CONCLUSION

   Silicon Power has yet to introduce high-end SSD based USB flash drives in the market and so as clearly shown in our charts the Blaze B50 128GB simply can't compete with the likes of the Mushkin Ventura Ultra and the SSD T1 by Samsung especially in write performance (max recorded performance hit 83MB/s). Read performance on the other hand may still be far apart with the drives mentioned but it's surprisingly good and easily surpasses the advertised number of 200MB/s (we recorded up to 234MB/s in HD Tach RW). Of course 83MB/s in write may not be sufficient for some demanding users but for the majority of the consumer base i see no problem with that. As usual Silicon Power offers their SP Widget and USB repair software suites which can really come in handy (hopefully you will never need to use the repair software). The only "issue" i always have with retractable designs is that the USB connector is exposed to dust at all times and that's pretty much why i like rugged models more.

   It hasn't been long since Silicon Power released the Blaze B50 line of USB 3.0 compatible flash drives in the market so currently the 128GB variant retails for 70Euros inside the EU from Amazon.co.uk a price tag which puts it right between several mid/high-end 128GB models. In the end once again things come down to what you need and how much you're willing to pay for that. The Blaze B50 128GB USB 3.0 flash drive may not be the fastest one out there but it does offer very good read performance with good write performance so it should cover all your needs without issue. On the other hand you can find 128GB USB 3.0 flash drives with slightly worse read numbers for as much as 20-30% less so that's also something you may need to consider. In the end however what matters is that Silicon Power has yet again released a balanced product worthy of our Golden Award.

PROS

- Good Build Quality
- Excellent Read Performance
- Design (For Some)
- Size & Weight
- SP Widget Software
- USB Repair Software
- Lifetime Warranty

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Current Availability