But, if your PC case has a front USB-C port or you’re using a laptop, this shouldn’t be an issue. I tried this with three boards I have on hand and had the same issue with each. Thanks to the two-piece plastic slide mechanism that protects the drive’s port when not in use, the USB-C connector is just a bit too short to plug into most motherboards successfully. Just note that, if you’re a desktop user and you opt for the model with the USB-C port, you will likely have problems plugging the drive into rear USB-C ports on the motherboard. And it’s also fairly slim, making it easy to slip into a pocket. But at $30-$35, Kingston’s 256GB drive is a great balance of speed, affordability and capacity for those who don’t want to spend much more on a roomier fast alternative.Īvailable with either a USB-C or USB-A connector (though not both, like Transcend’s drive), the 256GB DataTraveler Max performed nearly as well as its more spacious 1TB sibling in our PCMark, DisBench, and CrystalDiskMark tests, making it the second-fastest flash drive we’ve tested (third if you count the 1TB Kingston drive as competition). Just like its roomier 1TB variant, the 256GB Kingston DataTraveler Max is a speed demon in the flash drive world, even if it falls a bit short of the newer Transcend ESD31C Portable SSD (see our next pic, below). There's a slot at the back of Buffalo's drive for attaching it to a lanyard, but this drive doesn't feel like it would last that long getting jostled around everywhere alongside your keys. I just wish the drive's plastic shell felt less creaky and cheap, although that's an issue with the pricier Kingston DataTraveler Max, as well. Selling for around $70 for the 1TB model when we wrote this, it's more affordable than many 1TB alternatives, and it's even available in a 2TB model, which usually sells for less than $150. It uses a USB Type-A port, although a USB-C adapter is included in the box. It's a bit bulky at about 3/4 of an inch wide at the port, and 0.9 inches wide at its maximum width. It usually costs about $20-$30 less than the faster Kingston DataTraveler Max, while still delivering 616.9 MB/s sequential read speed and 543.9 MB/s sequential writes in our CrystalDiskMark tests. This drive from networking and storage stalwarts at Buffalo stands out for being a good balance between fast performance and affordable pricing. So even when you plug one of the fastest drives into a slower 5Gbps port, you should still get much better performance than you would if using an older or cheap sub-$20 flash drive. Still, the performance differences between the lower-cost, lower-performing drives in our testing below and the higher-performing 1TB drives that top our test results are at times nearly a factor of 10, especially regarding write speeds. That means if you're plugging those drives into a USB 3.0/USB 3.1 Gen1 (5Gbps) port (those are still far more common than the faster Gen 2 ports), performance won't be as fast as it could be. But all of the faster flash drives we've tested have a single Type-A or Type-C connector.Īlso, note that drives that promise speeds of 500 MB/s or more use USB 3.x Gen 2 (10 Gbps) ports. A few drives have both connectors on the same drive, which is certainly more convenient than having to keep track of an adapter and have it with you every time you need it. Some drives are offered with either a USB-A connector or USB-C, and some come with adapters to convert from USB-A to USB-C or vice versa. One thing to keep in mind while you're shopping is what type of ports you'll be plugging your flash drive into. And as the prices of M.2 SSDs plummets, you may find more value by building your own external SSD. However, if fast performance is important to you and you can live with a device that's just a little bit bigger, one of the best external SSDs might be a better buy. To help you choose, we’ve tested several recent flash drives from leading brands and listed the best USB flash drives below. If you've been hanging onto a drive for several years, now's a good time to upgrade. Capacities of up to 2TB are an option with some models (and 1TB is becoming common), and performance on the best flash drives approaches that of some SSDs. But because these drives seemingly last forever, you could be hanging onto one that’s pitifully slow by today’s standards, and too cramped to hold all the data you’d want. But in all cases, my data remained intact. Over the years, I've sent flash drives through laundry wash cycles and I even drove over a flash drive with my car when I was in college. Plus, a good flash drive can be shockingly tough to kill. You may also need a USB flash drive to do a clean and quick install of your favorite OS (see how to do a clean install of Windows). For many, a flash drive that you can carry around in your pocket or on your keychain is still a better option – and faster if you don't have a fast internet connection on every device you use.
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