Introduction
Last year saw COMPUTEX heavily drumming up eco-friendly and recycling as its main themes only to be followed up by a year focused on AI, perhaps the world’s most power-hungry application in modern use. That said, our then-rep shrugged off their eco-themed products as I run a gaming website, unbeknownst to her I have an understanding of MRF (material recovery facility) as part of my previous career.
The products themselves aren’t full recycled which is quite understandable as 100% recovered material has a different material behavior than the regular material. So their RAMs, SSDs, flash drives all get a good portion of PCR materials while mixing in some new pellets for integrity.
Technical mumbo aside, today we’re checking out the TEAMGROUP PD20 ECO: a ruggedized external SSD similar to the PD20 but features 75% PCR (recovered) plastic and swaps out the color scheme. Unlike most “recycled” products, the TEAMGROUP PD20 Eco does have a price drop versus its standard brother which is a nice change of pace unlike other “eco-friendly” efforts. That said, I will share some insights on why this is so so you may at least have some understanding of the whole material recovery process.
After that we’ll dive right in into the PD20 Eco and see how it performs. Read on!
The Common Misunderstanding about Recycled Materials
I have the unique position and experience to talk about this as the first 6 years of my corporate career was in the plastics manufacturing business and getting the change to work with our local council of plastics manufacturer gave me a unique insight into the challenges of using recycled materials in products. And to answer a common misunderstanding on recycled products about pricing, the simple and fast answer is because it is expensive to gather the waste themselves.
In the case of the TEAMGROUP PD20 ECO which uses recovered plastics, the operation involves multiple trips to the recovered waste. The cost involves manpower, the sea vessel, the fuel, the land transportation, to the MRF and then its a whole new cycle over at the recycling facility where plastics need to be washed, their paint stripped, metals removed, etc. Thankfully, TEAMGROUP isn’t padding cost because of the “recycled marketing” as the PD20 ECO launches with a lower price tag than the standard PD20 starting at $84.99 (1TB) vs. $88.99 for the 1TB PD20 standard.
Simply put, converting a truckload of plastic Coke or Pepsi bottles into usable soda bottles isn’t just washing the bottles and then calling it a day. It gets more technical than that. This is why PET soda bottles are usually recycled as resin for use in other plastic products like housings as in the case of the TEAMGROUP PD20. And this is just for plastic bottles. Soda cans, electronics, other metals, all of these have their own process that have their own costs and logistic nightmares to untangle and we’ll be here all day.
Features & Specification
- PCR Plastic Product for Green Initiatives
- Convenient Functionality and Eco-friendliness
- Swift Transmission and Earth-Conservation
- Type-C Interface for On-the-Go Productivity
- 2TB Large Capacity for Reliable Storage and Backup
- Doubles as a Stylish Accessory Alongside Being an External SSD
- IP54 Protection Certification
- Sustainable Environmental Packaging
| Capacity | Read Speed | Write Speed | Product Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4TB (unlisted) | 1,000 MB/s | 950 MB/s | TPSEG4004T0C102 |
| 2TB | 1,000 MB/s | 950 MB/s | TPSEG4002T0C102 |
| 1TB | 1,000 MB/s | 950 MB/s | TPSEG4001T0C102 |
More Product Specifications
| Specification | Details |
|---|---|
| Interface | USB 3.2 Gen2 x1 Type-C |
| Voltage | DC +5V |
| Operation Temperature | 0˚C ~ 70˚C |
| Storage Temperature | -40˚C ~ 80˚C |
| Weight | 22g |
| Dimensions | 75(L) x 34(W) x 15.2(H)mm |
| Accessories | Type-C to Type-C Cable |
| Operating System | Windows XP or later, Mac OS 10.6 or later, Linux 2.6 or later |
| Warranty | 3-year limited warranty |
Official product page- TEAMGROUP PD20 ECO
Closer Look
The TEAMGROUP PD20 ECO comes packaged in a white, full-colored box with the product photo on the front along with some key highlights. The front states the speed rating along with the IP54 rating of the drive. The non-ECO version of the features a similar box but doesn’t have the tress background. Other than that, we have the back of the box featuring some specs and details.
The box is also made of recycled materials as indicated by the label and the internal packaging are all eco-safe.
Take note of the 3-year warranty on the label. You can contact TEAMGROUP if you need support on your product.
The TEAMGROUP PD20 Eco is just above 2″ long and is barely an inch thick. The main part of the body is wrapped in a rubber bumper case with the PCR part of the case forming the keyring and label.
The rubber bumper has a ribbed texture to it adding to the grippy feel.
