Test Setup

USB 3.0

The Maximum theoretical bandwidth of USB 3.0 is 5Gbps (625 MB/s); under the most common data encoding parameters this figure drops to ~400MB/s, still dwarfing the spec limits of the majority of USB 3.0 thumb drives. Though the absolute maximum data transfer rate for the drive under reasonable conditions is generally of primary importance, it's also sensible to monitor sequential performance which is regarded much more rigorous.

Up against the LEXAR drives are a number of other products which use the USB 3.0 interface but which are flash-based. This comparison helps to demonstrate how a reliable, popular and affordable USB 3.0 drive competes against LEXAR’s consumer devices.

Since Windows 7 does not natively support UASP, results using this operating system can be somewhat restricted. ASUS motherboards unlock UASP via ‘USB 3.0 boost’ as part of AiSuite 3 – we have used this when reviewing other UASP enabled drives in the past but the LEXAR drives do not offer any performance increase with this setting active. We therefore presume the LEXAR drives are not UASP enabled.

Testing Notes:-

1. Poorly configured or malfunctioning USB 3.0 ports may not recognise USB 3.0 devices, but still work in USB 2.0 mode for USB 2.0 devices. Do not assume that the drive is at fault if this occurs, especially if other USB 3.0 devices have yet to be tested.

2. For reasons unknown, some USB 3.0 ports may be limited to ~135MB/s read/write operation. Though not an issue for most drives, external USB 3.0 SSD enclosures and flash drives which are capable of greater speed will suffer.