Discussion Anandtech Samsung MUF-256DA review

[Insert_Nickname]

I'm impressed. Topping out at 372MB/s read. I don't think you can push an ordinary BOT drive that much further. Write is actually pretty good too, if not really in SSD territory. It competes very well with HDDs, particularly the random, which is where most UFDs suffer most.

Worse, they seem pretty affordable, so I think I'll look that way when I need new UFDs.

 

[Tech Junky]

I'm using a Sandisk Extreme Pro which does show up as a PCIE SSD and hits over 300MB/s and the 256GB option is only ~$60 IIRC. It's works as a bootable drive as well since it shows up aa PCIE. Some OS options don't like showing up as a USB device when it comes to booting them.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

I'm using a Sandisk Extreme Pro which does show up as a PCIE SSD and hits over 300MB/s and the 256GB option is only ~$60 IIRC.

Those are certainly worth consideration, but they only start at 128GB. Here at least, the 128GB version comes with a 3x premium over a run-of-the-mill 128GB UFD. With the Samsung you get twice the capacity at the same price point, if you don't mind the performance loss.

 

[Tech Junky]

Isn't the point to get the performance to substitute as an SSD when needed? It's a mid tier option vs using an SSD / NVME in an enclosure. You can use it as a system in your pocket when going somewhere with a PC. It's a good backup destination for a running OS.

for low tier stuff I just go with a cheaper sandisk 32GB drive that does 150MB/s for $10.

for high tier stuff I'll mount a NVME in an enclosure for full speed boot / copies @ 3GB/s+ speeds to systems

I would skip this drive though based on the user reviews IRL they're telling of issues not mentioned in the review.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

Isn't the point to get the performance to substitute as an SSD when needed?

Not really. The point is fairly quick data shuffling for a relatively cheap drive. Not everything warrants a full-on SSD. But can still benefit from fast sequential transfers.

Even the most basic "real" SSD will wipe the floor with these in random R/W.

for low tier stuff I just go with a cheaper sandisk 32GB drive that does 150MB/s for $10.

When I need cheap, I just use the cheapest Kingston Datatravelers I can find. They're about $7 for 32GB here.

The downside is atrocious write speeds. Reads are okay'ish at about a 100MB/s.