Kingston initially relied solely on the modern USB-C connector for the up to 1 GB/s fast USB stick DataTraveler Max. Now comes the variant with the still more common USB-A port. Performance and storage capacities remain unchanged.
The fastest USB stick gets the A connector
Almost a year ago, Kingston released the DataTraveler Max with maximum transfer rates of 1,000 MB/s reading and 900 MB/s writing. With these high values, it is still the fastest USB stick on the local market.
According to the manufacturer, the performance also changes with the new “Type-A”. -Variant nothing. This is not only recognizable from the plug, but also from the new color scheme: burgundy red instead of black is the program.
Dimensions and weight increase slightly< /h2>
Due to the larger USB-A connector, the dimensions and weight increase marginally. The new one with the old A connector measures 91.17 × 22 × 9.02 mm (L × W × H) and weighs 14 grams, the old one with the new C connector is 82.17 × 22 × 9.02 mm (L × W × H) and 12 grams. Both variants are not particularly compact. In return, there are currently the fastest sequential transfer rates, which come close to external SSDs with USB 3.2 Gen 2.
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Kingston DataTraveler Max Type-A (Image: Kingston)
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Kingston DataTraveler Max Type-A (image: Kingston)
However, the stick cannot deliver this performance over the long term when writing. According to the AnandTech test, the write rate of the 1 TB version drops to 80 MB/s after around 95 GB – the SLC cache is then exhausted. In addition, the stick gets very warm in its plastic housing – ComputerBase recently observed a similar behavior with the Patriot Supersonic Rage Prime (test), which was only able to achieve the promised maximum performance under certain conditions.
With native USB controller without bridge
The heart of the DataTraveler Max is the 4-channel Silicon Motion SM2320 controller, the native works with USB. A bridge chip for converting the SATA or NVMe protocol to USB is therefore no longer necessary.
Prices and availability
The new variant of the Kingston DataTraveler Max is available online at prices starting at around 51 euros (256 GB), 78 euros (512 GB) and 133 euros (1 TB). The availability should be given in a few days. The manufacturer offers a 5-year guarantee.
The following promotional video from the manufacturer shows both variants: