Refine search for Storage

  Leave a comment      Email this to a friend TrustedReviews Newsletters

Click to Enlarge
Secure Lock
Flash Mail
FD BackUp

Along the top of the unit is a small write-protect switch that you can use if you’re worried about deleting any important files by mistake. There’s also a blue LED that lights up when the hard disk is being accessed and a small eyelet which is presumably designed to accommodate a neck or hand strap, although neither is supplied in the box. MSI does however provide you with a handy 50cm extension cable for those awkward or hard to reach USB ports, as well as a rather basic looking storage pouch which should provide superficial protection from the usual bumps and knocks encountered in everyday use.

Anyway, that’s enough about the design and features for the time being - how well does this little MSI drive actually perform? Although the times we recorded in our own 'real world' file transfer tests worked out to be slightly lower than the maximum 5.5MB/sec transfer rate quoted by MSI, both the read and write speeds were very acceptable considering the size of the unit and certainly comparable to the performance of solid state flash memory keys.

As far as bundled software goes the Mega Cache 15 comes preloaded with Secure Lock, a utility that runs off the drive itself and lets you create a hidden password protected area for any sensitive data. You also get Flash Mail, which allows you to send and receive emails from any PC that has an Internet connection (provided you have Administrator privileges) and FD BackUp, which installs and runs on the host machine and lets you back up and synchronise your mobile data to your PC or vice-versa.

Verdict

If you’re thinking about buying your first mobile storage device, or are about to upgrade your current flash memory drive for something with more storage space, then this new 1.5GB drive from MSI comes highly recommended. One thing’s for sure though, the Mega Cache 15 is yet another nail in the coffin of the humble floppy disk.

Add your comment