SiSoft Sandra 2011	Source:Sandra

Sandra is designed to test the theoretical power of a complete system and individual components. The numbers taken though are again, purely theoretical and may not represent real world performance. Higher numbers represent better performance. The best results for each column are bolded.

Sandra 2011 Multi-Filesize Read / Write Tests (MB/s) ( higher numbers are better ) Cap. Data Interface 4 KB Test (MB/s) 64 KB Test (MB/s) 1MB Test (MB/s) 16MB Test (MB/s) 256MB Test (MB/s) Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Read Write Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex (USB2.0) 500GB USB 2.0 6.0 0.43 20.85 12.15 28.72 19.0 32.80 25.80 32.62 26.83 Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex (eSATA) 500GB eSATA 18.2 1.21 29.20 12.54 55.36 46.5 71.85 33.49 76.83 37.00 Patriot Memory 64GB USB 3.0 5.82 0.233 53.33 3.24 67.5 15.81 96.34 18.56 122.39 45.76 Supertalent Luxio 64GB USB 2.0 3.0 0.129 25.15 2.24 29.24 8.7 30.36 10.78 29.12 15.00

The Supertalent Luxio offers the best direct comparison to the Patriot Memory Supersonic since both USB thumb drives are 64GB in size, the former single controller USB 2.0 the latter quad controller USB 3.0. The Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex results offer USB 2.0 and eSATA comparative data which is incomplete because we weren't able to secure the USB 3.0 Seagate adaptor in time. Oh well, next time perhaps.

Anyway, the 64GB USB 3.0 Patriot Supersonic peaks out at 122.39MB/s (read) and 45.76MB/s (write) in the 256MB test of Sandra 2011. By comparison, the Supertalent Luxio is perhaps 1/2 to 1/3rd the speed of the Supersonic across the board. That's the power of USB 3.0!

8.5GB Single File Time Transfer Test

For this test a single 8.5GB, high definition 1080p .MKV movie file is copied from a Western Digital Raptor WD740 system disk to the removable storage device, then from the removable storage device to the system disk. Teracopy is used to monitor transfer times and speeds. While this test is influenced by the system disk SATA controller, it provides a straightforward real world indication of sustained transfer rates. Higher transfer speeds and lower transfer times are best.

8.5GB Single File Time/Transfer Test ( Lower times are best ) Removable Storage Cap. Data Interface Copy TO Removable Storage (Write) Copy FROM Removable Storage (Read) Speed Time Speed Time Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex HDD 500GB USB 3.0 n/a n/a n/a n/a Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex HDD 500GB USB 2.0 31MB/s 4:28 31MB/s 4:30 Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex HDD 500GB eSATA 53MB/s 2:36 49MB/s 2:50 Patriot Memory 64GB USB 3.0 52MB/s 2:39 53MB/s 2:36 Patriot Memory 64GB USB 2.0 26MB/s 5:08 23MB/s 5:36 Supertalent Luxio 64GB USB 2.0 18MB/s 7:33 28MB/s 4:54

The single large file time transfer test (a.k.a. the movie sharing test ) is a sign of the times; how long must you wait to share a HD 1080p 8.5GB MKV movie file with a friend? I'm sure there are more technical ways of approaching removable storage device timed file transfers, but this is practical and fun....so here it is.

Patriot's Supersonic 64GB USB 3.0 drive was tested on both USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 ports so you can see how it stacks up to native USB 2.0 thumb drives like the Supertalent Luxio with more clarity. The 8.5GB file was copied to the Patriot Supersonic in 2:39 (52MB/s) via the USB 3.0 port, 5:08 (26MB/s) via the USB 2.0. By comparison the native USB 2.0 Supertalent Luxio was much slower; 7:33 (18MB/s). This would indicate that a quad-channel USB 3.0 thumb drive is faster on USB 2.0 than a native USB 2.0 flash drive.