The flap is formed from the bumper and covers the USB-C port. The PD20 Eco is waterproof and dustproof with its IP54 rating but requires the flap to be closed during exposure to water.
At only a few grams, its barely going to dent itself in fall. Curious why TEAMGROUP didn’t consider including a lanyard or something.
User Experience and Conclusion
A quick recap of our benchmark method for portable SSDs: most portable SSDs will primarily be used for bulk storage for carry or archiving. Speed isn’t vital up until certain uses. That said, our pair of benchmarks covers both extremes.
In the test above, Crystal DiskMark shows us average speed test results for both sequential tests and small file writes. Sequential tests will perform the fastest as they’re usually large, uncompressed files. Real-world examples would be large video files, photos, or game asset files. The 4K test measures smaller files which equate to random files in the real-world ranging from small text notes, to icons, to tiny graphics. The best example of this is your Window folder which may compose of a thousands of small files which is why it takes so long to copy the Windows folder despite opening up quite quickly.
Reading the result above, we see very predictable results with the TEAMGROUP PD20 ECO (1TB) averaging >1000MB/s reads and 970MB/s writes for sequential. This isn’t great but it isn’t bad either. Truth be told, the sequential performance for these drives are bottlenecked by the interface itself and they can go much faster as these are true SSDs just running off the maximum 10Gbps bandwidth of the USB3.2 Gen2 interface rather than a standard Gen3 or higher connection. This is even more evident in 4K write where everyone is basically performance at such a small gap from other.
In our linear write stress test, the chart explains the process being done here but to add more context, when an SSD is being written to, it will reach a point where it have filled up its cache (or pseudocache) and will drop to a slower write state. Some drives may do this in steps and some will do it outright, going from 1000MB/s down to 90MB/s or below.
This is bad for use-cases where you need continues sustained writes. The most common example is a video recording directly to the SSD. The TEAMGROUP PD20 ECO is rated for 1000MB/s which is expected from USB3.2 Gen2 (10Gbps) and based on our chart, we see it handle an average of 500MB/s sustained write speed. We’ve only seen a couple of drives drop after 200GB or so from this test but most wil cruise through just fine. This is great if you’re using this drive as a capture storage for BlackMagic Design cameras or their ATEM Mini series of switcher/recorders.
Now for real-world, actual use I tend to prefer my phone nowadays and that tends to fill-up the local storage quickly. Having a USB storage is generally supported nowadays on any phone whether its Android or iPhone and moving files is quite easy. In the very, very rare chance of needing a back-up device as well, I can download drivers or whatever directly on the phone, pop-it on the PD20 ECO and be done with it.
Thermal Behavior during Load
During our linear write test, I captured the temperate of the drive. Since the TEAMGROUP PD20 ECO uses a rubber jacket, it does insulate the heat a bit but we can see where the heat is emanating from the SSD controller which is the hotspot here. Case temps seem to be peaking at 48*C, far from anything dangerous but prolonged usage in hot environments is not recommended. The drive itself is rated for up to 70*C running temp which is normal for SSDs and this is quite difficult for portable ones to hit but do keep that in mind.
The IP54 rating means this drive is dustproof and waterproof to a certain degree. With that rubber flap covering the USB-C port, I’m not too confident on how it’ll hold back water after prolonged or at certain depths. Still, if you’re running in a bit of rain, the TEAMGROUP PD20 ECO could tank a slight drizzle, a bit of a splash, or a tumble on the sand or dirt.
Final Thoughts
Wrapping things up, the TEAMGROUP PD20 ECO is variation of the standard PD20 through and through but it swaps out the classic black and gold for an eco-centric faded green. And like its mainstream counterpart, it performs well as a portable SSD, maxing out the USB3.2 Gen2 interface and doesn’t dip when loaded in heavy write usage with no overheating observed.
That said, its not a stand-out either as most portable drives are suppsed to be. Its classy, toyish design lends itself better to being a keychain as you can see in my cardcase loop. And since the case itself is the loop, there’s no worrying of something tearing from the actual SSD as you’ll need to snap off that PCR plastic before you break anything and that’d take jamming a nail or screwdriver and some force to whack it open.
At $85, it competes directly with many of the drives in our list of the same size so ultimately the choice will be yours if this appeals to you or not. Personally, I urge you do buy it. Not for the recycling factor, not for the feelgood, nature lover vibe, but just to get products like these made more often on more products. Once the demand soars, an industry of MRF will form and the recycling process would eventually become easier for most of us and breakthroughs wil be built to ease this process. Again, not for nature alone, but for the technology this effort brings. But sure, if you like that warm, fuzzy feeling then by all means, it’s still a fast drive.
The Teamgroup PD20 ECO is available now in the Philippines.
