The ADATA SD820 (starts at $189.99 list for 1TB; $349.99 for 2TB as tested), a tiny, ruggedized external SSD, has some stylistic flourishes reminiscent of ADATA’s rugged hard drives, but the resemblance ends there. The SD820, which comes in capacities up to 4TB, delivers the performance of a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 SSD in its compact, highly portable form—while also being water- and dust-resistant. That said, the SD820 is very similar feature-wise to the Editors’ Choice-award-winning ADATA SD810 but is priced higher at the same capacities. It’s a fine drive for field workers and outdoorsy types; watch for discounts off MSRP after launch.
Design: A Fast, Rugged, and Tiny SSD
Stylistically, the SD820 bears more than a passing resemblance to ADATA’s DashDrive Durable HD710, although it is much smaller than that spinning hard drive, measuring 0.5 by 1.5 by 2.8 inches and weighing just under an ounce. The blue version of the SD820 matches the color scheme and texturing of the HD710 we reviewed in 2013: it is adorned with rubbery blue diagonal stripes—made from a thermoplastic elastomer (TPE)—affixed to the outside edge of the rigid black drive casing’s top and bottom, creating a pattern of alternating black and blue stripes. The latter are raised, making the SSD easier to grip. You can also opt for a black version of the SD820, with stripes alternating between black and dark gray.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
On one short end of the SD820, you’ll find a USB-C port that supports the speedy USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 spec, with sequential read and write speeds up to 2,000MBps. To avail yourself of its blazing throughput, though, you will need either a compatible computer (many models, even recent ones, lack a 2×2 port) or you’ll have to add a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 expansion card to your desktop system. Otherwise, the drive would revert to USB 3.2 Gen 2 speeds, which max out at about 1,000MBps. The SD820 comes with a foot-long USB-C-to-USB-C cable.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
A plastic port cover that seals the USB-C port when placed over it is attached to the SD820 by a short length of cord, preventing the tiny piece from going missing. The cover helps ensure the SSD’s resistance to water and dust, earning it an ingress protection rating of IP68. This means that the SD820 is certified as both dustproof (with complete protection against sand, dirt, and dust) and waterproof to a depth of 3 feet for up to 30 minutes. Only a few external drives we’ve reviewed, including ADATA’s own SD800 and SD810 as well as the LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5, can match this IP rating. The SD820 has also been shown to survive drops of up to 1.22 meters (four feet) unscathed.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
Cost Per Gigabyte: Somewhat Pricey, in a Landscape That’s Dicey
As of this writing, the SD820 is available for pre-order from ADATA in 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities, at the prices shown below. Prices of SSDs have been on the rise since the last quarter of 2025 due to an industry-wide shortage of NAND flash memory chips. Manufacturers have shifted some of their focus away from consumer products as they scramble to meet the demand for AI.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
The kickoff prices for the SD820 are on the high side compared with the retail prices of most of the USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 SSDs we have reviewed at the same capacities. For example, let’s take two Editors’ Choice Gen 2×2 SSDs. The ADATA SD810, a compact, ruggedized SSD that is more conventionally designed than the SD820, retails (through Amazon) at $124.99 for its 1TB model. The Crucial X10, which isn’t quite as durable as the SD820—it has just an IP65 rating—retails at $129.99 for 1TB and $427.99 for its 4TB version. It remains to be seen what the SD820 will sell for at retail a few months down the line, and how it will compare with other Gen 2×2 drives by then. For now, though, it seems that its pricing is on the premium side.
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ADATA warrants the SD820 for five years, a common coverage length for SSDs from major manufacturers. The drive doesn’t support hardware-based AES encryption, and it doesn’t include backup software.
Performance Testing: Zippy in PCMark and 3DMark Tests
We test USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 external SSDs using one of three PC Labs storage testbeds, a desktop PC built on an Asus Prime X299 Deluxe motherboard with an Intel Core i9-10980XE Extreme Edition CPU and an Nvidia GeForce graphics card. We use the motherboard’s native 10Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2 port for testing most drives; for 20Gbps Gen 2×2 drives like the SD820, we use a Gen 2×2 port added via an Orico PCI Express expansion card.
We subjected the SD820 to our usual suite of external solid-state-drive benchmarks, comprising Crystal DiskMark 6.0, the PCMark 10 data-drive benchmark, the 3DMark Storage gaming test, Blackmagic’s Disk Speed Test, and our own folder-transfer test. The drive comes preformatted in exFAT, which works out of the box with Macs, as well as Windows and Linux machines, Android devices, iPhones and iPads with a USB-C port, and Xbox and PlayStation consoles. So we ran the latter two tests first on an Apple MacBook Pro. Then we reformatted the drive to NTFS to run Crystal DiskMark, PCMark 10, and 3DMark on our Windows testbed.
The SD820’s Crystal DiskMark sequential read-and-write test results fell within the narrow range of scores tallied by the vast majority of USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 SSDs we have reviewed. These are nearly twice the typical throughput of USB 3.2 Gen 2 drives. Keep in mind, though, that to get the throughput speeds of which Gen 2×2 drives are capable, you must use them with a compatible computer.
In the PCMark 10 Storage Data Drive Test, which aggregates an external drive’s performance on a series of workaday storage tasks, the SD820 had the second-highest score among our comparison SSDs, trailing only the ADATA SD810, at the top of a fairly closely spaced group of USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 drives. It was also near the top of the pack in the 3DMark Storage gaming-centric benchmark.
In the Mac-based Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, the SD820 had the second-best write-speed results but the lowest read speed.
Final Thoughts
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)
ADATA SD820
4.0
Excellent
What Our Ratings Mean
- 5.0 – Exemplary: Near perfection, ground-breaking
- 4.5 – Outstanding: Best in class, acts as a benchmark for measuring competitors
- 4.0 – Excellent: A performance, feature, or value leader in its class, with few shortfalls
- 3.5 – Good: Does what the product should do, and does so better than many competitors
- 3.0 – Average: Does what the product should do, and sits in the middle of the pack
- 2.5 – Fair: We have some reservations, buy with caution
- 2.0 – Subpar: We do not recommend, buy with extreme caution
- 1.5 – Poor: Do not buy this product
- 1.0 – Dismal: Don’t even think about buying this product
Read Our
Editorial Mission Statement
and
Testing Methodologies.
As an external SSD, the ADATA SD820 earns high marks for its compact design, dust resistance, and water resistance. As a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 device, it delivers high-speed data transfer when paired with a compatible computer and proved its mettle by turning in some of the best scores in our PCMark and 3DMark benchmark tests. It is available in capacities up to 4TB, while some competing products max out at 2TB.
The SD820’s compact and rugged frame makes it a good choice for travelers, but with one caveat: it lacks AES encryption, so your data would be vulnerable in the event the drive is lost or stolen, unless you apply some other encryption method, such as BitLocker. Then there’s the cost: the SD820’s pre-order price is on the high side for a Gen 2×2 SSD. How its retail price will compare with similar drives over time remains to be seen.
The Editors’ Choice ADATA SD810 has a similar feature set to the SD820 but a more conventional design, and is selling for considerably less at the 1TB level. Another Editors’ Choice model, the Crucial X10 Pro, features AES encryption and sells for significantly less than the SD820’s pre-order price at the 4TB level, though it isn’t quite as ruggedized as the ADATA drive. But if you do spring for the SD820, you get a capable, highly portable product that can withstand most anything Mother Nature throws at it.
