Design & Features
Aluminium-built dual-drive with the durable rugged orange rubber casing. Rugged RAID comes with a Thunderbolt cable and a USB 3.0 cable, but you’ll need an A/C adaptor to run the drive off the USB. This is something that can be a deterrent for Windows users since this essentially ties the user to a power outlet. You’ll find the adaptor as well a bunch of plug adaptors suitable for any country around the world in the box. The Thunderbolt cable easily wraps around the outside of the drive and can be put into the orange cap that is then placed on top of the drive. There’s also an extra rubber cap in the box in case you misplace the first one.
Measuring at 34 x 91 x 148mm and weighting at just over 500 grams, the Rugged RAID won’t fit into your back pocket and certainly heavier than some of its competition, but that shouldn’t be a deterrent considering what the drive offers. It comes pre-configured as RAID 0 and a hardware switchable RAID 0/1 option enabling the drive to be optimised either for speed as well as storage space or data redundancy for back up purposes (which will reduce the usable space to 2TB instead of 4). The hardware switch between RAID 0 and 1 is easier than having a software switch, simply toggle the switch located when the rubber cap is removed to reveal the USB 3.0 connector and you’re pretty much set to go. The drive also offers password protection with AES 256-bit software encryption. That should be more than enough for most data needs.
The Rugged RAID is also dust and splash-resistant and claims to be able to withstand drops of up to 1.5 meters and a pressure of up to 1 tonne. We haven’t driven a 4×4 over the hard drive to test the latter statement, but the drive did withstand the daily wear-and-tear that comes with carrying around a portable drive. In addition, the rubber casing also negates the need for putting the drive into a protective cover to keep it safe from the day-to-day bumps and grinds of a busy workday.
Performance
Performance-wise, LaCie drives rarely disappoint, the Rugged RAID 4TB doesn’t either. LaCie claims transfer rates of up to 10GB/s via Thunderbolt and up to 5GB/s via USB 3.0 for the Rugged RAID. Whilst in RAID 0 the read/write speeds are up to 240 mb/s and half that in RAID 1. With write speeds of above 200MB/s, we were able to transfer over 100GB of data in under ten minutes.
The noise levels are relatively low, you can barely hear the drive operate as data is being transferred. Which is great, especially when there’s a lot of data to transfer and you don’t want the constant humming and whirring that usually comes with a hard drive when data’s being transferred.
There were times the orange rubber casing got caught on the MacBook Air’s side when the drive was being shifted. That said, the rubber casing does add to durability of the drive, and the bright orange colour will definitely make it easy to spot. If you leave the drive on the passenger’s seat of the car whilst driving, and you happen to brake suddenly causing the drive to fly off the seat, rest assured the casing will protect it more often than not. Which is something we can’t say for some other drives that lack protection out of the box.
One thing of concern is the Thunderbolt cable that’s attached to the drive, we’re not too sure if it can withstand the daily wear and tear that comes with the use of an external drive. Perhaps if the cable was shorter and a bit thicker we’d be more confident. That shouldn’t be a deterrent, however, all things considered. At roughly AED1500 for 4TB of space is quite a steal based on the space alone. This works out to AED 375 per 1TB of space, which is not bad.
Pros
- high storage capacity
- built-in Thunderbolt
- quiet operation
Cons
- Rubber casing can be dislodged
- Thunderbolt cable looks a bit thin
- Needs power to run off the USB 3.0 on Windows
Verdict:
Great accessory for people on the go, especially Mac users, plug the Thunderbolt cable in and you’re good to go with great transfer-speeds and plenty of storage space as well as RAID data protection should that be required. Photographers, videographers, people who travel a lot or people-on-the-go and need plenty of storage space will love the LaCie Rugged RAID 4TB.
