Mach Xtreme Barium 64GB Type-C Combo USB Drive Review




/ 8 years ago

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Introduction


Mach Xtreme Barium 64GB Type-C Combo USB Drive Review

With a new generation of connectors, we also need a new generation of flash drives able to connect to those ports. Luckily there is no shortage of USB 3.1 Type-C drives anymore and a lot of them come with a duality to make sure that they stay compatible with a higher amount of devices, those with type-A ports.

Today I’m taking a closer look at Mach Xtreme’s version called the Barium. The Mach Xtreme Barium is a flash drive that is available with a capacity from 64GB over 128GB all the way up to 256GB. Today, I am taking a closer look at the smallest version of the drive, the model with 64GB capacity. This is probably the most common size for people to buy and as such it’s a perfect one to test.

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Photo-caps off 2

The Mach Extreme Barium is both a USB 3.1 type-C flash drive as well as a normal one with a type-A connector – one at each end of the drive. It makes the drive just as convenient for your mobile device as it does to your stationary. So far it is mostly Android-powered devices with a type-C connector, but they aren’t exclusive.

A drive like this can be universally used with both types of devices as well as being used to transfer files from one to the other without the need for other sorts of connections.

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Photo-plug c

While USB 3.1 is capable of speeds up to 10Gbit/s, we won’t see those kinds of speeds from a drive like this. It is still a fast drive that comes with a speed rating of 200MB/s reading and 70MB/s writing. While those speeds aren’t blazing fast, they are quite nice for a flash drive. The Barium isn’t just a fast drive, it is also a durable drive thanks to the use of MLC NAND over cheaper alternatives.

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Photo-plug a

Feature Highlights

  • USB 3.1 Type-C
  • Up to 256GB capacity
  • Dual connector drive
  • Up to 200MB/s throughput

Packaging and Accessories

Mach Xtreme packed the Barium in a simple yet stylish box. It does look better than just a blister pack and it also makes it easier to get out of there.

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Photo-box top

Both the front and the rear of the box are filled with all the vital information such as connector types, bus, and capacity.

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Photo-box rear

———————–

Testing & Methodology


When testing a flash drive like this, then we’re interested in more than just the performance of an empty drive. Most NAND-based products are in some degree affected in their performance by the amount of capacity that has been used. That’s surely something most people have experience by now and the smaller the drive is, the more noticeable it will be.

To make these tests as thorough as possible and test how big the performance impact of a drive is through its fillage degree, I’ll be testing the drives empty as well as with 25%, 50%, and 75% data fillage. The flash drive will be tested with all the apps mentioned below at each of these stages and that should give us a great overall view of the drive and its performance.

I’ll be inserting screenshots from each test as well as a performance analysis charts and drive comparison charts on each of the following pages. The only application that is exempt, is the fillage tests is AIDA64. This is because its write tests require the drive to be unpartitioned. AIDA does give us a great look at the drive with other tests and built-in benchmark graphing.

Benchmark System:

Software

  • AIDA64 Storage Benchmark
  • Anvil’s Storage Utilities
  • ATTO Benchmark
  • AS SSD
  • CrystalDiskMark
  • Windows 10
———————–

AIDA64


AIDA64 is a streamlined Windows diagnostic and benchmarking software for home users. It provides a wide range of features to assist in overclocking, hardware error diagnosis, stress testing, and sensor monitoring.

It has unique capabilities to assess the performance of the processor, system memory, and disk drives and is compatible with most Microsoft Windows operating systems. It also has a disk benchmark tool, and that is the one I’ll be using.

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-aida suite

Linear Performance

The Linear Read and Write tests measure the sequential performance by reading or writing all sectors without skipping any. It gives, as the name says, a linear view on the drives overall performance from start to end.

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-aida read linear

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-aida write linear

Random Performance

The Random Read and Write tests measure the random performance by reading or writing variable-sized data blocks at random locations on the surface of the drive. The Random tests are actually a combination of both speed and access times as it moves the position before each new operation.

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-aida read random

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-aida write random

Access Times

The Access time tests are designed to measure the data access performance by reading or writing small 0.5KB data blocks at random locations on the drive surface.

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-aida read access

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-aida write access

Drive Comparison

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-ChartComp-aida

———————–

Anvil’s Storage Utilities


Anvil’s Storage Utilities is a great benchmarking utility that is completely free to download and use. It has the ability to test hard drives and solid state drives as well as other storage mediums such as flash drives and memory cards. Pretty much, if it has a drive label, you can test it.

