If you’ve been reading my reviews for any amount of time you know I’m a huge fan of fast portable storage. Being someone who is constantly on the go I need fast access to my files and a suitable environment for tasks like video editing. Recently a company called Titanium Micro reached out about checking out one of their portable drives, the Mercury. Titanium Micro launched in 2018 and all of their external drivers are actually assembled here in the United States. They also try to be a “US Made” as possible, but obviously that is not always possible. The Titanium Micro Mercury is a USB 3.2 gen 2 portable solid state drive offering speeds of up to 1000 MB/s and a rugged design with MIL-STD-810 shockproof and IP6X dust and water resistant ratings. Is this the ultimate drive you need for your travels? Read on as we find out!

Specifications

Model: Mercury
Speed: Read/Write up to 1000MB/s
Material: Aluminum and Silicone Rubber
Connectivity: USB 3.1 Type-C and USB 3.0 Type-A Adapter Included
Warranty: 3 Year warranty
Dimensions: L x W x H: 4.7 x 2.4 x 0.7 inches
Weight: 5.9 ounces

Packaging

The Titanium Micro Mercury comes in a nice retail box. On the front we have a picture of the drive and it lets us know some of the main features and that the drive comes with a 3 year warranty.

Flipping over to the back there are more pictures of the Mercury show off its dimensions as well as a list of what is in the box, OS compatibility, and specifications.

Getting everything out of the box we have a Mercury drive, a travel pouch, USB-C to USB-A adapter, and a feedback card.

Titanium Micro Mercury Overview

The Titanium Micro Mercury is definitely on the larger side when it comes to portable drives, this is thanks to its rugged design, which we will get into in a bit. The official dimensions are 4.7 x 2.4 x 0.7 inches (LxWxH) and it weighs in at 5.9 ounces. While it is larger than other drives it is definitely still pocketable.

The main part of the drive is made up of an aluminum alloy which not only protects the drive, but also will help cool the components inside. Around this is a liquid silicon bumper. This design allows for MIL-STD-810 shockproof, IP6X dustproof, and IP6X water resistance ratings. Basically you can really beat this drive up and it will keep on going!

One thing travelers will definitely appreciate about this drive is the fixed Type-C cable. Too many times I forget to pack a cable when traveling and then I can’t access my files / work. With the Mercury that is not a problem and the outer silicon bumper acts as a holder for the cable. The Type-C cable is USB 3.2 gen 2 so you should expect to see speed of around 1000 MB/s on this drive.

Flipping the drive over the bottom has the silicon finish on it so it is going to stay in place on your desk, while also not scratching up your desk.

For those wondering you can open the drive up by removing the hex bolts on the top of the drive. Inside we find the Titanium Micro’s own Thorium TH7175 M.2 drive. You can remove this drive or swap it out for a larger capacity drive, but you will void your warranty.

Setup & Testing

Just like any USB drive all you do is plug the Mercury into an open USB port in your computer. If you don’t have a Type-C port available Titanium Micro does provide a Type-C to Type-A adapter. Once plugged in Windows will automatically recognize the drive and you’ll be good to go. On the drive you’ll find a Getting Started folder that has a user’s guide on it and necessary files for getting FBackup and pCloud up and running.

For testing we will be running the Mercury against other portable solid state drives we have on hand so you can see the difference between the drives. As a reminder Titanium Micro lists the speeds of this drive as 1000 MB/s for both read and write. First up we have CrystalDiskMark.

As you can see we have sequential read speeds of 1065.27 MB/s and write speeds of 1036.78 MB/s. Here is how the drive compares to other drives we’ve tested.

Next we run the the AJA System test. It tests different types of video formats and gives you throughput results for the drive. Our configuration was 4K RED HD footage, 1 GB test file size, and the 8bit YUV codec.

And those results compared to other drives.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day Titanium Micro has a really great drive in their Mercury. The thing that really sets this drive apart from others is its rugged design with both MIL-STD-810 shockproof and IP6X dust and water resistant ratings. This is really a drive that can take a beating and still protect your data. I’ve seen people run this drive over with a car and even submerge it in water and it keeps on ticking. So if you are doing any type of outdoor activity you really shouldn’t have to worry about losing your data if it is on the Mercury.

Another thing I really like about this drive is that the USB cable is built into the drive. So many times I’ve forgot to pack a cable for my portable drive, with the Mercury it is always there. The design of the drive also allows for the cable to really be tucked away and as I mentioned while the drive is a bit larger it can still fit in your pocket.

In terms of speed this is a USB 3.2 gen 2 drive so you should expect speeds around 1000 MB/s for both the read and write and in our testing it performed right up to those specifications. We did not really notice any issues in terms of performance with the drive. It will be interesting to see if Titanium Micro comes out with a USB 3.2 gen 2×2 version of the drive, which would essentially double the speed.

Right now you can pick up the 2TB version of this drive at our favorite online retailer for $269.99, which puts it on the high side of 2TB portable drives. The more rugged design and IP6X ratings factor into that, but for example the 2TB SanDisk Extreme Portable is $239.99, the Samsung T7 is $219.99, while the LaCie Rugged SSD is $479.99. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Titanium Micro Mercury 2TB Portable Solid State Drive a 9 out of 10 score.

Pros:
– Built in the USA
– MIL-STD-810 shockproof and IP6X dust and water resistant
– Performs up to specifications
– Fixed USB cable (great for traveling)
– You can replace the drive inside (voids warranty though)

Cons:
– Larger than other portable drives out there

Reference: Thinkcomputers.org