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 8.1 Enterprise.
To test the performance of the Samsung FIT, I ran a series of benchmarks using CrystalDiskMark 3.0.1, HD Tach RW 3.0.4.0 and ATTO Disk Benchmark 2.46. 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.
 Samsung FIT - USB 3.0 |
 Samsung FIT - USB 2.0 |
According to Samsung, the FIT is capable of data transfer speeds of up to 130 MB/s when connected to a USB 3.0 port. While the drive performed better than expected when reading, it came up a bit short of this number in CrystalDiskMark's sequential write test.
HD Tach RW 3.0.4.0:
Next, I used HD Tach to test the FIT's read, write and burst speeds as well as its seek times and CPU usage.
The FIT didn't perform quite as well when tested with HD Tach. When connected to the computer's USB 3.0 port, the drive had average read and write speeds of 132.1 MB/s and 41.1 MB/s, respectively, as well as a burst speed of 134.7 MB/s.
ATTO Disk Benchmark 2.46:
I also used ATTO Disk Benchmark to test the FIT'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.
 Samsung FIT - USB 3.0 |
 Samsung FIT - USB 2.0 |
When tested with ATTO, the FIT's read speeds topped out at about 158 MB/s and its write speeds at 109 MB/s.
"Real World" Benchmark:
To test the "real world" performance of Samsung'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.
| Samsung FIT - USB 3.0 | Samsung FIT - USB 2.0 | |
| Write: | 37 seconds | 57 seconds |
| Read: | 8 seconds | 32 seconds |
The FIT performed relatively well here, taking 37 seconds to write our test data and 8 seconds to read it back.
Final Thoughts:
The Samsung FIT is a great choice for the consumer looking for a super-compact, high-performance flash drive. At less than 20mm in length, the FIT is ideal for use with ultra-slim notebooks, automobiles, or anywhere else where a full-size flash drive is too big. For its size, the drive is also surprisingly rugged thanks to a metal-based design that is water, shock, temperature, magnetic and X-ray proof. Performance-wise, the FIT wasn't the fastest USB 3.0 flash drive to come through the 'Labs. Nevertheless, the drive performed relatively well in our tests, reading at speeds as high as 158 MB/s and writing at more than 91 MB/s.
The Samsung FIT is available now in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB capacities. Prices on Amazon.com currently range from $9 for the 32GB version reviewed here up to $33 for the 128GB drive.
Highs:
- Ultra-compact, metal-based design
- Good read and write speeds
- Backwards compatible with USB 2.0
- Water, shock, temperature, magnetic, and x-ray proof
- Five year warranty
- Reasonably priced
Lows:
- Lanyard hole is too small to be useful
- Can get a little warm to the touch
