Hey gang, Valkor here. And I'm rounding home on the Kingston Flash Drive trio. We took the HyperX 64 for a spin and was blown away by the speeds. Then it was the G2 Ultimate, which was slightly slower than the HyperX and yet maintained acceptable speeds. For the last drive of the bunch, only casual users need apply, or if you're looking for a USB 3.0 flash drive that won't put a dent in your wallet, then you'll want the DataTraveler Elite 3.0.
First thing I noticed right out the packaging was the Elite 3.0 was lighter and slightly smaller than its bigger brothers. It features a grey/black/white motif and it's retractable rather than having a cap like the previous drives. The drive I received is 16GB, but you can also purchase it in 32 and 64 GB capacity. The Elite 3.0 touts speeds at 70MB on the read and 30MB on the write. Of course I'll be using the same Dell setup and files (1.4GB, 700MB, 90MB) I've used with the previous drives, giving you real world stats on how this baby truly performs. And always, your speeds may vary depending on your setup.
- Read (from the drive): 1.4GB – 20s, 700MB – 10s, 90MB -1s
- Write (on to the drive): 1.4GB – 46s, 700MB 21s, 90MB 4s
Vs. Lexar S73 – judging by the numbers, based on the same files used for this test the 1.4GB file at 36s/writes at 1m 22s, the 700MB reads at 17s/writes at 36s, finally the 90GB file reads at 3s/writes at 6s, the Elite 3.0 wins by far, especially in handling large file types with the quickness.
The Bang:
The Elite 3.0 may be on the low end of the totem pole, but it's a solid performer when it comes to speeds and performance. Transfer ratess are pretty decent and it even outshines the competition (thus far). If you're looking for something simple, yet cost effective then this is the drive you'll want to own.
The Slack:
I love the design of the drive and much what I said about the HyperX applies here – needs more colors. But that's not really a negative or points taken away; mainly a suggestion.
Overall Kingston's DataTraveler Elite 3.0 prevails in what it sets out to do – being a simple yet commanding drive at a cost one can afford. So, out of TOV 5 stars, I'm giving the Elite 3.0 a 4 and it's been Valkor tested, TOV Approved!