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Today we are checking out a new flash drive from Patriot featuring a massive 64GB storage capacity. Known as the SuperSonic, this new flash drive utilizes quad-channel technology in conjunction with USB 3.0 for fast read/write performance. Despite being somewhat pricey, we found it hard to go by the huge storage capacity which was just so convenient in a thumb size drive...
It is hard to believe, but the little flash drive as we know it has been around for over a decade now, as it was first introduced back in 2000. Before we get on with the review I will take you for a quick trip down memory lane, which begins with two companies: Trek Technology and IBM. While I am sure you are familiar with the latter, Trek Technology is a far less known company.
Trek Technology developed the first flash disk and IBM marketed it. Their first version was released on December 15th in the year 2000 and featured an impressive storage capacity of 8 MB. This was impressive because at the time the best way to move data around was with a floppy disk and an 8MB flash disk has more than five times the capacity of a floppy. However a company called Lexar, later tuned the flash disk into a flash drive using a USB connection, eliminating the need for a USB card reader. Since then the flash disk has evolved considerably and now commonly uses the USB 2.0 interface for greater throughput. That said, even USB 2.0 is starting to show its age, and with a maximum throughput of 60MB/s it’s no longer cutting it, particularly when you consider the fact that communication is half-duplex, meaning that the bandwidth is more like 30MB/s in either direction. Even the fastest USB 2.0 flash drives are unable to match today’s conventional hard drives, despite utilizing quad-channel controllers. Therefore we see a real need for USB 3.0 to take over, as this full-duplex interface supports a maximum throughput of 625MB/s. Although USB 3.0 adoption has been slow, as neither AMD or Intel has picked up the standard yet, almost all new motherboards still provide support using one of the popular add-in controllers from manufacturers such as NEC. As board markers do their best to push USB 3.0 out the door despite lacking chipset support, we are now starting to see quite a large number of supporting devices appear. One such device that recently caught our attention was the SuperSonic 64GB flash drive from Patriot. The Patriot SuperSonic is a rather unassuming looking flash drive that packs a serious punch. Available in either 32GB or 64GB capacities, this USB 3.0 drive features quad-channel technology for advertised read speeds up to 100MB/s with write speeds of 70MB/s. As impressive as the specifications are, they don’t come cheap, with the 64GB model starting at around $200 US while the smaller 32GB model can be had for roughly $110 US. |
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Dave P |
Posted on: 02/09/2011 10:15 PM
haha you are pretty spot on about the SSD call in the conclusion  I can get by with a pocket size drive  |
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Chris |
Posted on: 02/10/2011 07:41 PM
It will be great when USB 3.0 is widely supported and high speed thumb drives come down in price. That's when I will get one, but its nice to know what we can look forward to! |
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Buzza |
Posted on: 02/11/2011 01:17 PM
Does anyone know why the Kingston USB 3.0 drive is so much fatter? |
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Robbo |
Posted on: 02/14/2011 10:03 AM
Nice speed but very very pricey!!! |
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ywing |
Posted on: 02/14/2011 09:47 PM
I would love to own one of these. Give it 6 months and I might I see they are up to 128GB models now as well. |
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ProX |
Posted on: 02/15/2011 04:36 AM
Nice review as always, great testing. Are you going to look at more of these USB 3.0 thumb drives? |