SanDisk’s Extreme PRO USB 3.0 flash drive promises to deliver fast transfer rates for large media files such as photos, videos and other data storage.
Product on Review: Extreme PRO USB 3.0
Manufacturer & Sponsor: SanDisk
Street Price: £120 GBP / $145 USD
SanDisk has been supplying consumers with storage solutions since 1988 and are considered one of the forerunners in this department. Regardless of the intended use, SanDisk has a vast portfolio spanning from SD cards through to Solid State Drives – all tailored for users who require fast and convenient ways to back up, share and transfer data. Today we are to look at a product which sits within SanDisk’s USB flash storage category.
The Extreme Pro is a USB 3.0 flash drive which arrives with a healthy 128GB of capacity and promises to deliver up to 260MB/s read and up to 240MB/s write performance. SanDisk has given this drive a stylish enclosure and a rather generous lifetime limited warranty. On the subsequent pages we’ll be placing Extreme Pro within a number of trying scenarios to demonstrate and highlight the performance which can be experienced from this new drive.
SanDisk on their Extreme Pro
Share and transfer large media files without the wait with the SanDisk Extreme PRO USB 3.0 Flash Drive. This USB 3.0 drive offers an ample 128GB of storage and lets you transfer photos, movies, and other files up to 60 times faster than standard USB 2.0 drives**. As a result, you can take your media collection with you and quickly share it with friends and family. A stylish aluminum metal casing guards against daily wear, while SanDisk SecureAccess™ software helps keep your data safe.
Technical Specifications
Available capacity
128GB
Performance/Speed
Up to 240MB/s write; Up to 260MB/s read
Dimensions
11.0 x 21.0 x 71.0 mm; 0.45 x 0.84 x 2.79 in
Operating Temperature
0 C to 45 C
Storage Temperature
-10 C to 70 C
Compatibility
USB 3.0 and USB 2.0
128GB
Performance/Speed
Up to 240MB/s write; Up to 260MB/s read
Dimensions
11.0 x 21.0 x 71.0 mm; 0.45 x 0.84 x 2.79 in
Operating Temperature
0 C to 45 C
Storage Temperature
-10 C to 70 C
Compatibility
USB 3.0 and USB 2.0
Packaging & Closer Look
Packaging for Extreme Pro
Just like every other SanDisk product, the Extreme Pro is presented in a professionally designed packet. We’ve seen items as small and perhaps insignificant as an SD card being given such treatment and this is therefore testament to SanDisk’s care and thoughtfulness with their products.
The packaging lists the capacity of the drive and predicted transfer rates. There is even a clear window giving a preview of the flash drive – showing the overall size of this product.
Rescue Pro Deluxe is bundled with the drive
The only item bundled with the drive is a small business card which contains a serial number for Rescue Pro Deluxe software, giving users a 1-year subscription. There is no physical CD or DVD with the drive – this software has to be downloaded.
An attractive looking flash drive
The reverse of the drive
Unveiling the Extreme Pro we are met with a two-tone flash drive which measures 7cm (2.75inch) long. Extreme Pro uses steel and plastic for its construction and is rather minimalist in its overall design. Even though the drive is stylish it also retains a sturdy design thanks to the materials used.
The reverse of Extreme Pro details the product codes, standards and capacity. At the end of the drive SanDisk has given this design a small incision so that the drive can be threaded onto a keyring or string.
Slide-out USB connector
In order to use Extreme Pro, SanDisk has given the drive a slide-out USB connector. This mechanism locks into the hidden and exposed states. Signified by the blue band, Extreme Pro is USB 3.0 but is also backwards compatible with USB 2.0, SanDisk claim this drive can operate up to 260MB/s read and 240MB/s write transfer rates. On subsequent pages we’ll be revealing just how close the drive performs to these claims.
Testing Methodology
Test Setup
CPU Intel Core i7 4770K (Haswell) 3.50GHz
Cooling Corsair Hydro Series H105
Motherboard Z97X-Gaming 7
Memory 16GB Corsair Vengeance Pro 2800MHz CL12 DDR3
Graphics XFX R7970 Black Edition
Storage Corsair Neutron GTX 480GB
PSU Corsair HX1050 80 Plus Gold Certified PSU
Cooling Corsair Hydro Series H105
Motherboard Z97X-Gaming 7
Memory 16GB Corsair Vengeance Pro 2800MHz CL12 DDR3
Graphics XFX R7970 Black Edition
Storage Corsair Neutron GTX 480GB
PSU Corsair HX1050 80 Plus Gold Certified PSU
USB 3.0
The Maximum theoretical bandwidth of USB 3.0 is 5Gbps (625 MB/s); under the most common data encoding parameters this figure drops to ~400MB/s, still dwarfing the spec limits of the majority of USB 3.0 thumb drives. Though the absolute maximum data transfer rate for the drive under reasonable conditions is generally of primary importance, it’s also sensible to monitor sequential performance which is regarded much more rigorous.
