Best Portable Solid State USB Flash Drives for 2022
When we need to physically move data between computers, most of us turn to our trusty flash drive. When you’re looking to add some internal storage to your home computer, you’re likely to purchase a solid-state drive. It’s well known that solid state drives provide better reliability and faster transfer rates than any other storage technology on the market. In fact, USB flash drives and internal SSDs use the exact same technology. But why is that internal SSD drives offer unparalleled performance, while standard flash drives tend to be laggy and unreliable?
Even though both devices use the same technology, it’s the implementation that makes the difference. Internal SSDs use extremely high quality memory chips. They have advanced controllers that allows data to be transferred at an extremely fast rate, and durable chip design that allows the memory to be written to billions of times. Flash drives are generally designed to be inexpensive to produce and compact, and manufacturers are willing to sacrifice speed and reliability in favor of these qualities.
Note: At no extra cost to you, we may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.
What many people don’t realize is that it’s possible to get SSD-like performance in the flash drive form factor. In this article, we’re going to take an in-depth look at the best portable solid state drives on the market. We’ll find out if the performance can justify the additional cost, and help you understand what kind of operations can benefit from drives like these.
SanDisk Extreme Pro
SanDisk is an American manufacturer that makes all things memory. From SD cards to USB Flash drives to Internal SSDs, they’ve got their memory chips inside virtually every possible application of the technology. Sandisk chipsets are known for their reliability and adaptability. For this reason, they’re one of the first brands we’d turn to when we’re looking for something that offers more than the average drive.
Design & Durability
Even though the SanDisk Extreme Pro is in the upper echelon of USB storage devices, it doesn’t look too out of the ordinary.
It’s a little longer than budget minded flash drives, but SanDisk compensates for this by allowing the USB connector to be retracted into the body of the drive while not in use. If you’re planning to carry the drive around with you at all times, this makes it a little more durable. You’re unlikely to accidentally bend the connector and debris in your pocket won’t plug it up. Retracting it is a simple motion, you just drag your thumb along the switch on the front. The movement is light and smooth, making it easy to do.
While the strip in the center is made from a smooth plastic, both of the edges of the flash drive are made from a high-quality aluminum. It’s brushed to a matte finish, and feels cool and smooth in the hand. But best of all, this drive can stand up to constant daily use without any signs of wear. While it’s not exactly bomb proof, it’s still one of the most durable SSDs we’ve used.
Capacity & Performance
The SanDisk Extreme Pro is available in both 128GB and 256GB sizes.
The internal components are nearly identical to the ones used in the internal SSDs that go by the same name. The only difference is the controller, which has been modified for low power draw and USB connectivity.
One of the things they’ve changed since the last iteration of this product is the inclusion of support for USB 3.1. Previously, the high-speed flash memory was bottle-necked by bandwidth limitations. If you have USB 3.1 ports, you should be able to realize the full potential of the high-speed flash memory.
The drive is rated for read speeds of 420 Mb/s, and write speeds of 380 Mb/s. In or tests, we found these to be pretty accurate. With single large files we were seeing 395 Mb/s average and 347 Mb/s respectively. With smaller files, these speeds averaged down to about 386 Mb/s and 324 Mb/s.
Suitability
With the SanDisk Extreme Pro, you’re getting true SSD speeds in a portable package. Since it’s compatible with both PC and Apple operating systems, you’re able to use this drive just as you would a standard drive, even if you wanted to boot off of it or run portable software.
PNY Elite
Although PNY doesn’t manufacture the memory chips themselves, they’ve got purchasing agreements with almost all of the most popular brands. They leverage this to engineer products that are always unique. Some focus on affordability, while others on performance.
Design & Durability
We didn’t realize how small the PNY Elite actually was until we opened the box. It’s roughly 30% of the size of a standard credit card, just slightly thicker but shorter than the average flash drive. Looking from the top down, even the micro-USB port on the side takes up half the width!
When you’re holding it between your two fingers, you can appreciate how well made the drive is. The majority of it is made from aluminum. In fact, the entire case is a single piece of extruded metal that is gently rounded on the edges. All the components are shoved inside and two plastic caps placed on each end. If you need somewhere to keep it, it fits very well in the coin pocket of your jeans.
