TEST
YOUR USB

SanDisk SDCZ48-016G

Ultra USB 3.0 16GB

▲ 521,938 ▼

Release date: Q1 2013.

Average Bench: 22.9% (186th of 639)

Based on 19,339 user benchmarks.  Device: VID 0781 PID 5581 Models: SanDisk SanDisk Ultra, SanDisk Ultra

Sandisk had phenomenal success with the Sandisk Extreme which I reviewed nearly two years ago. The Extreme is still one of the best flash drives available. I had high hopes for the Ultra despite its marginally more budget orientation. Unfortunately the 16GB Ultra turned out to be a disappointment. With sequential read/write speeds of just 75/9 Mbps the Ultra lies in the bottom 25% of 16GB USB 3.0 flash drives. Small file (4K) read/write speeds clocked in at 8.35/0.08 MBps which is also in the bottom 25%. On the bright side the Ultra USB 3.0 isn't overpriced so it does represents reasonable value for money but I would happily spend a little more and get the record breaking 16GB Sandisk Extreme [Feb '14 USBFlashPro]

Poor: 10%Average: 22.9% Great: 35%

Very poor average bench

The SanDisk Ultra USB 3.0 16GB averaged 77.0% lower than the peak scores attained by the group leaders. This isn't a great result which indicates that there are much faster alternatives on the comparison list.

Strengths

Avg. 4K Random Mixed IO Speed 2.6MB/s
Avg. 4K Random Write Speed 1.89MB/s

Good consistency

The range of scores (95th - 5th percentile) for the SanDisk Ultra USB 3.0 16GB is 24.4%. This is a relatively narrow range which indicates that the SanDisk Ultra USB 3.0 16GB performs reasonably consistently under varying real world conditions.

Weaknesses

Avg. Sustained Write Speed 15.9MB/s
Avg. Sequential Write Speed 19.4MB/s
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Average Bench

(Based on 19,339 samples)
Rank 18622.9%
Min Avg Max
28.1 Read 85.6 146
4.7 Write 19.4 41.7
9.9 Mixed 29.3 57.7
7.1 SusWrite 15.9 27.7
40.1% 37.6 MB/s
Min Avg Max
2.81 4K Read 5.29 7.1
0.4 4K Write 1.89 2.9
0.5 4K Mixed 2.6 3.8
172% 3.26 MB/s
User Benchmarks BenchSequentialRandom 4kDeep queue 4k
The fastest USB (mainstream) averages a speed of 100%
19,339 MORE »

 Prices

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MSRP ≈ $14 @ launch in Jan '13
AmazonUS $67 mins
BHPhotoUS $103 years
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  • Best user rated - User sentiment trumps benchmarks for this comparison.
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  • Fastest real world speed - Real World Speed measures performance for typical consumers.

 Comments

USBFlashPro
Avatar level
1,312

Official site www.sandisk.com/...

Move Files Quickly with Faster Transfer Speeds...

Added 10 years ago.
USA-User
Avatar level
9,832

Disliked (edit your comment) Add link

3 years ago.

GBR-User
Avatar level
5,780

Good

17 months ago.

I feel cheated. There's only 58.9 GB showing. Surely in laws relating to Sales Description you should get 64Gb or slightler over. Can you legally advertise something at more than it is?

IND-User
Avatar level
4,770

Disliked

5 years ago.

Comment 

It reads 30+ and writs 20+ in usb2 I am very happy with the drive. It is real life experience—Sep '14

PHL-User
Avatar level
3,358

Excellent

21 months ago.

Fast flashdrive like no other else!

FIN-User
Avatar level
2,536

Poor

6 years ago.

Pretty average usb drive got it for 3 € so worth it.

DNK-User
Avatar level
2,212

Below average

6 years ago.

Extremely slow write, so so read .. There are far better options out there. I luckily only use it as an image backup for my Windows 10 install. It's too slow for anything else.

USBFlashPro
Avatar level
1,312

Very poor

10 years ago.

Your
opinion?
▲Like ▼Dislike
Ready to retire
Age: 11 years

Speed Comparisons

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See how consistently different USBs perform with varying real world conditions. The charts also illustrate overall performance, popularity and rank.

 Frequently Asked Questions

Storage Devices FAQ
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