Other by stefan @ 2011-01-11
The Patriot Memory Extreme Performance Xporter XT Rage is a USB Flash Drive featuring an innovative Quad Channel configuration; data is intelligently managed and transferred simultaneously to 4 NAND chips resulting in vastly enhanced performance, mostly reflected in the write speeds. The Flash Drive comes in 8, 16, 32, 64Gb flavours.
At first I would like to thank Patriot Memory for offering me a sample of their Xporter XT Rage USB Flash Drive for reviewing.
"Mission Statement
To be the vendor of choice for the computer and consumer electronic industries with a commitment to service and quality.
Vision
Commitment, focus on innovation in technology, product quality, and customer satisfaction are the key enablers of our future success.
Company Profile
Established in 1985, Patriot Memory builds a full range of memory module and flash memory products, offering a perfect blend of quality and value. Patriot products include Extreme Performance (EP), Signature Lines (SL) and Flash Memory solutions (FM).
Sales and Distribution
Patriot has sales offices located throughout the U.S. and Asia. Patriot sells through the distribution channels throughout North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.
Product Design
We understand the value of designing and responding quickly and intelligently to the rapid changes inherent in the memory module industry. This commitment to R&D enables us to deliver the best quality memory modules powered by the latest innovative technology.
Manufacturing and Operations
Patriot's development and manufacturing facility are located in Fremont, California USA and Taipei, Taiwan. Our manufacturing segment is composed of a highly skilled production staff and multiple production lines optimized for modules, giving Patriot the ability and resources necessary to provide a full line of memory module solutions.
Manufacturing Process
To meet the growing global demand for its products, Patriot manufactures its Extreme Performance (EP), Dual Channel (DC) and Signature Line (SL) products in it own state-of-the-art manufacturing facility with highly skilled staff in Fremont, California USA and Taipei, Taiwan.
Patriot is a member of JEDEC. You can feel confident that your Patriot modules are of the highest quality available.
QA/QC Testing
Patriot Memory ensures that every module meets or exceeds industry standards. The manufacturing process begins with high-quality components and ends with rigorous functional testing to ensure each module's reliability and compatibility.
Patriot Memory modules are approved by leading motherboard and system manufacturers such Intel, Tyan, Supermicro and Iwill. Patriot Memory is a member of Apple Developer Connection. Awards from such leading product review sites as XBit Labs, Anandtech, Tom's Hardware and Hot Hardware.com demonstrate Patriot EP and DC+XBLK memory modules set the standard for performance and reliability."
The Xporter XT Rage USB 2.0 Flash drive from Patriot is shipped in a blister pack, offering information on the frontal part regarding the maximum achievable write speed, compatibility with the latest OS from Microsoft, Windows 7, and its main feature (QUAD channel transfer):
On the back of the package, we can see the product comes with a lifetime warranty, and the product feature are listed in multiple languages:
The Xporter XT Rage casing is made of plastic and the black parts have a rubberized texture. On one of the product sides, we can see the Patriot and product logo along with the total capacity of the device :
The flash drive design is similar on the opposite side:
On one of the sides we can see the USB connector, that is protected inside the black plastic casing:
To reveal the connector, we have to retract the plastic part:
On the USB connector, we can find a laser-written serial number:
The activity LED of the Rage XT is located in the back of the device:
The test-bench is composed from the ASUS X55SV laptop, the one that I have used for all the Flash Drive tests I have done before and the operating system was Windows 7 x64.
The drive comes completely empty, formatted FAT32:
To determine the flash drive read speeds, I have used the HD Tune Pro 4.60 utility:
To measure the real life performance, I have used the Total Commander application to copy to the flash drive and from the flash drive the same file and recorded the transfer speeds, when they have stabilized.
File Copy
File Read
The newly released Xporter XT Rage USB Flash drive from Patriot Memory comes with a Quad Channel technology which is not a marketing gimmick, it really enhances the product read and write performances. With this latest flash drive from Patriot, I was able to surpass all other products tested in the past regarding write speed: 20822 kbytes/s.
The product has a rubber coated casing to protect it against drops, spills or daily abuse; also the new retractable design seems more durable than the drives with slide mechanisms I have previously tested.
The Xporter XT Rage can be found in stores for about 60 Euros, not the cheapest flash drive we could get for this capacity, but it compensates with great performances and the small size.
I would like to thank again to Patriot Memory for offering me this product for review!