On The...Torture Rack? LaCie's Unbreakable USB Thumb Drive
On The...Torture Rack? LaCie's Unbreakable USB Thumb DriveToday we have a set of test lines up that are certainly not par for Tom's Hardware: we're putting LaCie's XtremKey through hell and back. This USB key is marketed as being very sturdy: “With its impenetrable shell, the LaCie XtremKey is a USB key that’s extremely durable, with industrial-strength protection. The XtremKey is constructed with zamac, a metal alloy composed of zinc, aluminum, magnesium, and copper.”
The Tom's Hardware staff prides itself on in-depth testing. And impenetrable is a mighty strong word to use in a marketing document. So, we decided to torture this USB key to see just how robust it really is.
First, a note on performance: LaCie claims a 40 MB/s read speed and a 30 MB/s write speed, but we measured (on the 16 GB version) 38 MB/s (which is still very good) and 12 MB/s (note that LaCie claims only 15 MB/s for the 8 GB version).
Call it payback for pre-production components that keep me up late at night troubleshooting...
And chain them together and use as bullet proof vest?
I would strongly recommend one more test. Let a goat eat it, and see what happens. The damn things eat cans, so they have a chance against this thing. If the goat displays unusually good memory a little while after eating it, you'll have your answer.
And chain them together and use as bullet proof vest?
Big surprise ...
Not..
I would strongly recommend one more test. Let a goat eat it, and see what happens. The damn things eat cans, so they have a chance against this thing. If the goat displays unusually good memory a little while after eating it, you'll have your answer.
Call it payback for pre-production components that keep me up late at night troubleshooting...
The experiment does show the durability but not in any kind of legitimate quantitativeness; I ended more annoyed at this article than informed.
On the other hand, the LaCie drive is no less impressive either. That thing's probably indestructable. Unless you nuke it.
(2) Are you auditioning for Mythbusters?
Nothing that brainiac has ever tested has survived. For US readers, brainiac is a science program in the UK. Thermite vs safe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a2OeWS3G-A
+1 for brainiac. They don't show that enough in the US. Way better than mythbusters.
Montreal Canada so dropped in water, slush, snow and pavement.
USB Keys are quite unkillable unless you get their weakspots.
Mine got killed by my friend stepping on it when it was plugged into the computer... Tho I opened it and welded the connector inside back in place... still running perfectly.