Kingston DataTraveler SE9 G3 USB Flash Drive - 512GB

I bought two of the 64GB version, mainly for the performance.
I expected lower in performance in the smaller capacity version, just not this bad for writes.
The write speed was particularly bad, if I knew they were this bad I would not have purchased them.

Over the whole drive the write speed averaged 14.014MB/s and read 97.671MB/s.
The max write was 20MB/s and read was 210MB/s I bought two of the 64GB version, mainly for the performance.
I expected lower in performance in the smaller capacity version, just not this bad for writes.
The write speed was particularly bad, if I knew they were this bad I would not have purchased them.

Over the whole drive the write speed averaged 14.014MB/s and read 97.671MB/s.
The max write was 20MB/s and read was 210MB/s

The USB drive achieves the read/write performance advertised over long file transfers (>5GB). For the first GB written in a batch, the write speed appears to be >3x faster than advertised until the USB drive warms up and stabilises around the specified write speed.

The drive does come formatted as FAT32 (likely for compatibility) which limits the maximum file size to 4GB. Reformatting the drive to basically any other modern file format will fix that problem. (It appears that ExFAT is the most compatible of the file formats that allow >4GB files)

You're almost certainly paying for the extra performance, but if you know you need it then this ...view more The USB drive achieves the read/write performance advertised over long file transfers (>5GB). For the first GB written in a batch, the write speed appears to be >3x faster than advertised until the USB drive warms up and stabilises around the specified write speed.

The drive does come formatted as FAT32 (likely for compatibility) which limits the maximum file size to 4GB. Reformatting the drive to basically any other modern file format will fix that problem. (It appears that ExFAT is the most compatible of the file formats that allow >4GB files)

You're almost certainly paying for the extra performance, but if you know you need it then this USB drive certainly offers it.

Edit: Another test suggests that it doesn't reliably hit the advertised write speed when the drive is warm

I bought 3 of these flash drives. Two worked and one failed right from the start. It couldn't be repaired or reformatted. Now I'm wondering how long the other two will last. I bought 3 of these flash drives. Two worked and one failed right from the start. It couldn't be repaired or reformatted. Now I'm wondering how long the other two will last.

While far cheaper products are available, I chose this DataTraveler SE9 G3 model for faster writing speed. However, quite disappointed to see it was only 46mb/s which is less than half of the advertised speed. Reading speed sure is 210Mb/s but not what I needed. While far cheaper products are available, I chose this DataTraveler SE9 G3 model for faster writing speed. However, quite disappointed to see it was only 46mb/s which is less than half of the advertised speed. Reading speed sure is 210Mb/s but not what I needed.

Very nice design, almost shines in the sun. It hasn't failed me yet after a couple months of owning it. Not much to say, great value for money. I do not have any cons for this product. Very nice design, almost shines in the sun. It hasn't failed me yet after a couple months of owning it. Not much to say, great value for money. I do not have any cons for this product.

Quite happy with it, Got it for holding a download of Linux to try updating an old WIN 10 machine, but haven't done that yet. Tests out as 248GB with Validrive tool. Quite happy with it, Got it for holding a download of Linux to try updating an old WIN 10 machine, but haven't done that yet. Tests out as 248GB with Validrive tool.

By: Lloyd 16/12/25

Write speeds are about 1MB/s. Useless even for the price I paid for it. Write speeds are about 1MB/s. Useless even for the price I paid for it.

Big enough for transfers between PC's, quicker than my last usb and works well restoring Windows. Big enough for transfers between PC's, quicker than my last usb and works well restoring Windows.

I used this USB drive to install Windows on my upgraded NVMe SSD, and it worked perfectly. Quick formatting, smooth booting, and no issues during setup. It did exactly what I needed—fast, reliable, and ready to go. I used this USB drive to install Windows on my upgraded NVMe SSD, and it worked perfectly. Quick formatting, smooth booting, and no issues during setup. It did exactly what I needed—fast, reliable, and ready to go.

Good and cheap product Good and cheap product

It runs hot, I do not like these drives getting over 50 degrees Celsius. I have to put a fan on top to draw air through for cooling when copying more than about 300GB. Otherwise it copies large files at 100 - 150 MB/s. It runs hot, I do not like these drives getting over 50 degrees Celsius. I have to put a fan on top to draw air through for cooling when copying more than about 300GB. Otherwise it copies large files at 100 - 150 MB/s.

Do not buy! Often only achieves write speed of 1Mbyte/s, otherwise not much more. Simply formatting it gets 1/4 finished after 2 hours. That's a lot less than the 100Mbyte/s write speed specified. It's totally unusable. Do not buy! Often only achieves write speed of 1Mbyte/s, otherwise not much more. Simply formatting it gets 1/4 finished after 2 hours. That's a lot less than the 100Mbyte/s write speed specified. It's totally unusable.