Any UFD faster than 400MB/s read & write?

UFD is popular in our daily life and people have various expectations for this small gadget like capacity, dimension, design, performance, and so on. For reasons, I personally need a UFD which has good performance and that’s why I really like SanDisk ExtremePRO USB 3.1 because it’s fast!

I use this UFD almost every single day so the printing on the back is almost scratched off.

SanDisk claims the performance of ExtremePRO USB 3.1 is 420MB/s Read and 380MB/s Write. Since the performance of the UFD matters to the way I use it, I’m always thinking if there’s any other UFD even faster than my current SanDisk ExtremePRO USB 3.1? For now, I can’t think of one.

Maybe SilverStone MS09 is the answer

One day I found this interesting product in the drawer of my desk which I don’t even remember when I got this.

Right, it’s SilverStone MS09 which turns an SSD to a UFD.  At that moment, I just got an idea! What if…… I just go get a SATA SSD instead of a fast UFD? Why not!

Performance wise, an M.2 SATA SSD is not competitive with an M.2 PCIe SSD because of the limited bandwidth so it’s about 500MB/s read and write only. But that’s good enough for me since it’s still 100MB/s faster than my current SanDisk ExtremePRO USB 3.1. The only question is, how much performance impact when it’s turned to a UFD? Therefore, I had a quick test and found something really interesting. Let’s see what happened at last.

Photo Gallery: SilverStone MS09

The package of both sides.

Exactly like the external hard drive, you can say this is simply an external SSD. Function wise, that’s correct, the only difference is the “cable-less design". It is designed to be as convenient as a UFD so you don’t have to carry a cable with you. Besides, the SSD inside is changeable which means the capacity can be upgraded if you need more storage someday. About this point, there’s nothing the UFD can do.

Leveraging the bandwidth of USB 3.1 Gen 2, I guess I don’t have to worry about the performance. And be careful that only M.2 SATA SSD is supported.

This is everything inside the product package. SilverStone even provides a screwdriver for you in case you don’t have a proper one for the tiny screws.

It says on the product package but you can see this again on the PCB, it only supports KEY B NGFF SSD.

According to SilverStone, the product dimension is 110mm (D) x 26mm x 9mm (H).

Well, I guess you have no idea about the product dimension. Therefore, let’s have an easy comparison so you’ll understand the product dimension in seconds.

Honestly, I believe this is the biggest issue for some users interested in the product at the very beginning. It’s just way too big when it’s compared to a general UFD like my SanDisk ExtremePRO USB 3.1. See that? Its dimension is pretty close to a DDR4 memory module. Of course, it’s not a big deal for me. Like I said, I really need a fast UFD so the performance is almost the only thing I care.

Photo Gallery: WD BLUE 500GB M.2 SATA SSD

At last, I bought a WD BLUE 500GB SSD which WD claims the performance is 560MB/s Read and 530MB/s Write.

Most important of all, this SSD supports both B KEY and M KEY. I don’t have to worry about the installation issue.

I installed the SSD and checked the weight. As you can imagine, it’s much heavier compared to a general UFD like my SanDisk ExtremePRO USB 3.1. But come on, how heavy could 46g be? At least, I’m fine with its weight.

How about the performance?

SSD’s original performance

The SSD was installed on the motherboard so we will know its original performance.
CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 1200
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Crosshair VI Hero
Memory: GeIL Super Luce RGB SYNC D4-3200 8GBx2 CL16-18-18-36

SilverStone MS09: Turns SSD to UFD

The performance is not bad, but right, there is a performance drop.

The performance of SanDisk ExtremePRO USB 3.1

I did this test because I was really curious and the test result was interesting. Eventually, my SanDisk ExtremePRO USB 3.1 didn’t win this game.

SilverStone MS09 is a good choice for me!

In the end, I’d like to say SilverStone MS09 is a good choice for me.

The performance is good and stable, the SSD is changeable so I can upgrade the capacity whenever I need more storage, as convenient as a UFD that I don’t have to always carry a cable, mm…… sounds good.

But for you, I’m not so sure…… way too BIG when it’s compared to a general UFD, confusing terms like B KEY M KEY and blablabla, not 100% easy installation, mm…… doesn’t sound like a good choice.

See? Users with various requirements may have different choices, sometimes polar opposite choices. The only thing I can say is, it would be a perfect choice if you have the same requirements as mine. In that case, I’d love to recommend this product to you. Enjoy it!