INTRODUCTION

    Just like with every other flash storage media in the electronics market USB flash drives have gone a long way since their introduction well over two decades ago. Just think about it, back in the early 2000's USB flash drives couldn't even surpass speeds of 10-15MB/s whereas today SSD technology-based USB flash drives can even surpass 1000MB/s (and portable SSDs can obviously go much higher). Through the years however speed/performance hasn't been the only thing that has changed with USB flash drives, connectivity also has and even though USB-A is still the predominant interface USB-C has also risen in popularity (primarily due to its support for faster drives and being available with many portable devices). Last year Netac released the US5, a High-Speed USB 3.2 Gen 2 Flash Drive and today I’ll be testing the 1TB capacity variant.

    Started in May 1999, Netac Technology (Stock Code at Shenzhen Exchange: 300042) is a leading flash memory manufacturer based in Shenzhen. Through more than ten years' growth, Netac was successfully listed in Growth Enterprise Market in January 2010, becoming the first listed removable storage supplier in China. Netac is the trademark used for our USB flash memory products. As the inventor of flash memory and a leading new-generation storage product manufacturer, Netac possesses the first generation of USB-based flash memory technology in the world. We focus on manufacturing of flash memory products, such as USB flash storage, portable hard drive and solid state disk, especially on security and encryption of USB flash storage and portable hard drive. We have a wholly owned production base for processing of all flash storage products. At present, Netac Technology (Hong Kong) Limited and Leapro Technology Co., Ltd. are two fully subsidiary companies of Netac Technology Co., Ltd. Leapro Technology Co., Ltd is the holder of the SD-3C license.

    The US5 High-Speed USB 3.2 Gen 2 Flash Drive by Netac is available in 128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB capacities and is based on a SATA III/600 SSD design (which is why I’ll be testing it as an portable SSD) which in turn allows it to achieve read and write speeds of up to 550MB/s and 500MB/s respectively. It also features a quality exterior made of out zinc alloy, comes ready with two interfaces (USB-A/C) and is covered by a somewhat generous 5-year limited warranty. This seems to be a very interesting USB flash drive so let's move forward with today’s review to see just what Netac brings to the table with their US5.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

At the front of the box Netac has placed a product picture, attainable speed and their logo.

Moving at the rear we find a product description in 23 languages along with the warranty logo and the product serial number and barcode.

In terms of bundle Netac keeps things simple and so just the drive is in the box.

THE US5 1TB

Netac has given the US5 a sports car design but it's the zinc alloy that steals the show (the US5 weighs just 50g and measures 78mm in length, 23mm in width and 9.65mm in thickness).

On the top right corner Netac has placed lanyard holes.

Both sides rise to reveal the USB-A and USB-C interfaces.

Unfortunately, however this design leaves the bottom open (so this isn't a rugged model, unfortunately).

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

    Solid state drives are basically the same as USB flash drives and so we’re using almost the same testing methodology to successfully record achieved read & write performance numbers in our charts*. The benchmark suites used are HD Tach RW (Read Speeds / Long Bench 32mb Zone Testing), HD Tune Pro (Read / Write speeds), Sisoftware Sandra Titanium 2020 (Read / Write speeds), AIDA64 Engineer Edition (Average Linear / Random Read & Write speeds), Crystal Disk Mark 6.0.2 (2GB Read / Write speeds) and finally ATTO 4.00.0F2 (Max Read / Max Write speeds). Every test is repeated a total of 6 times after which the average performance numbers are recorded into our charts (0 = we were unable to complete that test).

    All tests are performed with our main rig running Microsoft Windows 10 Pro installation on a CORSAIR MP510 960GB NVME SSD* with all updates installed up to the day we started tests.

* Since August 2019 for portable SSD tests I started using the X299 test rig.
** For USB 3.2 Gen2x2 portable SSDs I’ll be using the Z590 DARK based test rig.

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA TITANIUM / CRYSTAL DISK MARK

CONCLUSION

    Since the US5 USB flash drive by Netac is based on a SATA 600 design it wasn’t about to compete with all the latest M.2 NVMe based portable SSDs, it did however compete with older similar models (since this is a new model I decided to test it with the Z590 system instead the X299 one). What does stand out however is not performance but its performance/size ratio and that along with its dual interface and probably one of the highest quality enclosures I’ve ever seen are what will make people want one. That being said this isn’t a rugged model and well I do think Netac could had easily done that even with a zinc alloy enclosure (with removable zinc caps instead) even if that could mean it wouldn’t look quite as good. Finally with a 5-year warranty you shouldn’t worry about anything, at least not “factory” related.

    Currently retailing for around USD85 inside the USA and for 110.45Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) the US5 1TB High-Speed USB 3.2 Gen 2 flash drive by Netac is priced well. Overall, I have no serious complaints from the US5 1TB, yes, it may not be as fast as some other portable SSDs of around the same size, but it features a unique zinc alloy enclosure and offers both USB-A and USB-C connectivity and that’s why it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality (Zinc Alloy)
- Performance (Up To 550MB/s)
- USB A & USB C Interface
- 1TB Capacity
- 5 Year Limited Warranty

CONS

- Both Interfaces Exposed