LaCie Rugged SSD4 Review: USB4 Performance in a Tough, Travel-Ready Shell

Fast, portable, and built for real-world abuse, the Rugged SSD4 delivers impressive write performance and dependable durability.

LaCie’s Rugged line has consistently targeted professionals who need reliable storage in unpredictable or harsh environments. The Rugged SSD4 continues in that direction, but with meaningful upgrades under the hood. Built around full USB 40Gbps support, this generation brings significantly faster transfer speeds and a more capable internal architecture. The exterior remains essentially unchanged, which is a smart move (LaCie’s design has proven itself in the field). However, users working with high-resolution video, large RAW photo libraries, and other storage-intensive media should see noticeable performance improvements compared to previous generations. Unlike the Rugged Pro5, which targets peak performance with Thunderbolt 5 support and adds IP68-rated protection, the SSD4 takes a more versatile approach. It focuses on broad USB4 compatibility and delivers fast, consistent speeds supported by a wider range of systems.

LaCie Rugged SSD4 Performance Profile

The new Rugged external drive operates at 40Gbps and is compatible with Thunderbolt 3, 4, and 5 host systems. LaCie claims that, when connected to a port that supports the full bandwidth, the drive can achieve maximum sequential read speeds of up to 4,000MB/s and write speeds of up to 3,800MB/s. Those numbers equate to a Gen4 NVMe SSD; however, real-world performance will vary depending on the host system, cable quality, thermal throttling, and the file types being moved. More on that in our benchmarking section.

If you’re using a computer that only supports older USB ports, such as USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), the Rugged SSD4 will still function, but its full performance will not be realized. In those cases, transfer speeds typically peak around 1 to 1.2GB per second, which is far below the capabilities of USB4. Tasks that involve many small files, such as photos, documents, or project assets, may also feel slower or less responsive unless the drive is connected to a 40Gbps USB4 or Thunderbolt 4 or 5 port. When paired with the proper host system, however, the SSD4 can easily handle demanding workloads, such as RAW video, high-resolution imagery, and large-scale data transfers.

LaCie Rugged SSD4 Design and Build

The Rugged SSD4 retains the series’ familiar compact form factor and bright orange rubber bumper, a design that’s become a visual signature for LaCie’s portable drives. It still feels well-built in hand, with enough grip and weight to avoid slipping around in a gear bag, but not so bulky that it takes up unnecessary space.

While the design remains largely the same, this is not a negative; LaCie has clearly concentrated on refining the internals while maintaining what already works well. The enclosure now carries an IP54 rating for dust and water resistance and is drop-tested from up to 3 meters, which helps during travel, on-set use, and mobile environments where drives are routinely tossed between bags, benches, and workstations. Overall, the build quality remains solid, featuring a no-flex design with tight seams and a smooth finish.

Internally, the Rugged SSD4 features at least 35% of its total material weight coming from post-consumer recycled components. It’s a welcome shift that doesn’t appear to affect build quality. The chassis is solid, with no flex, rattles, or visible weak points, and the passive cooling design keeps things simple. The drive becomes noticeably warm during prolonged writing tasks, which is something to consider in high-use situations. It appears to be designed for constant movement and usage, being tough enough for mobile workflows without requiring careful handling.

The LaCie Rugged SSD4 is compatible with macOS, Windows, iPadOS, and USB-C-equipped Android devices. There are no special setup steps or additional software required to get started. It features a single USB-C port for both connectivity and power, simplifying use across multiple devices.

Out of the box, LaCie Rugged SSD4 includes a two-month Adobe Creative Cloud Pro membership (which provides access to tools such as Adobe Firefly). It is backed by a three-year limited warranty that includes Rescue Data Recovery Services.

The LaCie Rugged SSD4 is available in capacities of 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB. Pricing is set at $134.99 for 1TB, $249.99 for 2TB, and $479.99 for 4TB.

LaCie Rugged SSD4 Specifications

LaCie Rugged SSD4 USB4 Performance

First, we examine how the LaCie Rugged SSD4 performs in terms of transfer speeds using the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test and IOMeter benchmarks in single-queue and four-queue configurations.

We had only one other USB4 drive for direct comparison, the SanDisk Extreme PRO USB4, so we also included recent USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 drives to demonstrate how the newer generation compares to older portable drives.

• SanDisk Extreme PRO USB4
• Lexar SL500
• TEAMGROUP PD20
• Crucial X10 Pro
• Samsung T9

Here’s the high-performance test rig we used for benchmarking the USB4 drives. All other drives were tested on a Lenovo ThinkStation P520:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
• Motherboard: Asus ROG Crosshair X870E Hero
• RAM: G.SKILL Trident Z5 Royal Series DDR5-6000 (2x16GB)
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
• OS: Windows 11 Pro, Ubuntu 22.04 Server

Blackmagic Diskspeed Test

Running the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test on our USB4-capable test platform, the Rugged SSD4 achieved 3,185.4MB/s write and 3,183.1MB/s read speeds. These results place it at the very top of our portable SSD benchmarks, slightly outperforming the SanDisk Extreme PRO USB4, which achieved peak speeds of 2,863.6MB/s write and 3,172.3MB/s read under the same test conditions. While the read speeds between the two are effectively on par, LaCie holds a clear edge in write performance, which is a crucial factor for creators regularly pushing large batches of data to the drive.

Compared to USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 drives like the Lexar SL500, Crucial X10 Pro, and Samsung T9 (all of which plateau around 1,600MB/s), the USB4 drives demonstrate a substantial step forward. The Rugged SSD4, in particular, showcases the benefits of transitioning to PCIe Gen4-class external storage with a host system that can fully support it.

