SanDisk Extreme Pro USB 3.1 Solid State Flash Drive 256GB

This USB stick is indeed fast. My PC has only up to USB 3.0. The drive write speed is around 330MB/s while the read speed is 380MB/s. This is faster than the 3 x 700GB Western Digital Caviar Black striped array I have in the other room. :-o It is preformatted with the exFAT filesystem to 238GB and comes with ready to install secure access encryption software on the drive. I have not yet used the software. There is an activity LED which blinks blue when the drive is busy. Oddly, this device is advertised as USB 3.1 but the packaging has USB 3.2 written on it. I was originally going to get the 128GB version from elsewhere but RubberMonkey's price for the 256GB one was not much higher unlike from all other NZ sources, plus the store has a good "pricespy.co.nz" ... MoreThis USB stick is indeed fast. My PC has only up to USB 3.0. The drive write speed is around 330MB/s while the read speed is 380MB/s. This is faster than the 3 x 700GB Western Digital Caviar Black striped array I have in the other room. :-o It is preformatted with the exFAT filesystem to 238GB and comes with ready to install secure access encryption software on the drive. I have not yet used the software. There is an activity LED which blinks blue when the drive is busy. Oddly, this device is advertised as USB 3.1 but the packaging has USB 3.2 written on it. I was originally going to get the 128GB version from elsewhere but RubberMonkey's price for the 256GB one was not much higher unlike from all other NZ sources, plus the store has a good "pricespy.co.nz" reputation. That flash drive was a very good buy.

Blazing Fast, Nearly Like a SATA SSD On A USB Stick

I bought this Samsung 256GB flash to create a Windows To Go install as an emergency backup for my PC. The host PC has USB 3.2 ports so I am able to achieve the full speed on the Samsung flash drive. It really is nearly as fast as running from a Sata 6 GB/s SSD. Boot and response times are fine.As an alternative, this drive could easily be used for transporting large files between systems.Bottom line is that at the cost being asked for this flash drive, just under $60 at the time of this writing, the speed and size are truly amazing.

Concerns

So far, so good. I haven't used it extensively. I use this for recovery, backup, and passwords. Two of the three partitions are, therefore, used infrequently. I only have two concerns: 1) the outside edge of the key chain hole is very thin. I can envision a time when the key chain will wear through the edge allowing the flash drive to fall off the key chain. I'm currently enforcing the edge with zip ties and epoxy to make it thicker. 2) the device gets warm. I have several other USB flash drives none of which get warm. This occurs whether data is being read, written, or not at all. It also occurs whether it's in a charging port or not. There are no moving parts as I understand flash drives are solid state drives. Maybe this indicates the wrong resister, capacitor, ... MoreSo far, so good. I haven't used it extensively. I use this for recovery, backup, and passwords. Two of the three partitions are, therefore, used infrequently. I only have two concerns: 1) the outside edge of the key chain hole is very thin. I can envision a time when the key chain will wear through the edge allowing the flash drive to fall off the key chain. I'm currently enforcing the edge with zip ties and epoxy to make it thicker. 2) the device gets warm. I have several other USB flash drives none of which get warm. This occurs whether data is being read, written, or not at all. It also occurs whether it's in a charging port or not. There are no moving parts as I understand flash drives are solid state drives. Maybe this indicates the wrong resister, capacitor, or some other electronic part not working as it should. I guess I'll find out.

Fast File Transfer - what every USB drive should do

This USB flash drive is simply the fastest drive I've used - period. Yes, it's more expensive, but i's worth it. I transfer video files regularly with this (and the 512GB version) and that would simply be infuriating with a slower (cheaper) USB 3 drive. Only thing that tops this is a portable NVMe drive, but those are more bulky and bigger, with USB-C cables to mess with. No, this SanDisk Extreme Pro checks all the boxes - fast, portable, reliable, durable. Love it.

Fast and Lots of Storage

This flash drive was perfect for my application - real-time multi-track audio recording (from a SoundCraft Ui24R mixer). I'm currently recording 18 individual audio tracks to individual files in real-time: FAST! The drive is also very well packaged in an aluminum shell which is durable and looks great. Would definitely purchase it again!

Not as fast as advised, but still fast.

