TEST: PNY Elite Steel 256GB USB flash drive

Technical data
Image
Manufacturer	PNY
Model number	FD256ESTEEL31G-EF
Storage capacity	256 GB (232 GiB)
Read speed	80 MB/s
Write speed	20 MB/s
Connection	USB Typ A
Price	ca. 20 AUD (= 0,08 $ / GB)
Paid link	Buy on Amazon

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Compared to the top performer*

Read speed

15 %

Write speed

14 %

*) Test result evaluated according to AS SSD Score within the same size.

AS SSD Benchmark

Standard performance test

The standard test was performed with a 1 GB file. A total score of 41 points was achieved.

AS SSD	Read:	Write:
Seq in megabytes per second	151,80 MB/s	21,34 MB/s
4K in megabytes per second	4,23 MB/s	0,80 MB/s
4K-64Thrd in megabytes per second	8,24 MB/s	0,64 MB/s
Access time in milliseconds	0,685 ms	2,175 ms
Score	28	4
Total score	41

Copy Performance Test

A common everyday situation is simulated here. Three test folders are created:

• ISO (folder with two large files)
• Program (folder with many small files)
• Game (folder with small and large files)

The three folders are copied using the Windows Copy command (the cache remains enabled). The practical test of February 14, 2022 shows the performance for simultaneous write and read operations. The lower the duration, the better the performance.

AS SSD Copy-Benchmark	Transfer rate:	Duration:
ISO two large files	124,18 MB/s	8,65 s
Program many small files	8,06 MB/s	174,57 s
Game small and large files	13,31 MB/s	103,73 s

Compression Performance Test

Here, the writing and reading speed of the the PNY USB flash driveSSD is measured depending on the compressibility of the data (according to the manufacturer, these should be 80MB/s and 20MB/s respectively).

CrystalDiskMark Benchmark

Here, two sequential and two random performance tests are performed, similar to the ones performed on the AS SSD.

CDM	Read [MB/s]	Write [MB/s]
SEQ1M Q8T1	159,04	141,75
SEQ1M Q1T1	159,24	77,08
RND4K Q32T16	16,61	3,02
RND4K Q1T1	9,22	2,43