USB flash drives are perhaps the most convenient mobile storage solution one can get. They are small and require nothing more than a free USB port on any computer running a modern OS. The recent price drops due to the high supply and popularity of flash RAM made high capacity USB drives even more attractive to technology enthusiasts who like to have a few GBs of storage with them wherever they go. When a reputable memory manufacturer gets involved access speeds tend to skyrocket while the drives get smaller and smaller. In this case, the speeds are lightning fast, as the SuperTalent DG series 4GB flash drive boasts with a 200x top rated speed (over 30MB/s). With such a high rating this is theoretically one of the fastest drives available today.

Manufacturer specifications
Description:  The classic monolithic body style of the DG series understates its stellar performance; the 200X version delivers breath-taking data transfer speeds in excess of 30MB per second. This award winning USB drive is the perfect mobile storage device.   

Dimensions:  11 mm x 37 mm

Technical Details

- Full compatibility with USB 1.1 and 2.0
- Dual Channel Flash Memory Architecture
- Lightning fast 200X offers 30MB/sec Read speed
- Hot plug and play; Functions like another hard drive
- Supports password protection
- No driver needed for most operating systems (Windows 98SE driver available online)
- LED indicates power, busy
- More than 10 years data retention
- Limited lifetime warranty

Packaging and the drive


The SuperTalent DG series drive comes in a small plastic package with a very simple design, but still effective as protection during transport. Only a few of the drive’s specifications and features are named on the package – surprisingly enough the blazing high speeds aren’t specifically pointed out. Opening the package reveals the driver and… nothing else. There are no bundled items whatsoever. Common bundled items with flash drives are USB extension cables, a lanyard and encryption software. Encryption software can be found online for free and the DG drive is so small that it does not require an USB extension cable, but having a lanyard would have been nice.


The drive we reviewed was completely black. Following the simple monolith-like design, the chassis is smooth and is very pleasing to the eye. Only the SuperTalent logo can be found on it.  The drive is also insanely small, surely the smallest 4GB drive we have seen up to date. It is smaller than most typical USB interface device receivers or a typical lighter. In the picture above you can see a typical AAA battery next to the drive for a side by side comparison.


The access LED on the DG series drive is most peculiarly placed. The entire rear part of the body (where the lanyard can be tied) is a LED light. The red LED light flashes while the drive is accessed and remains turned on when the drive is installed but is not being used. Thankfully the light produced is soft, so it won’t annoy you if the drive is being used within your eyesight when in a dark room.

Performance

4MB - ATTO

8MB - ATTO

16MB - ATTO

Atto is a simple but effective file system benchmark. We run the test for three data lengths, 4MB, 8MB and 16MB. The larger data lengths are good for testing the maximum data transfer capability of the drive, while shorter lengths provide better real-world results. The SuperTalent DG drive outpaced even the Corsair Voyager GT drive which we reviewed a few weeks ago. That makes the DG the fastest drive we have reviewed to date.


Sandra is a well known all-around synthetic benchmark. We ran two Sandra tests, the Removable storage test and the File System benchmark. The removable storage test not only gave us good results and a high endurance factor which are expectable from a 200x drive, but also an insanely high delete performance. In the File System benchmark, the SuperTalent drive gave us the best results we have seen to date, although it seemed to outpace the other 200x drives we tested only slightly.

Real world read/write test, 700MB file
	Read	Write
700MB file copy	27.26 sec	32.12 sec
MB per second	25.67MB	21.79MB

In order to make our testing more complete, we timed the transfer of a 700MB file to the SuperTalent DG and then the transfer of the same 700MB file back to our HDD. As expected both the average read and the average write were lower in this real life situation that in the synthetic tests. The SuperTalent DG drive reached the read rate of 25.6MB per second and write rate of 21.8MB per second. That is 3 to 4 average sized MP3 songs per second, or 10 to 20 high resolution pictures.

Final words and Conclusion

SuperTalent managed to design a very fast and functional USB drive which does not cost a fortune. Speed wise, the DG series flash drive is beyond doubt on par with the best flash drives that money can buy. The data transfer speeds are faster than what many 2.5” mechanical drives can achieve. The monolith design of the chassis makes it look simple, which is a good thing for those who are looking for an elegant flash drive and not for a showy accessory. After all, the simple design of the SuperTalent DG 200x drives reduces their price, making them very competitive in their market. It certainly will not withstand severe abuse, but a simple drop from a 1m height will not damage it. Only one thing was disappointing about the SuperTalent DG series drive – the absence of a simple lanyard. It does not cost much but it’s very useful sometimes, so we can think of no reason as to why it is missing.

Taking the above into consideration, we feel that the SuperTalent DG series 200x 4GB drive is worthy of our Editor’s Choice award. After all, it is one of the fastest flash drives available to date.

The average price of the SuperTalent DG 200x 4GB drive is $38 in the US at the time of this review.

What do these awards mean?