Let us make our opinion of this external hard drive perfectly clear. It is not perfect. Silicon Power does randomly and silently change the internals whenever they feel like it. Earlier reviews found Seagate and JMicron components inside. Our sample, like most later samples, use Western Digital and ASMedia. This in and of itself is not an issue. The controller change is for the better and both hard drive companies make equally good drives – and a big reason why they are two of only three companies still able to compete in hard disk drive market. What is an issue is that the particular Western Digital is not overly fast. While Western Digital may now call it a ‘Blue’ model, this is in fact a ‘Green’ that has been given a new name. This means mediocre performance thanks to its low power, low waste heat design. As such the Armor A62 series is not going to be overly fast. It is however ‘good enough’ for most scenarios.
Counteracting this rather significant issue is the fact that even with mediocre performance is that it is an incredible value. Yes Lacie and IornKey make more robust and durable models. Models which meet higher standards. For the average consumer an IPX5 vs IPX4 rating will not matter. Both are not waterproof and instead are simply water resistant. As such both can handle raindrops and the like equally well. So unless you plan on being in a hurricane and having your external drive not in a backpack or pocket but in your hand and use it as a -small- impromptu umbrella both will survive.
As for shock and drop survivability once again LaCie and IornKey are held to a higher standard. However, we dropped the A62 multiple times from a 1m height and it survived with nothing but scratches – as it should. So too would a Lacie Rugged or IronKey survive and the only time even higher-grade design will matter is if you plan on running your external storage over with a car or other incredibly rare occurrences. Once again for the average consumer the A62 is more than up to the task.
Basically, in return for making a slightly less robust design Silicon Power is able to offer an extremely rugged model that actually costs less than what a -relatively- fragile Seagate or Western Digital model costs. Compared to any of these companies’ offerings the A62 is a veritable steal of a deal. When you mix 3 year warranty, and the nifty integrated USB cable carrier, the end result is an external storage solution that may not win any speed contests but provides great value at an incredible price. We strongly encourage you to take the time to find this particular model as it is worth the effort.
Final Score: 86 / 100