Regardless of where you keep it, the last thing on you mind will be concerns about damaging it. It’s extremely solid, and you likely wouldn’t be able to break it if you tried. That being said, one area of concern for some users is the heat. Just like the Macbook Pro laptops, the memory chips are bonded to the aluminum frame. They use this as a heatsink to keep them cool. The end result is that the drive can get surprisingly warm when under heavy load. We tested the temperature and found that it is within spec for NAND flash, so it’s nothing to worry about.
Capacity & Performance
Despite it’s incredibly compact size, The PNY Elite comes in two high-capacity options: 240 GB or 480 GB. It’s rated speed is 430 Mb/s read and 400 Mb/s write. In our tests, we achieved 356 Mb/s and 315 Mb/s. But the one thing that really stood out was that there was very little performance decrease between many small files and a single large file. In fact, we found that this drive performed in a very similar fashion to a standard internal SSD.
Suitability
Because of its compact size, large capacity, and high performance, this drive is best suited for those of you who want to expand a mobile device. If you’re regretting picking up the 128 Gb version of the surface pro or the 500 GB Xbox One, this drive is a great way to expand your storage with very little performance decrease.
Corsair Flash Voyager GTX
Corsair was actually one of the first companies to release solid state style drives. At the time, they were known as RAM drives and used volatile computer memory to store data. They required power at all times, as a reboot could wipe the memory. Although we have come a long way since then, Corsair has continued to be on the cutting edge of technology.
Design & Durability
Of all the drives we’ve looked at today, the Corsair Flash Voyager GTX is the one that looks most like a typical thumb drive. Internally, the entire drive is housed in an aluminum frame with plastic end caps./i.s3.glbimg.com/v1/AUTH_08fbf48bc0524877943fe86e43087e7a/internal_photos/bs/2021/H/0/bJq7eaQCyHdBPgBnsgIQ/2015-07-03-1-kingston-datatraveler-hyperx-predator.jpg)
But they’ve wrapped the drive in a rubber surround that makes it both stylish and durable. Many of Corsairs products are targeted at the gaming market. Although the design of the GTX is a little more subtle, the red logo adds just the little bit of flare necessary to indicate that this is a performance drive.
Just from holding it in your hand, you likely won’t feel like this drive is any more durable than a standard model. But the build quality is there, it just remains hidden. If that doesn’t instill confidence, Corsairs 5 year warranty surely will.
Capacity & Performance
This drive offers a good balance between capacity and price. Available in either 256 GB or 128 GB sizes, it’s enough to store a significant amount of multimedia, software, or other files. But it’s not the capacity that’s the stand out feature of the drive, it’s the fully functional SSD controller that takes the performance beyond what’s possible with a standard flash drive. The drive can read data at 450 Mbps, and write it at 350 Mbps.
We found these numbers to be pretty accurate, although you do need to allow roughly 10% for overhead.
Suitability
The Voyager GTX isn’t the largest drive on the market, but it makes up for it with excellent read and write speeds. This drive is ideal for storing large files like video or audio. It’s especially useful for professionals who need to use software that can edit these files on the fly.
Which Portable Solid State Flash Drive is Right for Me?
Depending on how you intend to use this drive, some will work better than others. The PNY Elite is ideal for those of you who want a portable drive that can be used as a drop-in replacement for an internal drive. Many consumers are using it with their game consoles, tablets, or laptop computers for a quick and easy way to improve storage capacity without taking up an internal slot. The drives performance is ideally suited for activity with a lot of random read and write IOPS, making it a great boot drive.
If you’re working with multi-media, the Corsair Flash Voyager GTX is the ideal candidate. Although it has the fastest throughput of any drive, you can only take advantage of this in sequential operations. This means that activities like editing video, audio, 3D models, or any other type of large files will work best on this drive.
If you want something that offers a good balance between the two, consider the SanDisk Extreme Pro. You can use it as a boot drive or store large amounts of files. No matter which option you choose, you’re certainly going to notice a large improvement over standard USB flash drives.
Not sure if any of these drives are right for you? Even though they all offer SSD grade performance, that doesn’t mean that you can’t find a faster drive. Internal PCIe M2 NVMe SSDs are the current performance kings, and don’t require a SATA port. M2 slots are common on most modern computers, and many consumers aren’t even aware that they have one available.
Another option is to expand your internal storage with a PCIe Raid Controller Card.
These handy little devices add a large array of SATA ports to your computer, so you can add extra drives if you like.
If you still want to go with an external drive but need something that’s a little more rugged, consider picking up a Rugged, Waterproof USB Flash Drive. While they won’t necessarily perform quite as well as the drives we looked at today, they should stand up to years of even the most challenging environments.
