The benchmark scores for the SanDisk Extreme were stunning. Until now every flash drive we have tested has shown a serious weakness in the area of 4K random writes. The SanDisk Extreme achieved a 4K random write speed of 2.1 MB/s which was over three times faster than the best of the rest, unfortunately we were unable to get consistent measurements but 2.1 MB/s was towards at the lower end of the range (10.8 MB/s - 1.71 MB/s) we observed. We suspect the inconsistency relates to the way the controller batches page cleanup. The other benchmark observations were all consistent and to date this drive has the highest sequential read we have seen on a 16GB flash drive. The SanDisk Extreme has not been released in the UK. Our test unit had to be shipped from Hong Kong where we were able to purchase it at at an extremely reasonable price. We will update the price if/when the drive becomes officially available in the UK ... [Jul '12USBFlashPro]
We like this drive, it has the highest sequential read speed we have seen to date and the remainder of its performance profile is also respectable. At 198 MB/s the read speed is almost double the speed stated on the drives box, and 33% higher than the speed quoted on Lacies website, an unusual result that needs verification (comments from owners welcome). In terms of form factor we are very disappointed with the oversized orange cap and can't realistically see anyone leaving it attached to the drive. Without the cap this drive is superbly strong, ultra compact and performs respectably, we like it a lot. The only problems we do have with the Lacie RuggedKey are its price which is simply not competitive at this time and we would have liked to have seen higher random 4k speeds for this top end drive. [Aug '12USBFlashPro]
We highlight the best USB flash drive in terms of balanced performance and value for money using current prices, sequential read, sequential write , 4k read and 4k write speed. The speeds are combined to form a single effective speed which measures performance for tasks such as copying photos, music and videos. Effective speed is adjusted by current price and capacity to yield value for money. Finally thousands of individual user ratings are used to validate our benchmark figures. [USBFlashPro]
Welcome to our PC speed test tool. UserBenchmark will test your PC and compare the results to other users with the same components. You can quickly size up your PC, identify hardware problems and explore the best value for money upgrades.