ADATA SE880 Portable SSD Review

The ADATA SE880 is a powerful and compact portable SSD made for those on the go. Built with speed and storage in mind, the SE880 supports USB 3.2 Gen2x2 and a Type-C connection for up to 2000MB/s between devices. The SE880 comes in two capacities: 500GB for $79.99 and $129.99 for the 1TB, and each is backed by a 5-year limited warranty.

The ADATA SE880 is a powerful and compact portable SSD made for those on the go. Built with speed and storage in mind, the SE880 supports USB 3.2 Gen2x2 and a Type-C connection for up to 2000MB/s between devices. The SE880 comes in two capacities: 500GB for $79.99 and $129.99 for the 1TB, and each is backed by a 5-year limited warranty.

ADATA SE880 Specifications

ADATA SE880 Design and Build

One of the most prominent features of the ADATA SE880 is the physical size, coming in at 64.8 x 35 x 12.25mm (2.55 x 1.38 x 0.48 in). As a direct comparison, the SE880 is actually smaller than an AirPods case allowing users to take this on the go very easily. And compared to the prior ADATA portables we’ve seen, this one is much smaller at nearly half the size. The SE880 also only comes in gray for both the 500GB model and the 1TB model.

The SE880 is configured with a USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C connection on one end of the ADATA; this connection is also backward compatible with USB 2.0.

ADATA SE880 Performance

The first test that we ran, as usual, is the Blackmagic Design Disk Speed Test in which the SE880 was able to reach right under what was reported with 1.5GB/s (1,597.5MB/s) write and 1.7GB/s (1,753MB/s) read. Fairly decent speeds, especially since data and games, need to be accessed quickly, and as shown in the test results, the SE880 could hit every checkmark in the Blackmagic Design benchmark. The next test that we ran was the IOMeter test, one in a 1 thread workload and one in a 4 thread workload. The first workload, the 1 thread test showed a lag behind the results of the Blackmagic Design test. In our sequential workloads, we saw 1,285MB/s (1.2GB/s) write and 1,590MB/s (1.5GB/s). In our random test, the SE880 reached 1,135MB/s (1.1GB/s) write and 1,344MB/s (1.3GB/s) read, and in the 4K tests, 19,916 IOPS write and 5,045 IOPS.

Moving to our 4 thread workload test, the 4 thread showed better results compared to the 1 thread workload. In our sequential workloads, we saw 1,765MB/s (1.7GB/s) write and 1,978MB/s (1.9GB/s). In our random test, the SE880 reached 1,472MB/s (1.1GB/s) write and 1,872MB/s (1.8GB/s) read, and in the 4K tests, 60,815 IOPS write and 17,656 IOPS.

Conclusion

Overall the ADATA SE880 is a solid, external, portable SSD in a compact form factor. With its size being smaller than a typical keyfob, the SE880 is a great on-the-go mass storage device built for any type of device ranging from Windows to PlayStation.  With its connectivity of USB 3.2 Gen2x2, users can expect quick speeds with a supported port for any type of transfer whether it be files, videos, music, or photos.

When looking at performance, we ran our standard Blackmagic Design and IOMeter speed tests. In the Blackmagic Design benchmark, we saw 1,597MB/s write and 1,753MB/s read, fairly close to the top speed reported by ADATA. What was more impressive however in the Blackmagic Design test was that the SE880 hit every checkmark in the “Will it Work?” section.

In our IOMeter benchmark, we ran two different workloads, a 1 thread, and a 4 thread. The 1 thread 2MB sequential workloads showed 1,285MB/s write and 1,590MB/s, a little light compared to the Blackmagic design test, but still decent. In the 4 thread 2MB sequential test, 1,765MB/s write and 1,978MB/s read, better than both the 1 thread workload and the Blackmagic design test.

The ADATA SE880 500GB model and 1TB can be found on Amazon for $79.99 and $129.99 respectively, and for those wanting more information, full product details can be found on ADATA’s website.

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