Apacer AS681 ARMOR 2.5 Inch Sata III SSD Unboxing And First Impressions

Apacer, the Taiwanese multinational corporation who designs and markets consumer electronic products. The company specializes on digital storage hardware and memory software together with its software.

Is this the SSD for gaming to get?

One of their newer products is the Apacer AS681 ARMOR 2.5 Inch Sata III SSD, a promising solid state drive that's designed to give your PC or laptop an upgrade not only in storage, but in speed as well.

How? On paper, this SSD is 20X faster than normal HDD w/ up to 520 MB / seconds read speed and up to 480 MB per seconds write speed. Apacer also claims that it has up to 95% less power consumption which will eventually make the battery life of the device it is attached with longer.

Also, Apacer stated that this is compatible with your favorite consoles like the Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation 4. In that sense, this SSD will provide an upgraded storage to your gaming console and eventually make games load and run faster and smoother.

Those traits on paper makes this SSD appear like a promising upgrade. Is it really that good? Let's find out!

Apacer AS681 ARMOR 2.5 Inch Sata III SSD Specs

Capacity: 480 GB

Interface: SATA III 6 GB per seconds

NAND Flash Type: TLC

Sustained Read Performance: Up to 520 MB per second

Sustained Write Performance: Up to 480 MB per second

IOPs (4K Random Read): Up to 95,000

IOPs (4K Random Write): Up to 39,000

ECC Support: Up to 72bit / 1KB

Shock: 500G / 2ms

Vibration: 80~2000 Hz / 20G

Low Power Consumption: Active: 1,200 / Idle: 150 (Unit: mA)

MTBF: 1,000,000 hours

Humidity: RH 90% under 40°C

Standard Operating Temperature: 0 ℃ ~ 70 ℃

Storage Temperature: - 40°C to 85°C

Warranty: 3-year warranty

Dimensions: 100 x 69.9 x 7 mm

Price: USD 170 (PHP 8.5K)

Note: Apacer is available at PC Options Gilmore, QLT South Computer Store, Times Computer, Teslinque Palawan, Entersky Trading, PCD Software Technology, and Computerware Sales & Service.

Disclaimer: The AS681 ARMOR 2.5 Inch Sata III SSD was borrowed from Apacer for this unboxing article.

Unboxing / Accessories

The simple packaging of the SSD

The Apacer ARMOR comes in a simple back box showing the must know details regarding this SSD. Upon opening, it'll immediately show the SSD. It's pins also has removable rubber cover for added protection.

However, the packaging was too plain. We expected it to come with a booklet to check its features and know how to use / install it.

Build Quality / Design

View of this SSD behind

The exterior of this SSD is mostly covered with lightweight yet well built metal case. The SATA III and power copper pin can be protected by the included rubber cover when not it use.

Build is standard, but like most storage files, dropping this might / will damage this machine!

Side view

The pins

Checking its design, the cool thing in here is it has Iron Man Arc Reactor like paint finish on top. Construction, slimness, and feel is similar to most SSD storages we saw / tried in the past.

Highlights

1. Compatible with SATA 6.0 Gb/s interface - for enabling faster data transfer speeds
2. Sustained Read Performance: Up to 520 MB per second

3. Sustained Write Performance: Up to 480 MB per second

4. Supports SATA Power Management - Eliminates the power consumption of an idle SATA ODD for system power reduction. To be precise, that's up to 95% less power consumption against competing HDDs.
5. Powerful ECC engine correcting up to 72 bit / 1KB
6. SDR cache buffer for strengthened I/O efficiency
7. Supports S.M.A.R.T. commands - Detects and reports on drive reliability via various indicators.
8. NCQ command - For unnecessary drive head movement, slower wear and tear, better performance.

As of the moment

This machine is promising. We can't wait to test it out on our favorite SSD ready laptops and PC's. It's promise of being console (Xbox / PS4) ready also looks great.

We'll test it out and get back to you guys!