The test system used in this review is equipped with an AMD Ryzen 7 3700x CPU, MSI B550 GAMING PLUS motherboard, 16GB (8GB x 2) of Crucial Ballistix 3200 MHz DDR4 memory, Crucial P5 1TB SSD and a GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1060 WINDFORCE OC 6G graphics card. For the operating system, I used the latest version of Windows 10 Pro.
To test the performance of SecureData's SecureDrive KP portable hard drive, I ran a series of benchmarks using CrystalDiskMark, HD Tach RW and ATTO Disk Benchmark. To get a feel for the "real world" performance, I also copied and pasted 1GB of random files and directories as well as a single 4GB ISO file in Windows Explorer.
CrystalDiskMark 8.0.1:
First, I ran a few quick tests using CrystalDiskMark. This benchmark tool measures the performance of a storage device by testing its sequential read and write speeds as well as its random read and write speeds using blocks 4K in size.
SecureData doesn't really say what kind of speeds the SecureDrive KP hard drive is capable of. Using CrystalDiskMark we can see that the drive is able to read at 136.37 MB/s and write at 135.75 MB/s when connected to a USB 3.0 port.
HD Tach RW 3.0.4.0:
Next, I used HD Tach to test the SecureDrive KP's read, write and burst speeds as well as its seek times and CPU usage.
When connected to the computer's USB 3.0 port, the SecureDrive KP had average read and write speeds of 114.7 MB/s and 114.4 MB/s, respectively, as well as a burst speed of 314.5 MB/s.
ATTO Disk Benchmark 4.01:
I also used ATTO Disk Benchmark to test the SecureDrive KP's sequential read and write speeds. The tests are run using blocks ranging in size from 512B to 64 MB and the total length set to 256MB.
When tested with ATTO, the SecureDrive KP's read speeds topped out at about 128 MB/s and its write speeds at 129 MB/s.
"Real World" Benchmark:
To test the "real world" performance of the SecureDrive KP, I copied and pasted 1GB worth of randomly generated files and directories. All of the files are between 1KB and 95MB in size and no more than five directories deep. To see how well the drive handled large files, I also copied and pasted a 4GB ISO file.
| 1GB of Files | 4GB ISO File | |
| Write: | 10 seconds | 33 seconds |
| Read: | 10 seconds | 34 seconds |
The SecureDrive KP performed fairly well here, taking 10 seconds to write 1GB worth of test data and the same amount of time to read it back.
Final Thoughts:
SecureData's SecureDrive KP encrypted hard drive is a great choice for the security conscious consumer or professional looking to keep their data safe and out of the wrong hands. Available in a number of different capacities, this portable storage device features a FIPS compliant design, military grade full disk 256-bit AES hardware encryption, a durable aluminum casing and a carrying case to protect it from getting wet and being dropped. More importantly though, the SecureDrive KP is very easy to use. Simply plug it into any computer or mobile device with a USB port, enter your PIN on the wear-resistant keypad and you have access to your data.
When it comes to performance, the SecureDrive KP did relatively well in our tests. With all of the encryption being done at the hardware level, I found it to be just as fast as a non-encrypted hard drive. Thanks to its USB 3.0 interface, the 500GB version of the SecureDrive KP was able to read at speeds as high as 136 MB/s and write at more than 135 MB/s.
The SecureDrive KP encrypted hard drive is available now in 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB and 5TB capacities and can be purchased directly from SecureData or through some of the sellers listed on Amazon.com. Prices currently range from $209 up to $499. The SecureDrive KP is also available as an SSD which offers twice the performance and storage capacities up to 8TB.
Highs:
- Available in 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB and 5TB capacities
- FIPS 140-2 Level 3 validated
- Military-grade AES 256-bit XTS hardware encryption
- PIN authentication with easy-to-use keypad
- Good read and write speeds
- Brute force anti-hacking self destruct feature
- OS and platform independent
- USB 3.0 interface
- Good looking, tamper proof design
- Includes shockproof, splash resistant case
- 2 year warranty
Lows:
- Larger and heavier than non-encrypted hard drives
- Pricey