IOMeter 1 Queue

The next test is the single-queue IOMeter test, which examines sequential and random read/write performance under a lighter load. The speeds here will be close to those in the BlackMagic test on the sequential 2MB read and write portions, but we should see some differences in the 4-queue portion.

In the single-threaded IOMeter test, the LaCie Rugged SSD4 achieved excellent results, with write speeds of 3,052MB/s and read speeds of 2,611MB/s in sequential 2MB transfers. This edges out the SanDisk Extreme PRO USB4 in writes (2,309MB/s) while falling slightly behind in reads (2,993MB/s). In random 2MB transfers, LaCie delivered 3,049MB/s write and 1,823MB/s read, again leading in write throughput while trailing somewhat in read bandwidth compared to SanDisk’s 2,864MB/s.

In 4K random operations, the Rugged SSD4 showed a more balanced profile than the SanDisk. It reached 9,983 IOPS read and 33,217 IOPS write, a significant lead in write responsiveness over SanDisk’s 4,959 IOPS. While it didn’t match the top-performing Gen 2×2 drives like the Lexar SL500 in raw IOPS, LaCie’s new portable SSD delivered one of the best small-block write scores among USB4 drives tested. This positions it as the more responsive device in latency-sensitive workflows under low thread counts.

Compared to USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 drives like the Crucial X10 Pro and TEAMGROUP PD20, the LaCie Rugged SSD4 consistently outperformed across all workloads, particularly in sequential and large-block random write operations. Its 4K write score also holds up well against the highest IOPS numbers seen from Gen 2×2 devices, showing that USB4 no longer trades off low-queue responsiveness for bandwidth.

IOMeter 4 Queue

Our final performance test is the 4-Thread IOMeter test, which better simulates multitasking or heavier workloads.

Here, the LaCie Rugged SSD4 reaches 3,532MB/s write and 3,732MB/s read in sequential transfers, slightly ahead of the SanDisk Extreme PRO USB4’s 3,497MB/s write and 3,546MB/s read. Both drives are well above anything seen from Gen 2×2 competitors and are close to saturating USB4 bandwidth. Random 2MB workloads followed the same pattern, with the LaCie drive achieving 3,533MB/s write and 2,897MB/s read speeds, trailing SanDisk slightly in reads but matching it in writes. These high-end results demonstrate that both drives can easily handle professional workloads and high-speed transfers over USB4 and Thunderbolt 4.

The most notable difference came in 4K workloads. The Rugged SSD4 posted 82,941 IOPS in 4K reads and 35,988 IOPS in 4K writes, significantly outperforming SanDisk’s 49,067 and 17,315 IOPS, respectively. This makes the LaCie a better all-around performer for heavier multitasking and workloads that depend on smaller operations.

PCMark 10 Storage (Data Drive)

PCMark 10 simulates real-world tasks, such as file transfers, app launches, and media access, to measure a storage drive’s performance in everyday use. The Data Drive Benchmark focuses on how responsive and efficient a drive is during these common desktop activities.

In this test, the LaCie Rugged SSD4 scored 1,943, behind the SanDisk Extreme PRO USB4 at 2,585. It also showed slightly lower bandwidth at 295.29MB/s compared to 382.62MB/s, and a slower access time of 82µs versus 60µs. This probably means that while the Rugged SSD4 is very capable with large file transfers and media workloads, it isn’t quite as fast with frequent smaller operations, which are more common in general desktop use. Even so, its results are consistent with those of other high-capacity external SSDs, which are primarily built for handling media.

Here’s a full breakdown of the PCMark 10 result:

3DMark Storage Benchmark

Now let’s move on to 3DMark’s Storage Benchmark, which focuses on game-related tasks like loading titles, installing, saving, and recording gameplay.

The LaCie Rugged SSD4 scored 1,880, outperforming the SanDisk Extreme PRO USB4’s 1,370 in this test and showing stronger performance across nearly every task except for access latency. The most noticeable advantage was during the “Move Game” workload, where the Rugged SSD4 hit 1,765MB/s, compared to SanDisk’s 1,376MB/s. It also delivered faster installations and saved bandwidth, indicating improved performance in write-heavy scenarios (which aligns with what we observed in the IOMeter tests).

Here’s how both drives performed across each task:

Conclusion

The LaCie Rugged SSD4 combines strong performance with the same proven, travel-ready design the series is known for. While the exterior remains largely unchanged, the move to USB 40Gbps and a faster NVMe architecture is a nice upgrade under the hood. For creators and professionals who rely on high-speed, durable storage in the field, it delivers the kind of reliability and throughput needed for everything from on-location editing to fast media backups.

In testing, the Rugged SSD4 delivered excellent sequential and random performance, with robust results in write-heavy workloads. It outperformed the SanDisk Extreme PRO USB4 in several key areas, including 4K write IOPS and sustained 2MB transfers (two metrics that are crucial when moving or editing large media files). Latency scores in both PCMark and 3DMark also support this, indicating that the drive is more than capable of handling real-world tasks, such as editing video directly from the SSD, quickly offloading media, or managing project folders across different systems.

Overall, the Rugged SSD4 stands out as one of the strongest portable USB4 drives currently available. It strikes a solid balance between speed, build quality, and broad platform support, making it an excellent fit for creative workflows that demand consistent performance. Between its fast transfer rates, reliable durability, and added perks like data recovery support, LaCie has delivered a drive that feels purpose-built for professionals. It does come at a premium, but for users working in challenging environments where speed and reliability matter, the value is definitely there.

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