Up against the SanDisk ExtremePro we have Samsung’s S2 Portable 3 – another USB 3.0 flash drive. This comparison helps to demonstrate how a reliable, popular and affordable USB 3.0 drive competes against SanDisk’s latest storage device.
Testing Notes:-
1. Poorly configured or malfunctioning USB 3.0 ports may not recognise USB 3.0 devices, but still work in USB 2.0 mode for USB 2.0 devices. Do not assume that the drive is at fault if this occurs, especially if other USB 3.0 devices have yet to be tested.
2. For reasons unknown, some USB 3.0 ports may be limited to ~135MB/s read/write operation. Though not an issue for most drives, external USB 3.0 SSD enclosures and flash drives which are capable of greater speed will suffer.
Benchmarks: ATTO
The ATTO Disk Benchmark performance measurement tool is compatible with Microsoft Windows. Measure your storage systems performance with various transfer sizes and test lengths for reads and writes. Several options are available to customize your performance measurement including queue depth, overlapped I/O and even a comparison mode with the option to run continuously. Use ATTO Disk Benchmark to test any manufacturers RAID controllers, storage controllers, host adapters, hard drives and SSD drives and notice that ATTO products will consistently provide the highest level of performance to your storage.
Benchmarks: AS SSD
AS SSD Benchmark is a straightforward tool for measuring the speed of your SSD drive.
Simply launch the program, choose your drive, click Start, and it’ll test your SSD’s read and write speed in a variety of ways, delivering a score for each when it’s done. And if that’s not enough, there are also additional file copy and compression-related benchmarks available from the Tools menu. (The author’s support page is German only, but if you need further English explanations then there’s a thread on the program at the OCZ Technology forum.).
Simply launch the program, choose your drive, click Start, and it’ll test your SSD’s read and write speed in a variety of ways, delivering a score for each when it’s done. And if that’s not enough, there are also additional file copy and compression-related benchmarks available from the Tools menu. (The author’s support page is German only, but if you need further English explanations then there’s a thread on the program at the OCZ Technology forum.).
Benchmarks: CrystalDiskMark
CrystalDiskMark is a disk benchmark software that analyses different types of hard drive. Giving sequential benchmark write and read statistics in MB/s. A simple program that is very useful.
Benchmarks: HD Tune Pro
A new utility we have added to our line-up of benchmarks is the ever popular HDTune Pro. HD Tune Pro is a hard disk / SSD utility with many functions. It can be used to measure the drive’s performance, scan for errors, check the health status (S.M.A.R.T.), securely erase all data and much more.
Conclusion
While Cloud Storage is vastily becoming the popular route to take for backing up data, having a physical backup is for many, the preferred option. Cloud storage should be a supplement rather than a primary solution since having a physical backup of your data offers better privacy and is generally regarded the better portable route for storing bigger files such as movies due to internet bandwidth constraints.
SanDisk’s Extreme Pro is tailored to those users who need a fast and reliable drive for critical data storage and it certainly seems to tick all the right boxes too. Not only does it look great in its two-tone design, but it’s robust and delivers fast transfer rates even during sequential read/write operation. In our testing we compared the Extreme Pro against Samsung’s popular S2 Portable USB 3.0 drive and in almost all the benchmarks, the SanDisk offering doubled the performance of the Samsung drive.
Although the Extreme Pro outperforms the Samsung S2 drive in such a manner, it’s also double the cost at £120 GBP / $145 USD. But this price difference is worthwhile if speed is imperative. Additionally, this SanDisk drive is backed by an attractive lifetime limited warranty.
SanDisk’s Extreme Pro is a stylish USB 3.0 flash drive which is housed inside a durable enclosure. Those who demand large portable storage capacity and fast read/write transfer rates will be satisfied with this superb drive.
Pros
+ Good looking
+ Good build quality
+ Great performance
+ Lifetime limited warranty
Cons
– Pricey
+ Good looking
+ Good build quality
+ Great performance
+ Lifetime limited warranty
Cons
– Pricey
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