Please consider sharing:
Note: At no extra cost to you, we may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.
SSD-PUT Rugged and Portable Solid State Drive Stick
prevnext
Overview
-
BEST BUDGET SSD FOR STORAGE AND GAMING — Compatible with PCs and next-gen consoles so you can effortlessly expand your storage and reduce load times
-
IDEAL ON-THE-GO ACCESSORY — Quickly back up your files and take them with you anywhere, without the need for internet access
-
FAST SPEEDS AND MULTI-TASKING — Lightning fast read/write speeds.
Over four times faster read speeds than that of a typical external Hard Drive, lets you work with files directly from the drive, and enabling photo/video editing without slowing down your computer -
COMPACT, DURABLE, & RELIABLE — Durable solid state drive encased in cover-to-cover rugged design that provides increased shock resistance and overall drop protection
-
USB 3.2 (Gen2) CONNECTIVITY — Native USB 3.2 with USB-C and USB-A support, ensuring easy connection to virtually any standard computer and other devices
-
FAST READ & WRITE SPEEDS — Up to 600 MB/s and 500 MB/s respectively and over four times than that of a typical portable HDD
The BUFFALO SSD-PUT offers generous capacity and tremendous value in a compact and reliable SSD device to meet your on-the-go backup and storage needs. A great SSD for gaming, it is compatible with PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PCs you can move your save files or digital games over to save space, and play your games from the SSD to reduce loading times.
Learn more about using the SSD-PUT for gaming here.
Whether it’s work or play, the BUFFALO SSD-PUT with its lightning fast write speed makes for perfect external storage. You can quickly copy a larger file to the SSD instead of uploading it to the cloud at the mercy of your Internet connection, and if you’re in professional need of fast and secure storage, the BUFFALO SSD-PUT is ready as a compact device for on-the-go backup for photos, videos, documents, and more.
The BUFFALO SSD-PUT offers cover-to-cover rugged design that provides overall drop protection, and its compact form factor lets you carry your files in your pocket. SSDs also contain no moving parts, so it is more shock-resistant and less prone to failure. No matter if it’s work or entertainment, you can easily take it to go. The BUFFALO SSD-PUT comes with a three-year warranty for registered devices (two years for unregistered devices).
The BUFFALO SSD-PUT offers blazing fast read and write times compared to a typical HDD, allowing you to do more from the drive.
The read speed is so quick, you can connect the drive to a computer and edit the files directly, even with larger intensive tasks such as image and video editing. With speed also comes the ability to multitask. While rendering a video from the drive, you can also perform storage backups or play a game at the same time.
Specifications
Solid State Drives — Flash Drive
| SKUs | SSD-PUT500U3B, SSD-PUT1.0U3B, SSD-PUT2.0U3B |
| Shock Resistant | Yes |
| Capacity | 500GB (SSD-PUT500U3B), 1TB (SSD-PUT1.0U3B), 2TB (SSD-PUT2.0U3B) |
USB Interface
| Interface | USB 3.2 (Gen 2) |
| USB Connection | Type-A, Type-C |
| Number of ports | 1 |
| Read Speed (MB/s) | 600 |
| Write Speed (MB/s) | 500 |
Other
| L x W x H | 2. 7 x 0.9 x 0.4 in |
| Weight | 0.037 lbs |
| Client OS support | Windows® 11 (32-bit/64-bit) Windows® 10 (32-bit/64-bit) Windows® 8.1 (32-bit/64-bit) Windows® 7 (32-bit/64-bit) Mac® OS® 10.14 or later Chrome OS PlayStation® 4,PlayStation® 4 Pro, PlayStation® 5 Xbox One Xbox Series X/S |
| Box contents |
SSD-PUT, USB Type A-to-C adapter, Quick Setup Guide with Warranty Statement, and Game Consoles Guide |
| Warranty | 2 year (Additional 1 year if user registration is done within 90 days from the date of purchase) |
| Additional | For certificates and compliance lists including volatility and RoHS, please email [email protected]. |
Downloads
Firmware
| File Size | Post Date | Version | OS Support | Notes | ||
| Download | 2021-07-28 | 1. 00 |
Windows | Windows based firmware updater for SSD-PUT |
Documentation
| File Size | Post Date | Version | OS Support | Notes | ||
| View Site | 2021-05-21 | User’s guide and manuals for SSD-PUT | ||||
| Download | 2022-09-01 | EU Declaration of Conformity | ||||
| Download | 2022-09-01 | UK Declaration of Conformity |
Variations
Capacity (TB)
Select12
Ultra-fast USB flash drives or SSD: what to choose for secure data storage?