Compressible Data

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-anvils compr 0

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-anvils compr 25

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-anvils compr 50

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-anvils compr 75

Incompressible Data

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-anvils incompr 0

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-anvils incompr 25

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-anvils incompr 50

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-anvils incompr 75

Drive Performance Analysis

The drive performance analysis chart will give you a look at the drives performance at varying degrees of fillage.

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-ChartAnal-Anvils compr

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-ChartAnal-Anvils incompr

Drive Comparison

For the purpose of drive comparison, I will be using the performance figures from the tests with 0% data-fill.

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-ChartComp-anvils

———————–

AS SSD


The AS SSD software determines the performance of Solid State Drives (SSD). The tool contains five synthetic and three practice tests. The synthetic tests determine the sequential and random read and write performance of the SSD. These tests are performed without using the operating system caches. In Sequential tests, the program measures the time it takes to read and write a 1 GB file respectively. To give a clearer picture of the drives tested, I’ve chosen to include all tests. Special the copy test is one that I think is relevant on the consumer level as it gives the user a view into one of the operations he’s going to do many times.

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-asssd combined 0

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-asssd combined 25

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-asssd combined 50

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-asssd combined 75

Compression

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-asssd compr

Drive Performance Analysis

The drive performance analysis chart will give you a look at the drives performance at varying degrees of fillage.

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-ChartAnal-asssd

Drive Comparison

For the purpose of drive comparison, I will be using the performance figures from the tests with 0% data-fill.

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-ChartComp-asssd

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ATTO


The ATTO Disk Benchmark performance measurement tool is compatible with Microsoft Windows. Measure your storage systems performance with various transfer sizes and test lengths for reads and writes. Several options are available to customize your performance measurement including queue depth, overlapped I/O and even a comparison mode with the option to run continuously. Use ATTO Disk Benchmark to test any manufacturers RAID controllers, storage controllers, host adapters, hard drives and SSD drives and notice that ATTO products will consistently provide the highest level of performance to your storage.

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-atto 0

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-atto 25

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-atto 50

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-atto 75

Drive Performance Analysis

The drive performance analysis chart will give you a look at the drives performance at varying degrees of fillage.

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-ChartAnal-atto

Drive Comparison

For the purpose of drive comparison, I will be using the performance figures from the tests with 0% data-fill.

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-ChartComp-atto

———————–

CrystalDiskMark


CrystalDiskMark is a small HDD benchmark utility for your hard drive that enables you to rapidly measure sequential and random 4KB/512KB read/write speeds.

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-cdm 0

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-cdm 25

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-cdm 50

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-Bench3.1-cdm 75

Drive Performance Analysis

The drive performance analysis chart will give you a look at the drives performance at varying degrees of fillage.

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-ChartAnal-cdm

Drive Comparison

For the purpose of drive comparison, I will be using the performance figures from the tests with 0% data-fill.

MachXtreme_Barium_64GB-ChartComp-cdm

———————–

Final Thoughts


Pricing

At the time of writing, the 64GB model of the Mach Xtreme Barium can be yours for $30.99 at NewEgg. I couldn’t find it listed in the UK yet, but it has arrived on the EU mainland where it can be found starting from €34.84.

Conclusion

The Barium flash drive from Mach Xtreme is a great looking drive, but I might be a little biased in that direction. I do like tech and gadget with an orange colour and the Barium pulls off that look perfectly with its aluminium housing. It is also a drive that appears to be very sturdy.

The dual connection system with both a type-A and a type-C plug makes the drive highly compatible with both legacy and modern devices. Whether you got a new phone or portable system with a type-C connector or a normal system with USB 2 or 3 ports, the Barium will do a great job.

The drive performs well, but not as well as you might have hoped for when reading USB 3.1. The promised performance of 200MB/s reading and 70MB/s writing was easily achieved and we even saw a better write performance with up to and around 90MB/s most of the times. Overall, a great drive that should leave owners of it happy and satisfied.

Pros

  • Up to 200MB/s throughput
  • Dual connectivity with Type-C and Type-A
  • Aluminium housing

Cons

  • None

“The Mach Xtreme Barium is a solid USB drive that does a great job with both Type-C and Type-A devices.”

Mach Xtreme Barium 64GB Type-C Combo USB Drive Review

Mach Xtreme Barium 64GB Type-C Combo USB Drive Review

Thank You Mach Xtreme for providing us with this sample.

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