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Patriot Memory 32GB Xporter XT


Date
: 10/19/08 – 08:57:38 PM

Author
:

Category
: Storage

Page 1 : Index

Manufacturer:
Patriot Memory

Patriot Memory has been around for more than twenty years, but have just recently started making a name for themselves in the memory market. While they are making headway with high performance memory kits, they also have a solid line of flash memory products.

Patriot's Xporter XT Boost line of USB flash drives boast Windows Vista ReadyBoost certification, 180x read speeds and capacities up to 32GB. Today I have the 32GB variation to run through some tests to see how this drive performs. Read on to find out if maybe this drive can save you some room in your bag and replace that portable hard drive.

Page 2 : Package and Contents

The Xporter XT Boost 32GB comes packed in the all too familiar plastic clamshell.

While this packaging generally offers an attractive and clean product, getting into it can be a pain. From the front, the drive itself is clearly visible with the product name clearly displayed.

The back of the package contains a small graph comparing transfer rates as well as some company information.

Once opened, the Xporter XT Boost comes with a USB extension cable and a lanyard with detachable end.

Page 3 : Specifications

Specifications for the Xporter XT 32GB were grabbed straight from Patriot's product page here.

Features:

* Hi Speed USB 2.0 Compatible (backwards compatible to USB 1.1)
* Easy plug and play functionality
* Durable shock resistant housing
* Speeds up to 180x
* Driverless in Windows ME/2K/XP/Vista, Mac OS 9.x, OS X, and Linux with USB storage support
* Certified for Microsoft Vista Readyboost
* Lifetime Warranty

Some people might wonder exactly how much their flash drive can hold of either their favorite music or pictures. Patriot includes a handy graph that lays this information out for you. While numbers for the 32GB drive are not included, you can easily double the 16GB numbers.

Page 4 : Drive and Installation

Some impressive stats, so now let's move onto the drive itself.

The Xporter XT Boost comes dressed in a shock resistant black rubber coating. Emblazoned in red across the front and back is the Xporter XT name and capacity. There is a small blue activity LED on one side.

The cap smoothly slides off, though I would like to see some sort of retention mechanism to prevent losing the cap.

With no included software and no drivers are required, installation amounts to plugging the drive into an available port. Since the drive is a little bit wider with the rubber housing and could pose problems when ports are right next to each other, the included USB extension cable will easily rectify this situation.

Page 5 : Testing

The following system was used for testing:

CPU: Intel E8400
MB: Gigabyte P35-DS3R
RAM: Mushkin XP2-8500 2x1GB
Video: Biostar GeForce 9600GT
PSU: Ultra X3 1000W
HD: WD 250GB SATA
DVD-Rom: Lite-On 18x DVD Burner SATA
Cases: Antec Three Hundred
OS: Microsoft Windows XP w/ SP2

Comparison USB drives:
Patriot Xporter XT 32GB
Kingston DataTraveler Secure 2 GB
Kingston DataTraveler Secure Privacy Edition 2 GB
n-Trance n-Tegrity Pro 1 GB

For testing I used the following programs to gather data:
-Sisoft Sandra Lite XII.SP2c File System benchmark
-Simpli Software HD Tach 3.0.4.0
-NodeSoft Diskbench

All programs were run three times and the average of those scores was used as the final result.

To start off with, I ran them through Sandra's file system benchmark. The Xporter XT Boost easily outperforms all of the drives in 4 out of the 7 tests, falling behind only on the Buffered Write and Random Write tests.

Next I ran them through Sandra's Removable Storage test. Results here kind of surprised me, but you can see that the Xporter XT fell behind both Kingston drives and just barely edged out the n-Trance drive in Device Index score. Endurance factor scores put it in between the n-Tegrity Pro and DataTraveler drives.

Now it is on to SimpliSoftware's HD Tach benchmark. I ran all of the drives through the Long Bench tests. The Xporter XT Boost easily outpaces the other drives.

Finally I ran them through NodeSoft's Diskbench using a 516,000 KB file in the Copy File test. As you can see once again, the Xporter XT Boost outperforms all of the other drives and confirms that this is quite a speedy drive.

Page 6 : Conclusion

Through all of the benchmarking and everyday use of the Xporter XT Boost I have been quite impressed. Even with the large capacity it is still a speedy drive. With a capacity of 32GB, the Xporter XT Boost can easily fit in your pocket and is a great replacement for that portable hard drive you might be lugging around.

Quite honestly it's hard to find any faults with the Xporter drive. Really about the only complaint I have is dealing with the cap and it possibly getting lost since it is not attached. This is a very minor point, so if you are looking for a large amount of storage that can fit in your pocket, you owe Patriot's Xporter XT Boost 32GB flash drive a serious look.

Positives

• 32GB of storage

• Fast
• Protective Coating

Negatives

• Cap could get lost

Overclockers Online would like to thank Patriot Memory for supplying the Xporter XT Boost 32GB for review.