Agree, it’s nice to have a plug-in drive, USB flash drive or SSD fast enough, reliable and convenient to solve all the problems of data storage and any operations with them .
..
Contents
- External data storage: which one to choose?
- Why choose a USB stick?
- Is it possible to find a USB flash drive with sufficient capacity and good speed?
- Data security on flash drives and SSDs
- So what’s the answer?
When it comes to internal memory, computer models with SSDs are considered a priority today, rather than internal hard drives. Computers and laptops with SSDs run much faster, use virtual memory more efficiently, and consume less power.
These models have few drawbacks. First of all, this is their high cost: SSDs are many times more expensive than hard drives. And the only way to save money is to choose a smaller storage capacity. For example, an internal 128 GB solid-state drive is enough to keep your laptop’s operating system and many applications running smoothly. But, if you use the drive to store photos, games, or work with videos, free space will run out almost immediately.
External data storage: which one to choose?
Leaving aside the internal drive upgrade options, often too costly and complex for many users, there are three main ways to increase your computer’s memory capacity.
The first — due to an external hard drive, cheap, but slow . The second — due to an external solid-state drive, fast, but already not cheap . And third , we will dwell on it in more detail — due to the connected ultra-fast USB flash drives .
Why choose a USB stick?
The main thing that makes USB drives attractive to users as storage devices is:
- price;
- compact;
- easy to connect and use;
- lack of cables, adapters and other inconvenient «spare parts».
True, external connection with flexible cables is considered more reliable. Since a device sticking out of the case, albeit a small one, can easily be hooked, and a rigid mount in such a situation can become a problem for both the USB flash drive itself and the computer.
How long has your favorite port failed? ..
Another «uncomfortable» question about USB: is it even possible to use them for continuous read/write data operations and for a long time? Unfortunately, inexpensive flash drives are completely not designed for use in this mode. But progress does not stand still, and there is hope that the leading manufacturers of portable media are about to present to our attention fast, capacious flash drives designed to work with the same loads as the built-in memory of computers.
For now, external SSDs, while less convenient and smaller than USB sticks, remain the primary way to get the speed and capacity you need.
Is it possible to find a USB flash drive with sufficient capacity and good speed?
Yes and no, it will only depend on your needs and requirements. You will definitely find flash drives up to 512 GB and above. And this is already much more than one would expect from a carrier with such dimensions. And if such a capacity can suit you, it looks like you have found a great solution.
But if you’re looking for a portable hard drive or portable solid state drive that typically starts at 500 GB and goes up to 2 TB or more, chances are USB isn’t quite your option.
Speed is still more difficult. A flash drive is fine if you plan to use the media only as additional storage or for backup. The fastest USBs provide a fairly high read/write speed for this. So they are almost ideal for storing photo archives and, of course, transferring data between devices — data that should always be at hand. USB load and save times will always be longer than SSDs, but shorter than portable hard drives.
If you plan to use the media for editing or playing videos, especially in 4K format, even the fastest flash drive is unlikely to fit for such work. In this case, it is wiser to look towards portable SSDs — media with more capacity and faster read / write speed than any USB drive.
| Name | Type | Volume | Read/write speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transcend StoreJet 25M3 | HDD | 1-2TB | 122/122 MB/s |
| WD My Passport | HDD | 1-5TB | 114/114 MB/s |
| G-Technology ArmorATD All-Terrain Drive | HDD | 1-4TB | 128/124 MB/s |
| SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD V2 | SSD | 250GB-2TB | 693/496 MB/s |
| WD My Passport SSD (NVMe) | SSD | 500GB-2TB | 538/364 MB/s |
| OWC Envoy Pro EX Thunderbolt 3 | SSD | 480GB-4TB | 612/278 MB/s |
SanDisk Extreme PRO USB 3. 2 Solid State Flash Drive |
USB stick | 128GB-1TB | 420/380 MB/s |
| PNY PRO Elite 3.0 | USB stick | 32-256GB | 400/250 MB/s |
| Kingston DataTraveler 80 USB Flash Drive | USB stick | 32MB-256GB | 200/60 MB/s |
Data security on flash drives and SSDs
Before making the final choice, let’s consider one more important issue — the security of data stored on media. Even if your drive (regardless of its type) is reliable and durable, this will not insure you against emergency situations that often result in partial or complete data loss:
- accidental deletion;
- virus attack;
- power failure;
- spontaneous formatting;
- problems with the file system.
