The TransMemory-EX posts the fastest 512 KB random reads in the round-up, hitting 256 MB/s. Five other USB 3.0 thumb drives break the 200 MB/s barrier, including the drive that wins our round-up overall, SanDisk's Extreme. The Kingston DataTraveler R3.0, with its not-so-inspiring 67.5 MB/s, reminds us that not all USB 3.0-connected thumb drives are fast.
The Extreme repeats its stellar 4 KB random read performance in our 512 KB random write metric. Calling the other drives "competition" gives them far too much credit, as SanDisk posts a 45.2 MB/s result, which is three times faster than the runner-up (Adata's S102 Pro 64 GB) and more than five times faster than Adata's third-place N0005.

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Summary
- 31 USB 3.0 Thumb Drives, Rounded-Up
- Results: Sequential Read And Write Performance
- Results: 4 KB Random Read And Write Performance
- Results: 512 KB Random Read And Write Performance
- Results: Copying Small Files
- Results: AS SSD Copy Benchmark
- The Winner: SanDisk Extreme
- Some Of The Other Fast USB 3.0 Thumb Drives
- The Toughest USB 3.0 Thumb Drives
- USB 3.0 Thumb Drives With Special Functionality
Ask a Category Expert
I currently have the 16GB version (was $20 when I got it)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/razor512/8272978749/
does 200MB/s read and 57.3MB/s write
not as good as the the 64GB version but it is still really good
Read speed: http://i.imgur.com/TdcufSg.png
Write speed: http://i.imgur.com/jQVkBCa.png
http://www.whoratesit.com/SanDisk-Extreme-USB-30-32GB/Rating/1466
There is a toggle on that site that allows you to view the benchmark results for all three sizes.
Here is the full whoratesit.com article as a complement to the Toms article: http://www.whoratesit.com/Best-Flash-Drive/Comparison/1#rank1
If I were home I'd post the controller and the thumb drive model, but I'm not there so don't ask.
If I were home I'd post the controller and the thumb drive model, but I'm not there so don't ask.
Too true, don't forget the controller speed. The Etron controller in my old-ish Z68 board ensures my USB 3.0 devices rarely go above 25 MBps even though I can get double that performance on my newer work computer.
No other site offers such thorough tech analisys. Thanks Tom.
Maxed read speed ( 30-33mb/s ) but sequential write speed got capped at around 27mb/s only. Tested myself.