’s rated by ADATA to survive a drop from more than afoot. (The HD830’s increased weight could mean more acceleration, and the metal case transmits more shock when dropped.) That said, the HD830 is far more resilient, designed to withstand a weight of more than 3 tons. ADATA makes no specific claims about crush resistance with this model.

One small touch that I like about the HD710M Pro’s housing: the clamps and channels around the edges of the drive. They allow you to keep the drive’s detachable USB cable parked in the slots and securely fastened to the drive at all times, even when not plugged into the USB connector. That’s an important point, as you’ll need to remove the cable from the drive to keep it waterproof and dustproof. Detached cables are usually lost cables; at least this one has a parking space.

Predictable Performance, Surprising Price

The IP68 standard is the standard that defines the durability of the HD710M Pro. Rated as dustproof, shockproof, and waterproof up to two meters for an hour (as opposed to two hours with the HD830), The HD710M Pro delivers a solid standard of protection against common agents and more – frequent abuse. Perhaps the most important is the impact-resistant aspect of this drive, as hard drives are more susceptible to damage when dropped than solid-state drives.

Like its HD830 sibling, the HD710M Pro offers a solid price per gigabyte that rivals most other rugged external hard drives on the market. The 2TB version I tested costs about 6 cents per gigabyte at MSRP, while cheap, about 20% more expensive than the HD830. Even so, it’s still significantly cheaper than options like CalDigit’s, which currently retail for around 9 cents per contract at the same capacity.

In terms of actual transmission endurance, the HD710M Pro may be much more susceptible to injury than the HD830. The outer shell is a shock-resistant silicone cover and what the company calls “extreme” plastic. I consider it extreme enough; the drive worked fine even after dropping it from its maximum rated drop height of 4.9 feet (1.5 meters). Jailbreaking doesn’t hurt either, with the USB port cover firmly attached.

In our benchmark tests, the HD710M Pro performed on par with an external 5,400-rpm drive connected via USB 3. Its PCMark 7 score of 1822 had to enter, well, the mark, and I found no surprises from its BlackMagic results when testing on an Apple MacBook Pro. It reaches 120MBps read speed, and 116MBps write speed.

That puts it a bit behind competitors like the CalDigit Tuff drive. Still, I wouldn’t expect that in most cases, casual or even discerning users would be able to tell the difference in terms of performance mechanism speed.

That said, the HD710M Pro is about $70 cheaper than the CalDigit Tuff at the same wattage tested, which makes for better value for anyone caught between these two options in particular.

Hard drives you’ll never see are coming.

Now you can find a hunter-style camo jacket on your mobile device that’s awesome or cool. But considering the HD710M Pro can technically be deployed on the battlefield, and similarly priced alternatives exist even within ADATA’s line, ADATA gets a top-five for trying something different separate.

There was indeed nothing remarkable about the drive’s performance in our testing compared to other USB-based portable external devices; Drives rarely surprise us that way. But its lightweight design and robust drop-test results make the HD710M Pro suitable for those who travel with their data frequently and need a durable travel device — and perhaps even invisible, when in hiding in the bush.

Advantages

Durable in drop tests.

Good price per gigabyte received.

Succinct.

Lightweight for a sturdy device.

Cable storage around the edges.

Disadvantage

Outer camouflage may not be for everyone.

The shell is only plastic.

where can you get a ADATA HD710M Pro External Hard Drive online

ADATA HD710M Pro 2 TB USB 3.1 Rugged Waterproof/Dustproof/Shockproof External Hard Drive, Camouflage (AHD710MP-2TU31-CCF): Buy it now

ADATA HD710M Pro 1TB USB 3.2 Rugged Waterproof/Dustproof/Shockproof External Hard Drive AHD710MP-1TU31-CC (Camouflage): Buy it now