Adata's 'virtually indestructible' external HDD is rated to survive over 3 tons of pressure

You can never be too careful with your data. For example, let's say you go to the zoo and visit the giraffe exhibit, and decide to pay a few bucks extra to feed them. Everything's going well, until you accidentally drop your external hard drive into the exhibit and watch in horror as your long-necked friend tramples all over it. Well crap, there goes your data. We've all been there, right? Right!? Maybe not, but Adata built an external HDD that puts those kind of worries to rest.

Adata's new HD830 is the company's most rugged external HDD to date. And by rugged, the company means it can withstand up to 3,000 kg (~6,600 pounds) of downward pressure. I was curious what kinds of things weight that much, which led me here. Next thing you know, my mind is swirling with scenarios.

Forget about giraffes, if someone is barreling through the zoo in a 2009 Ford Taurus, no problem—it 'only' weighs around 3,642 pounds. You're screwed if there's a Tyrannosaurus Rex, though, and you drop Adata's external HDD while running for cover.

Okay, these might be a tad far-fetched. To use Adata's own point of reference, the HD830 can withstand the downward pressure of "fifty average-sized people." Good to know in case things go wrong in a flash mob.

Moving on, the HD830 houses up to a 5TB HDD in a sturdy, triple-layer aluminum enclosure. It's IP68 rated to protect from dust and water, and also meets the MIL-STD-810G 516.6 standard to survive falls from up to 1.22 meters.

Of course, it's never a good idea to jostle a mechanical HDD around, even if its housing is sturdy. To that end, there are shock sensors to stop drive activity when needed, to prevent errors and bad sectors.

There are three capacities: 2TB, 4TB, and 5TB. Each one sports a USB 3.1 interface, and is backed by a 3-year warranty. Adata hasn't said when they will be available or how they'll cost.

Paul Lilly

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).

Latest in HDDs
A photo of a robotically disassembled hard disk drive
Microsoft's recyclobot uses machine learning and computer vision to open and recycle 90% of hard drive components
Hard Drive
Millions of perfectly fine HDDs are shredded each year because of 'zero risk' security policies. Spoiler alert: There's still a risk of stolen data from just a 3mm scrap
IBM100 RAMDAC
Hard drives predicted to be history after 2028
Seagate Exos 2X14 Mach.2 hard drive
Seagate agrees to pay US gov $300m for selling Huawei some hard drives
matze79's HDD Clicker.
Bring that retro hard drive clicking sound back into your life with this little device
Spider-Verse Seagates
Seagate's Into the Spider-Verse styled portable HDDs are stunning
Latest in News
Pedro Pascal as Joel in a coat in winter looking unhappy
'Don't you know what he did?': The truth comes out in The Last of Us Season 2 trailer
Aloy
'Creepy,' 'ghastly,' 'rancid': Viewers react to leaked video of Sony's AI-powered Aloy
Split Fiction trailer still - Zoe and Mio standing side by side, wearing glowing neon sci-fi jammies
Split Fiction sells 1 million copies over 2 days
A soldier looks out over the Verdansk map, as a single tear rolls down his cheek.
The original Verdansk map is returning to Call of Duty: Warzone, to celebrate which we get a soldier crying to Nat King Cole
More than 5 years after launch, Control gets a surprise patch that lets everyone play the Hideo Kojima mission
Swen Vincke
Swen Vincke stamps seal of approval on Stardew Valley mod that yoinks the Baldur's Gate 3 cast out of D&D and into a cosy pastoral life