Navigating the minefield of the USB Flash Drive market can be problematic at times, and so we’re always pleased when a manufacturer simplifies the landscape and makes buying significantly more straightforward. Corsair have created a drive which is both high capacity and genuinely justifies its USB 3.0 connector, which isn’t quite as common as you might think.

Looking back through our benchmark results the 128GB Flash Voyager GS has excellent sequential read speeds and very good write rates, although they are sometimes surpassed by competing solutions that carry a price premium. However it's noticeable that this varies on a benchmark-by-benchmark basis, displaying the 128GB Voyager GS's ability to bring more data channels to bear by virtue of its greater capacity, whilst also acknowledging the strengths of the other smaller capacity drives. Interestingly the closest competitor on paper is Corsair’s own Voyager GT, which eschews >200MB/s read rates for higher write rates at the same price point. At no juncture however was the Voyager GS comprehensively bettered, especially when you consider the wide variance USB 3.0 testing tends to have.

We should also note that Corsair have significantly underplayed the speed of the drive. The 250MB/s Read and 90MB/s write rates were easily bettered, with 90MB/s especially undershooting our experience. Corsair don't have a detailed breakdown of how these figures were generated but it's clear to us that the drive is far more competitive than it may at first glance appear against drives with significantly higher specs.

One question we would ask however is if, once you start to need very high capacities such as this, you’d be better off moving to an external SSD solution. Thankfully the 128GB Voyager GS only comes in at approx. £92 and so comes comfortably under the cost of 120GB SSD and external caddy, making the equation much more comfortable for Corsair. However those engaging in workloads which take advantage of NCQ or benefit from good IOPS should look elsewhere due to the inherent limitations of the USB protocol.



For the majority of users, who are using their flash drive to shunt exceptionally large files between locations where doing it online would be inefficient, this thumb drive will more than meet their needs. We wouldn’t feel comfortable running our Steam Library from it for example, but moving large recorded fraps footage from a home gaming to editing PC would be an ideal use. Plus, there’s a reasonable amount of confidence in the durability of the drive keeping data safe - so long as it’s understood that such devices aren’t intended as backup storage media.

Corsair have produced yet another excellent high-performance device in the shape of the 128GB Flash Voyager GS. With read and write speeds to satisfy all but the most exacting of users, and excellent bang for your buck compared to the competition, this USB flash drive attains our Gold and Amazing Value awards.





Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.