LaCie Porsche Design P9237 8TB Desktop Drive Review

LaCie puts the Porsche Design spin on their own desktop USB-C solution, the P9237 8TB desktop external drive.

Published
Updated
Manufacturer: LaCie
2 minutes & 58 seconds read time
TweakTown's Rating: 88%
TweakTown award

The Bottom Line

LaCie's P9237 carries a hefty price tag for its capacity, but don't let that get you down. It offers tremendous capacity along with performance and can double as the charger for your 2015 MacBook.
LaCie Porsche Design P9237 8TB Desktop Drive Review 99

Just a few months back, I had a go with both the Porsche Design Slim and Mobile 2.5" solutions from LaCie, and now we are back at it again with a high capacity desktop solution powered by the latest in technology, USB-C.

To remove any confusion, the LaCie P9237 as it is called is not a bus-powered solution but is rather featuring the latest in connectivity via USB-C. With that said, this device does hold some unique features including 8TB of capacity along with the capability of charging the USB-C MacBook. This is a solid feature in that while most devices will simply drain your MacBook while in use, the LaCie device will charge it. Compatibility extends to both Windows and OS X and with the included software the ability to swap between platforms.

The MSRP of the 8TB LaCie Porsche Design Desktop Drive comes in at $319.99 with a two-year warranty.

LaCie Porsche Design P9237 8TB Desktop Drive Review 02

Packaging for the P9237 (LAC9000604) carries an elegant look as do most LaCie packages. Capacity is listed at the top right with connectivity at the bottom.

LaCie Porsche Design P9237 8TB Desktop Drive Review 03

Diving right in, we have the install guide printed right on the packaging for the cables.

LaCie Porsche Design P9237 8TB Desktop Drive Review 04

The scope of delivery includes a full range of cables including a Type-C to Type-A along with a straight USB-C cable.

LaCie Porsche Design P9237 8TB Desktop Drive Review 05

Looking over the drive, we have subtle logos placed on the exterior one in the center on the top and another at the bottom right on the front.

LaCie Porsche Design P9237 8TB Desktop Drive Review 06

On the edge, we find a USB-C connection and power input with an activity LED to the left.

LaCie Porsche Design P9237 8TB Desktop Drive Review 10

We have gone through the LaCie setup quite a few times over the years and this time around there isn't much change.

LaCie Porsche Design P9237 8TB Desktop Drive Review 11

Step two allows you to configure your device for multiple OS usage.

LaCie Porsche Design P9237 8TB Desktop Drive Review 12

Included software options are Genie timeline and Desktop Manager.

LaCie Porsche Design P9237 8TB Desktop Drive Review 13

Taking a peek inside the enclosure, we find that LaCie has used the Archive drive from Seagate in its 8TB capacity.

LaCie Porsche Design P9237 8TB Desktop Drive Review 15

Above is a benchmark that was sent to me to check out. It's quite similar to ATTO in that it uses several different file sizes but I do like the feature to the top left that shows you drive info. As you can see here, the P9237 achieved 190 MB/s read and 185 MB/s write.

A big selling feature of the LaCie P9237 is its ability to charge the USB-C MacBook, and with the testing that I was able to perform myself, I found that it actually charged the MacBook a touch quicker than the stock Apple charger. The build quality is quite good as it normally is with LaCie solutions and on the package side, I was happy to see a USB-C to Type-A cable included.

The performance left nothing more to want. At 190 MB/s read and 185 MB/s write, this solution reaches the upper limits of what a mechanical hard drive can do, the only thing faster in my testing would be for LaCie to put a Barracuda Pro inside a solution like this at 10TB.

The included Genie Timeline software with this P9237 is a solid piece of kit but is outdated by a few years. It's actually more efficient to just download the latest build of Genie Timeline for free from the vendor's site or use Time Machine if you are an OS X user. Overall, I enjoyed the P9237 and its capacities as both a storage device and charger for the MacBook by my side, but all of this does carry quite a hefty price tag.

Tyler's Test System Specifications

TweakTown award
Performance 90%
Quality including Design and Build 90%
General Features 96%
Bundle and Packaging 85%
Value for Money 80%
Overall 88%

The Bottom Line: LaCie's P9237 carries a hefty price tag for its capacity, but don't let that get you down. It offers tremendous capacity along with performance and can double as the charger for your 2015 MacBook.

PRICING: You can find products similar to this one for sale below.

USUnited States: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com

UKUnited Kingdom: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.co.uk

AUAustralia: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com.au

CACanada: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.ca

DEDeutschland: Finde andere Technik- und Computerprodukte wie dieses auf Amazon.de

Tyler joined the TweakTown team in 2013 and has since reviewed 100s of new techy items. Growing up in a small farm town, tech wasn't around, unless it was in a tractor. At an early age, Tyler's parents brought home their first PC. Tyler was hooked and learned what it meant to format a HDD, spending many nights reinstalling Windows 95. Tyler's love and enthusiast nature always kept his PC nearby. Eager to get deeper into tech, he started reviewing.

Newsletter Subscription
We openly invite the companies who provide us with review samples / who are mentioned or discussed to express their opinion. If any company representative wishes to respond, we will publish the response here. Please contact us if you wish to respond.