Page 2 - A Closer Look, Test System
Taking a closer look at the Silicon Power Mobile X31 32GB reveals it is simple in design, with the silver USB connector, and a matte black swivel cover. There is an option at the end of the swivel cover to attach a keychain onto it, if you so desire. This will be the option I am going with; read on to find out why. Moving on to the design of the Mobile X31, we can see that it promotes simplicity with very few details aside from the Silicon Power logo engraved into the swivel cover. Under the engraved logo, we are reminded we have a 32GB USB 3.0 flash drive in our hands.
Taking a quick look at the Mobile X31’s dimensions reveal it is relatively small. With a length of 31mm, width of 12.3mm, and thickness of 8.1mm, it is one of the smallest in comparison with other USB 3.0 flash drives to be tested later on in the review. This was a very welcomed reduction in size compared to the old school Kingston USB flash drive I still own, which is more than twice the length in size, and only contained 256MB of storage space. In addition, its weight of 3.3g is so light that it barely feels like you are holding anything while you have it in your hand. The lightness of the Mobile X31 will be especially beneficial to Android device users if they plan to take advantage of the OTG functions.
Flipping it over onto the other side, we have the same matte finish with no particular designs at all. Under the swivel cover of the USB is the model number marked as “D33B29”. I would also like to mention one thing about the swivel cover is that it is functionally and capability awesome. Whenever I wanted to switch from USB 3.0 to Micro USB, with a little movement, it “magically” snaps into place. I thought this was quite a smart feature to keep the SP Mobile X31 from any physical harm. It also shows attention to detail and a special type of artisanship. A note I would like to make is the size of the swivel cover. The swivel cover was perfectly designed so that it would keep the USB flash drive compact in size, but still able to protect it from foreign objects.
One of the disappointing design for the Mobile X31 would be its LED activity light, or the lack thereof. After many attempts in transferring data from my PC to the flash drive, what seemed to be the LED display on both sides simply did not light up or blink. At this point, it is safe to conclude it is not an LED. To make sure I am not doing something wrong, I also attempted to save data from the USB flash drive onto my phone while it was plugged in, but nothing lit up. I believe having an activity LED is necessary for users to see if the USB port is supplying power, and if the drive is active during data transfer. However, this was not a make or break deal for me; the lightweight and compact design is still a priority for me.
Because this is my first USB flash drive review, to make sure I was keeping up to the APH Networks standard, Technical Editor Aaron Lai so generously assisted me in the right direction. Our test configurations as follows:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K (Stock settings)
CPU Cooling: Intel stock cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z87X-D3H
RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury HX318C10FK2/16 2x8GB
Graphics: EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB
Chassis: Fractal Design Core 3300
Power: Cooler Master V1000 1000W
Optical Drive: LiteOn iHAS124-04 24X DVD Writer
Hard Drive: OCZ ARC 100 240GB, Western Digital Blue EZEX 1TB
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional x64
Compared Hardware:
- Silicon Power Mobile X31 32GB (USB 3.0)
- ADATA DashDrive Durable HD650 500GB (USB 3.0)
- ADATA DashDrive Elite UE700 64GB (USB 3.0)
- ADATA DashDrive HV620 1TB (USB 3.0)
- Kingston DataTraveler Locker+ G2 32GB (USB 2.0)
- Kingston DataTraveler Locker+ G3 32GB (USB 3.0)
- Kingston DataTraveler microDuo 32GB (USB 2.0)
- Kingston DataTraveler HyperX 3.0 64GB (USB 3.0)
- Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 G2 32GB (USB 3.0)
- Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 G3 32GB (USB 3.0)
- Kingston DataTraveler Vault Privacy 3.0 32GB (USB 3.0)
- Kingston HyperX Fury 64GB (USB 3.0)
- OCZ Rally2 Turbo 4GB (USB 2.0)
- Patriot Supersonic Magnum 64GB (USB 3.0)
- Patriot Supersonic Rage XT 32GB (USB 3.0)
- Patriot Stellar 64GB (USB 3.0)
- Silicon Power Armor A30 1TB (USB 3.0)
- Silicon Power Blaze B05 64GB (USB 3.0)
- Silicon Power Diamond D06 1TB (USB 3.0)
- Silicon Power Jewel J80 32GB (USB 3.0)
- Silicon Power Marvel M70 64GB (USB 3.0)
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look, Test System
3. Benchmark: AIDA64 Disk Benchmark
4. Benchmark: ATTO Disk Benchmark
5. Benchmark: Crystal Disk Mark 3.0
6. Benchmark: HD Tach 3.0.1.0
7. Benchmark: HD Tune Pro 4.60
8. Conclusion
