CONCLUSION

   We recently tested the Portable SSD T1 250GB USB 3.0 drive by Samsung so having the Ventura Ultra 120GB by Mushkin on our test bed shortly after helped us understand the differences UASP compatible drives have compared to regular ones. As a matter of fact we were so curious to see just what differences one can expect so we also tested both drives under Windows 7 Ultimate and the read/write performance numbers dropped sometimes by just 10% and sometimes as much as 30% so do keep that in mind if your USB 3.0 controller doesn't support UASP or if you're just not using Windows 8/8.1 (or the soon to be Windows 10). With that out of the way i don't really need to point out that the Ventura Ultra 120GB is the 2nd fastest USB 3.0 drive we've used to date (only falls behind the slightly larger T1) since our charts do a very good job pointing that out. I do however need to point out that due to the tiny enclosure the NAND flash modules (and the controller naturally) build up heat quite fast so if you plan on using the Ventura Ultra for very long periods of time i'd recommend against that. It's a lightning fast USB 3.0 drive for the first 15-20 minutes of use but anything after that and you may experience a significant drop in performance. Of course under normal use you will not need to use it for even half that time in order to fill its capacity with data but i wouldn't use it as a portable OS drive because of that especially in the summer.

   The Ventura Ultra 120GB USB 3.0 flash drive by Mushkin may not really compare to the Portable SSD T1 by Samsung in terms of performance but it also doesn't compare in terms of price since currently you can get it for just USD74.99 inside the USA (Newegg.com) and for 93.89Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). All said and done we do expect more from Mushkin in the near future since there's no doubt in our minds that they can make something to take the T1 directly on but we just don't know if they'd want to have something as expensive in the market aimed towards enthusiasts and professionals or if they prefer to target the more "mid-end" segments. Regardless the Ventura Ultra 120GB USB 3.0 flash drive works as advertised and although far from perfect it's good enough for our Platinum Award.

PROS

- Build Quality (Aircraft Grade Aluminum Enclosure / High Quality NAND)
- Top Of The Charts Performance
- Also Available In 480GB
- Overall Size
- Price (Compared To The T1 By Samsung)

CONS

- Heat Buildup