In this case, data recovery from a hard drive or flash drive is usually not a problem. Using the RS Partition Recovery data recovery program, recovering deleted files is not difficult.
Read more about data recovery from a USB flash drive in our blog.
It will not be so easy to recover data lost from an SSD, and in some cases it will be almost impossible. We talked about the problem in more detail in the article «Is it possible to recover an SSD drive and data deleted from a solid state drive?»
So what’s the answer?
For some things, USB remains the best choice of all media. Exchange files with friends and colleagues? USB is a great choice. And you can safely use even the cheapest media.
Running out of space on the main drive? You can also use USB as «emergency» storage: send some data there for a while until you solve the problem with the main storage.
In many cases, a USB stick can easily replace an SSD. But, although the fastest and best flash drives are beginning to approach solid state drives in speed and capacity, there are still no good analogues of SSD among USB.
SSD and flash drives are no longer needed. Super-reliable diamond accumulators are created in Russia
Import independence
Technology
|
Share
FIAN scientists have found a way to record and store information on diamonds.
Such drives are many times more reliable than hard drives, flash drives and SSDs. The process of their production should be relatively simple and, therefore, inexpensive, but so far things have not gone beyond experiments.
Diamond instead of silicon
A completely new type of storage media has been developed in Russia, which is largely ahead of modern flash drives and solid-state drives in terms of reliability. As Izvestia writes, specialists from the Physical Institute named after V.I. P. N. Lebedeva (FIAN) RAS.
Scientists have discovered a new physical phenomenon that can be used to create optical and electronic storage devices based on diamonds. According to the publication, the cost of such devices will be relatively low, and the manufacturing process will be moderately simple.
Probably, artificial crystals will fit for the manufacture of diamond accumulators
The process of creating information carriers is based on the existing method of processing the surface of a diamond with a laser — the so-called «laser ablation».
Under the influence of a laser, part of the material evaporates from the surface of the diamond until the required relief is achieved. FIAN scientists figured out how to modernize this process.
One valuable discovery
Radiation for diamond surface treatment is polarized. In fact, these are waves whose oscillations are fixed only in one of the planes. FIAN specialists found that a change in the polarization of radiation directly affects the result of processing the surface of a crystal.
To change the polarization, scientists passed radiation through a special rotating plate. The result of the experiment was microscopic depressions on the surface of the diamond, which, moreover, are amenable to «customization». Their size can be adjusted by adjusting the radiation intensity.
The dependence of laser ablation on polarization discovered by Russian scientists is a new physical phenomenon that can start the era of diamond accumulators. “The technique for controlling this effect (change of polarization — approx.
CNews) is very simple and affordable, it requires only a half-wave plate to implement it,” FIAN specialists told the publication. “By rotating it, we can optimize the processing parameters, which means we can control the properties of the structures created on the diamond surface.”
Incredible prospects
Diamond drives have many advantages over modern storage media based on flash memory and especially hard drives. They are at least more reliable due to the complete immunity to electromagnetic radiation.
Diamond laser irradiation process
In addition, by controlling the polarization of radiation during laser ablation, one can achieve a significant increase in the capacity of such storage devices. “The peculiarity of optical storage media is that they can be used to create not a three-dimensional device, but 5D, controlling the properties of the radiation that records information,” Georgy Krasin , one of the scientists who discovered a new physical phenomenon.
— To put it simply, several logical zeros or ones can be written into one cell, which allows increasing the memory density.
“The recording of data by a laser in optical material is feasible, such projects already exist,” the head of the youth laboratory of integrated photonics of the Perm State National Research University, senior researcher at the Central Committee of the NTI “Photonics” told Izvestia Roman Ponomarev . “There are examples of recording huge amounts of data in glasses and thus preserving all of our knowledge for almost indefinitely.”
Roman Ponomarev added that the trace left by the laser on the crystal surface can be both very small and very clear at the same time. At the same time, it will not degrade over time, which reduces the risk of losing information recorded on the chip.
Will have to wait
By the time the material was published, scientists did not name the terms of commercialization of the new information storage technology.
