Life teaches me nothing. Almost a year ago, in a review of an external SSD, I talked about the problems of a 128GB laptop user and promised myself to buy a device with adequate memory. And now, as the proud owner of a MacBook on M1 with as much as 256 GB of storage, I get my hands on a compact external SSD from the French brand LaCie. Let’s see if it will satisfy my, unfortunately, still urgent needs.
Equipment
Required minimum
Usually, reviews of drives, and any other electronics, begin with unpacking, but in the case of the LaCie Portable SSD, there is nothing to tell here. The SSD comes with only a USB Type-C cable at both ends – in my opinion, a small case would not hurt here. But the lack of a cable with outdated USB-A did not upset me at all. I don’t remember the last time I used it.
Design
Compact body and pleasant materials
The LaCie disc is housed in a stylish brushed silver metal case, but the materials are not surprising. The fact is that in size (5 × 8 cm) the SSD barely surpasses a matchbox, and in weight (45 g) it seems to be something paper at all, not otherwise. In other words, LaCie engineers approached the task of “making the disk as compact as possible” with all responsibility. So, if you were afraid that external storage would weigh down your pocket or get in the way of your backpack, this is not about the LaCie Portable SSD.
As for the appearance, it is as simple and strict as possible. Of the identification marks on the case, there is only the LaCie inscription and some technical information on the back. However, the disc does not seem boring – largely due to the beveled edges, which make it visually even smaller. On the negative side, I can only note that it is easy to scratch other devices with a disc. Again, a cover would be nice. To indicate the operation of the SSD, a barely noticeable slot on the side is used, which glows when connected.
In work
High speed, especially if you don’t have a Mac
The LaCie Portable SSD performs impressively in performance. In the Blackmagic Speed Test, this is 825.5 MB / s for writing and 744.6 MB / s for reading, if the disk is formatted in APFS (in ExFat, the values are about 100 MB / s lower). In CrystalDiskMark, the SSD is fully disclosed, giving out 965 MB / s and 995 MB / s for reading and writing, respectively – both in NTFS and in ExFat. Both large files and a scattering of small ones are copied in a matter of seconds. During the tests, the disk does not heat up at all.
When connected for the first time, LaCie Portable SSD prompts you to install the proprietary Toolkit software and register the drive on the site. Of the useful functions of the program, I can only note the ability to duplicate the contents of a computer to a disk when connected – otherwise any Disk Manager will be much more functional. Even at the first connection, the warranty rules are contained on the disk in a separate PDF document. She’s here, by the way, for three years.
Review
After two weeks of use
After spending almost two weeks with a LaCie SSD, I can say that this device definitely lives up to its price tag (at the time of writing this review, the 1 TB version costs about 18,000 rubles). It is fast, reliable and very compact with an unpretentious but stylish case. Perhaps the only thing I lacked in it was the complete case, but this is more of a niggle than a real drawback.
pros
- Very compact body.
- Nice materials.
- High speeds.
- Three-year warranty.
May not like
- Make sure your computer can unleash the full potential of this SSD.
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
