SanDisk Extreme USB 3.0 Flash Drive

Performance:

The test system used in this review was an HP 8200 Elite. The computer is equipped with an Intel Core i5-2400 CPU, 4GB of DDR3 1333MHz memory, Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3250312AS 250GB SATA 6 Gb/s hard drive, NVIDIA Quadro FX580 512MB PCIe graphics card, Intel 82567LM-3 gigabit network card and Patriot SuperSpeed USB PCIe host card. For the operating system, I installed a fresh copy of Windows 7 Enterprise.

To test the performance of the SanDisk Extreme, I ran a series of benchmarks using CrystalDiskMark 3.0.1, HD Tach RW 3.0.4.0, ATTO Disk Benchmark 2.46 and SiSoftware Sandra Lite 2012.SP4c. To get a feel for the "real world" performance, I also copied and pasted 500MB of random files and directories in Windows Explorer.

CrystalDiskMark 3.0:

First, I ran a few quick tests using CrystalDiskMark. This benchmark tool measures the performance of a storage device by testing its sequential read and write speeds as well as its random read and write speeds using blocks 512K and 4K in size.

SanDisk Extreme - USB 3.0

SanDisk Extreme - USB 2.0

According to SanDisk, the Extreme USB 3.0 is capable of reading at 190MB/s and writing at 170MB/s when connected to a USB 3.0 port. Looking at the screenshots above, you can see that the drive had no problems reaching these numbers in CrystalDiskMark's sequential read and write speed tests.

HD Tach RW 3.0.4.0:

Next, I used HD Tach to test the Extreme's read, write and burst speeds as well as its seek times and CPU usage.

When connected to the computer's USB 3.0 port, the Extreme had average read and write speeds of 184.8 MB/s and 138.4 MB/s, respectively, as well as a burst speed of 173.3 MB/s. As you'd expect, the drive wasn't nearly as fast when using USB 2.0. Compared to what we saw with USB 3.0, the Extreme's read speed dropped by more than 150 MB/s.

ATTO Disk Benchmark 2.46:

I also used ATTO Disk Benchmark to test the Extreme's sequential read and write speeds. The test was run using blocks ranging in size from 0.5KB to 8192KB and the total length set to 256MB.

SanDisk Extreme - USB 3.0

SanDisk Extreme - USB 2.0

When tested with ATTO, the Extreme's read speeds topped out at about 205 MB/s and its write speeds at 159 MB/s.

SiSoft Sandra File System Benchmark:

While I am not a big fan of SiSoftware Sandra's optical drive benchmarks, it is a great tool if you want to test a system's performance quickly and easily. One of Sandra's more useful tests is the File System benchmark. This benchmark gives each drive an overall score, or "Drive Index," based on the results of its read and write tests.

SiSoftware Sandra Removable Storage/Flash Devices Benchmark:

Designed with removable storage and flash devices in mind, this benchmark tests a drive's read, write and delete performance using six different file sizes (4kB, 64kB, 1MB, 16MB and 256MB).  The results are then given in both operations per minute and the corresponding net transfer rate in MB/second. This benchmark also computes an "Endurance Factor," representing the wear and life expectancy of flash devices.

The Extreme also performed fairly well when writing. While there were a few cases where it lagged behind the Supersonic, it had a clear advantage when writing larger files.

As I mentioned above, Sandra also expresses performance in operations per minute. To keep things simple, I've limited the results to the combined index and the total number of read/write/delete operations for each file size. I should also point out that the latest version of Sandra rounds off the number of IOPS to the nearest hundred when it gets above 1000.

The Endurance Factor represents the wear and life expectancy of a flash device. According to SiSoft, this number is computed by "dividing the average performance (normal condition, i.e. sequential write) to the lowest performance (high-stress condition, i.e. same block re-write)."

"Real World" Benchmark:

To test the "real world" performance of SanDisk's new flash drive, I copied and pasted 500 MB worth of randomly generated files and directories. All of the files are between 10 bytes and 32MB in size and no more than four directories deep.

The Extreme performed very well here, taking 28 seconds to write our test data and a mere 8 seconds to read it back.

Final Thoughts:

The SanDisk Extreme is one of the better, if not the best, USB 3.0 flash drives to come through the 'Labs to date. Along with a relatively compact design, the Extreme packs some impressive performance. It performed very well in our tests, reading at speeds as high as 205 MB/s and writing at speeds in excess of 170 MB/s. As you'd expect, the drive's speeds dropped considerably when plugged into a USB 2.0 port. However, it was still faster than most of the flash drives we've tested. The Extreme is also covered by a lifetime limited warranty and ships with SanDisk's SecureAccess software which protects your files against unauthorized access by storing them in an encrypted, password-protected "vault" on the drive.

The Extreme is available now in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities. Suggested retail prices range from $65 to $160 depending on the size. However, the drive can be picked up for considerably less from Amazon or through some of the merchants on PriceGrabber.

Highs:

• Available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities
• Excellent read and write speeds
• Backwards compatible with USB 2.0
• Compatible with Windows XP/Vista/7 and Mac
• Good looking and well constructed design
• Includes SanDisk SecureAccess software
• Limited lifetime warranty
• Reasonably priced

Lows:

• Includes only 2GB of online storage