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ADATA SE760 Review

by Lyle Smith

The ADATA SE760 is the company’s newest ultra-portable external SSD that features advanced 3D NAND flash and capacity models up to 1TB. Designed for mobile professionals and gamers looking to add solid-state space to their gaming consoles, the ADATA SE760 uses the USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C interface (though it’s backward compatible with USB 2.0) and sports a compact metallic casing.

The ADATA SE760 is the company’s newest ultra-portable external SSD that features advanced 3D NAND flash and capacity models up to 1TB. Designed for mobile professionals and gamers looking to add solid-state space to their gaming consoles, the ADATA SE760 uses the USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C interface (though it’s backward compatible with USB 2.0) and sports a compact metallic casing.

ADATA SE760

Performance-wise, the ADATA claims it can reach read speeds up to 1,000 MB/s, which is fairly high for a portable drive of this class. The company also indicates that the drive is shock-resistant with a sturdy build. Available in capacities of 256GB, 512GB and 1TB, the ADATA SE760 goes for roughly $70, $90, and $150, respectively, and comes with a 3-year warranty. We will be looking at the 1TB for this review.

ADATA SE760 Specifications

Color Black / Titanium Gray
Capacity 256GB / 512GB / 1TB
Dimensions (L x W x H) 122.2 x 44 x 14mm / 4.8 x 1.73 x 0.55inch
Weight 95 g / 3.35 oz
Interface USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C (backward compatible with USB 2.0)
Operating system requirements Windows 8 / 8.1 / 10
Mac OS X 10.6 or later
Linux Kernel 2.6 or later
Android 5.0 or later
Op. Temperature 0°C (32°F) to 35°C (95°F)
Op. Voltage DC 5V, 900mA
Accessories USB 3.2 Type-C to C cable, USB 3.2 Type-C to A cable, Quick Start Guide
Warranty Limited 3-year

Design and build

The SE760 is certainly a slick-looking portable drive. Though it is slightly bigger than ADATA’s other portable, measuring in at just under 5 inches in length and its oval-shaped width at a hair over a half an inch, it feels very sturdy when handled and has a nice weight to it. It also features a nice hairline-brushed metal casing with a simple engraved “ADATA SSD” on the front and comes in colors of “titan-grey” or black.

ADATA SE760 bottom

The USB Type-C port is on one of the ends of the portal drive, with an LED light that blinks during activity.

ADATA SE760 Performance

To measure the performance of the ADATA SE760, we tested the drive via BlackMagic on a current-generation MacBook Air and IOMeter on a Lenovo ThinkCentre M90n Nano (using both low load and higher load tests) and compared it to the following other portable SSDs:

In BlackMagic, the ADATA SE760 hit 811.2MB/s read and 692.5MB/s write. Although this didn’t reach the quoted 1GB/s performance indicated by ADATA, these are still impressive results. In comparison, the Samsung T7 Touch posted 861.1MB/s read and 817.2MB/s write.

For IOMeter, we first looked at 2MB sequential with both 1 and 4 thread, the latter which is a higher load that pushes the drive a bit more. Here, the ADATA SE760 reached 856.6MB/s read and 580.7MB/s write (1 thread), and 827MB/s read and 580.7MB/s write (4 thread). The OWC recorded 816MB/s read and 750.5MB/s write for 1 thread and  991.8MB/s read and 926.9MB/s write for 4 thread. The T7 (which we only tested with 1 thread) recorded 800.6MB/s read and 643.4MB/s write.

Moving on to 2MB random speeds, the SE760 recorded 558.2MB/s read and 538.6MB/s write (1 thread) and 985MB/s read and 635.6MB/s write (4 thread). In comparison, the OWC Envoy Pro EX posted 695.7MB/s read and 748MB/s write for 1 thread and 991.8MB/s read and 924.2MB/s write for 4 thread.  The T7 was able to reach 681.6MB/s read and 740MB/s write.

In Random 4K performance, the ADATA drive measured in at 5,157 IOPS read and 16,795 IOPS write (1 thread), and 17,641 IOPS read and 32,685 IOPS write (4 thread). For the rest of the portable SSDs, the Samsung T7 Touch recorded 4,235 IOPS read and 9,578 IOPS write (1 thread), while the OWC hit 6,991 IOPS read and 18,011 IOPS write for 1 thread and 26,456 IOPS read and 38,456 IOPS write for 4 thread.

Conclusion

The ADATA SE760 is a great release by the company and highlighted by its solid performance, affordability and premium metallic build. This makes it perfect for on-the-go professional looking for a speedy, sturdy drive, or for gamers who need a supplemental-storage solution that can sit nicely (and quietly!) by their current-gen consoles.

Though ADATA SE760 couldn’t quite keep up with the other tested drives, it still held its own. For example, it hit 811.2MB/s read and 692.5MB/s write during our BlackMagic test. For 2MB sequential IOMeter 1 thread, the drive showed 856.6MB/s read and 580.7MB/s write. The same test in 4 thread saw 827MB/s read and 580.7MB/s write. Random 2MB 1 thread saw the drive hit 558.2MB/s read and 538.6MB/s write. 4 Thread 2MB random gave us 985MB/s read and 635.6MB/s write. Random 4K performance recorded 5,157 IOPS read and 16,795 IOPS write (1 thread), and 17,641 IOPS read and 32,685 IOPS write (4 thread).

The biggest advantage the ADATA SE760 has over its competitors is its price point, as ADATA is known to deliver affordable, high-performance storage solutions (the 1TB model goes for just $150) at the expense of performance. In comparison, the OWC 1TB Envoy Pro Ex is priced at $250, while the Samsung T7 Touch retails for roughly $210. So if you’re looking for a low-cost, high-performing portable SSD solution, the ADATA SE760 certainly has you covered.

ADATA SE760 on Amazon

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