Transferring a 9GB 1080p movie file On my 2020 laptop I get around 380 MB/s Read Speed and 320 MB/s Write Speed. That is with a Western Digital SN730 SSD and a Intel i7-10750H. Both 3.2 Gen1 and 3.2 Gen2 ports produced the same speeds. On my old PC from 2010 with a Samsung HDD and i7-2600K I get about around 100 MB/s Read/Write Speed via USB 3.0 and 20MB/s via USB 2.0Obviously speeds will vary depending on system, hardware integrity and the such but you likely wont reach speeds of 420/380. Something like 350/300 is what you should probably expect and thats still plenty fast.Comes with SecureAccess on the drive to protect your files in a "vault" but you dont have to use it, nor do you get a prompt to. Also comes with a 1 year code for RescuePRO that you can ... MoreTransferring a 9GB 1080p movie file On my 2020 laptop I get around 380 MB/s Read Speed and 320 MB/s Write Speed. That is with a Western Digital SN730 SSD and a Intel i7-10750H. Both 3.2 Gen1 and 3.2 Gen2 ports produced the same speeds. On my old PC from 2010 with a Samsung HDD and i7-2600K I get about around 100 MB/s Read/Write Speed via USB 3.0 and 20MB/s via USB 2.0Obviously speeds will vary depending on system, hardware integrity and the such but you likely wont reach speeds of 420/380. Something like 350/300 is what you should probably expect and thats still plenty fast.Comes with SecureAccess on the drive to protect your files in a "vault" but you dont have to use it, nor do you get a prompt to. Also comes with a 1 year code for RescuePRO that you can download, allows you to recover deleted files.Plugs right into my Sony Bravia and plays/fast forwards all 1080p content perfectly. I dont have any 4K digital movies to test.Make sure to price match, as it can be found much cheaper than on BestBuy.com

Super F-Drive

Really happy with the super upload & download speeds this thumbdrive offers. Easily as fast as a fast spinning hard drive.Can copy 20GB of shoot footage in 40 secs. No quite the speed of a SS drive but plenty fast for a standard 256 thumb drive. Highly recommended!

Super Fast SanDisk - Extreme Pro 256GB USB 3.1 Fla

The SanDisk - Extreme Pro 256GB USB 3.1 Flash Drive - Black is very fast! I now own two of these and I am always using them at home and at work. I would highly recommend the SanDisk - Extreme Pro 256GB USB 3.1 Flash Drive - Black. Keep in mind that at the time of this posting BestBuy price matches against other online retailers. This can save money as other retailers may throw this on sale more often.Spec wise: I work in IT and I must say I really like the construction of the USB device. Please note that if you have a small work surface this USB device does stick out just a tad longer than most USB flash drives. The metal construction of it though makes it ideal for keeping it in your pocket so as long as one remembers it is in their pocket.Warranty: Lifetime ... MoreThe SanDisk - Extreme Pro 256GB USB 3.1 Flash Drive - Black is very fast! I now own two of these and I am always using them at home and at work. I would highly recommend the SanDisk - Extreme Pro 256GB USB 3.1 Flash Drive - Black. Keep in mind that at the time of this posting BestBuy price matches against other online retailers. This can save money as other retailers may throw this on sale more often.Spec wise: I work in IT and I must say I really like the construction of the USB device. Please note that if you have a small work surface this USB device does stick out just a tad longer than most USB flash drives. The metal construction of it though makes it ideal for keeping it in your pocket so as long as one remembers it is in their pocket.Warranty: Lifetime Warranty! Keep this in mind as most USB flash drives do not offer this type of warranty. With this being said, please don't forget to register the warranty when you first get it as it would make the process easier should something happen later down the road. So as long as your careful with the flash drive you shouldn't have any issues.Note: This flash drive is backwards compatible with USB 3.0, 2.0 etc. However, the speeds of the USB flash drive will depend on what type of USB slot you currently have the USB in -results will vary based on hardware used.All in all I'm trilled with this purchase! I got this USB flash drive on a great sale. Keep your eyes out on other retailers and have BestBuy price match it for you. You will really like your new purchase!

YES!!! I am sold on SanDisk quality and reliability!

SanDisk has always made great reliable products and B&H Photo has always had fair prices, expeditious shipping and customer service. I bought my SanDisk 128Gb Extreme Pro when it was first available from B&H and now I have purchased the 256Gb Extreme Pro. I use both thumb drives to transfer large capacity folders (movies, videos, photos, documents, etc.) from one computer to another. Whereas I previously used the 128Gb drive extensively when traveling outside of the local area, I now use the 256Gb drive on all of my national and international trips. I use whichever drive I need for my local transfers. The metal case and retractable USB are rugged features that safely transport my data. And now SanDisk has joined the best family of HDD manufacturers so I'm sure the ... MoreSanDisk has always made great reliable products and B&H Photo has always had fair prices, expeditious shipping and customer service. I bought my SanDisk 128Gb Extreme Pro when it was first available from B&H and now I have purchased the 256Gb Extreme Pro. I use both thumb drives to transfer large capacity folders (movies, videos, photos, documents, etc.) from one computer to another. Whereas I previously used the 128Gb drive extensively when traveling outside of the local area, I now use the 256Gb drive on all of my national and international trips. I use whichever drive I need for my local transfers. The metal case and retractable USB are rugged features that safely transport my data. And now SanDisk has joined the best family of HDD manufacturers so I'm sure the products will remain high quality and reliability.

You don't realize how inferior other USB sticks are until...

You don't realize how inferior other USB sticks are until you try one of these ultra fast USB sticks.I bought this for a 20 channel multitrack recording with a Soundcraft Ui24R audio mixer that required fast USB write speed.After the recording, I needed to load a 1.5G video file from my computer and was blown away at how fast I transferred the file to this USB stick!No more cheap USB sticks for me!