Bi-Directional 8.5GB Single File Time/Transfer Test ( Lower times are best ) Removable Storage Cap. Data Interface Write TO Removable Storage Read FROM Removable Storage (Write to HDD) Speed Time Speed Time Patriot Supersonic - (Reference Result) - (one file at a time to/from HDD) 64GB USB 3.0 44MB/s (single file) 3:09 42MB/s (single file) 3:19 Patriot Supersonic - (Reference Result) - (one at a time to/from SSD) 64GB USB 3.0 48MB/s (single file) 2:54 54MB/s (single file) 2:34 Patriot Supersonic (two files from/to SSD) 64GB USB 3.0 32MB/s 4:15 31MB/s 4:25 Patriot Supersonic (two files from/to different HDDs) 64GB USB 3.0 31MB/s 4:26 30MB/s 4:38 Patriot Supersonic (two files from/to same HDD) 64GB USB 3.0 26MB/s 5:20 28MB/s 4:58 *Note: only the results for the USB 3.0 drive have been recorded

In this test two 8.5GB files are transferred between the system disk and the USB 3.0 device at the same time (concurrently). One of the benefits of USB 3.0 is bi-directionality, meaning it can receive and send data via different electrical pathways. This does have an impact on speed, as you can see by the results chart above... but the end result is still quicker than reading one file and waiting for it to finish before writing the second.

This test is more for fun than anything else. Moving two files at the same time results in transfers that are a bit slower in terms of data speed, but note that a total 17GB of data is shifted in 4 minutes 15 seconds in the best case scenario with an OCZ Vertex 2 SSD. The reference result for that SSD platform is 2:54 + 2:34 = 5:28. If a single Western Digital Raptor is used the concurrent test completes in at best 5:20, whereas the reference is 3:09 + 3:19 = 6:28. Based on these limited test results, you can save about a minute by doing concurrent transfers over what it would take to complete the same transfers sequentially.

CrystalDiskMark 2.2 Benchmark	Source:AS SSD

CrystalDiskMark is a drive benchmark tool which conducts a series of Sequential, 512K and 4K read and write tests.

Drive	100MB Test
Test	Read	Write
Sequential (MB/s) :	114.2	59.33
512K (MB/s) :	93.02	20.87
4K (MB/s) :	5.632	1.04

The Patriot Memory Supersonic 64GB USB 3.0 peaked with a sequential read of 114MB/s, write of 59.33MB/s. From there the speeds decreased as expected.

FAILURE UPDATE - Aug 12, 2012 - The Patriot Supersonic 64GB USB3 drive gave up the ghost today, spitting out "Disk Write Protected" and "Read Only" errors when attempts to write data or format the drive were made. PCSTATS was able to pull our data off the 64GB Patriot USB 3.0 drive, luckily, but without the ability to write data it's next to useless now. By our estimate, this Patriot 64GB USB 3.0 drive lasted about 14 months. A tech support ticket has been filed....

FAILURE UPDATE No.2 - Aug 13, 2012 - Patriot tech support responded to PCSTATS' support ticket with recommendation to use a Low Level Format Tool to restore the 64GB Supersonic thumb drive.

Patriot: "It will format the flash drive and set it up to as if it was factory formatted. It will erase any partitions. Make sure to backup your data before you begin. The misuse of this tool can damage your flash drive. We don't recommend using it more than once. Please do not duplicate this tool. If the problem persists, we would be glad to offer a replacement under warranty."

Press "restore".

Conclusions: Patriot Memory Supersonic - Fast USB 3.0 Performance

There's not much to a 64GB USB drive that needs explaining. Plug it in, copy files and folders over and carry your data away - the quicker the better. With a demonstrated peak data read speed of 122.39MB/s in the 256MB test, write speed of 45MB/s, Patriot Memory's Supersonic USB 3.0 drive comes close to the advertised burst speeds and is quick.

If you're wondering about taking the leap into USB 3.0 devices, we've come to see USB 3.0 as a good reason to finally upgrade an entire collection of tiny USB flash drives to one 64GB USB 3.0 storage device. Increased economy of storage capacity isn't the only driving force, USB 3.0 is a heck of a lot faster as we've shown. The standard supports 4.8Gbit/s, which means in real world terms an 8GB file can transferred over before you get tired of waiting. Conventional USB 2.0 devices are much slower.

The back end technological changes of the USB 3.0 interface do require a motherboard or laptop with a USB 3.0 port to take full advantage of the speed increase, but both ports and are backwards compatible with one another, to the lowest common speed standard. Most Intel P55 motherboards sport a pair of USB 3.0 ports, virtually every Intel Z68, P67 or H67 motherboard has at least two sets or more of these wonderful little blue ports.

As the technology matures even further, look for quad-channel USB 3.0 devices to migrate to eight-channel, and so forth. The Patriot Supersonic 64GB USB 3.0 flash drive is a slim, well built little thumb drive. Recommended.

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