Overall and Final Verdict
So at the end of the day what do we think about the RunCore Pro IV PATA ZIF 256GB? Well I went into this really hoping that this would be a perfect solution for people who build small computers and compact case mods. The ZIF interface is just too limited for that performance wise. But I did come out really impressed with the improvement that RunCore has done over ZIF hard drives and SSD”s that are available in slightly older laptops and device like the MacBook Air. You could see a 4 time improvement in performance over your old 4200 RPM hard drive as well as the possibility of increased capacity with the larger 256 GB and 512 GB drives that RunCore has available.
Really beyond that my other focus was on the USB enclosure that came with the drive. I found that because of its small size you end up with a nice pocket sized drive that you can pack with you. The only downside was the USB 2.0 interface. I was impressed that the drive did max the performance of the USB 2.0 interface, but it could have been twice as fast with USB 3.0, that would have made it a good option and faster than some of the larger USB 3.0 flash drives as well.