256GB PNY PRO Elite V3 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Flash Drive – Up to 1000MB/s Read, Up to 800MB/s Write, Extreme Performance for Professional Data Storage and Transfers, Premium Metal Design, Type-A Connector

This is a best in class USB flash drive. I purchased the 1TB model and I use it for DJing. For this purpose I need the utmost of reliability and I have not had a PNY Elite flash drive ever bite the dust on me. Speed is also very nice to have as I'm usually rushing off to a gig and need my music to load to the drive quickly. Also I can queue up a 3 hour set on a CDJ with this and I don't have to wait for it to load. Other drives will have me waiting longer for sure.File transfer is fast, my music collection is about 500GB, and I haven't been able to load it onto a drive faster than with this one. I also have and use a competing brand's elite 1TB flash drive as a backup, but this one is what I prefer to use as it is just a bit faster. I'm forced to format this to FAT32 so it can work with DJ gear like CDJs, but even so this drive seems to work swiftly.The form factor and sliding connection terminal are both great, and durability has never been an issue. I tale care of my drives well for the most part, but I still need to bring them to rainy festival gigs, dusty burning man, and nights in the city where things get sloppy come 5am.The V3 is a clear step up from the V2 in terms of speed. Otherwise they seem about the same. I have and use both in the 1TB size. And previously the main flash drive I was using was a 512GB V2 version of this, the upgrade is noticed when I load my music.Overall a best in class device with ample space (for now). I reckon in 3 years I'll need a 2TB or 1.5TB version, but for now this one is bound to last me through many gigs and trips. This drive will outcompete it's pricier competitors, sometimes you can pay less and get more when things are designed better.

This little guy is fast!! I love the all-metal construction and the small stature of this device. Definitely feels premium in the hands. My speed is with using an Asus Prime PRIME Z690-A motherboard and an Intel i7-13700 CPU, and using a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Port.

I haven’t been a fan of PNY products in the past but I thought I’d give this product a chance. The metal case is useful for heat dissipation. It does get warm under a full load but the case helps to mitigate that heat buildup. I haven’t had any heat related issues. The drive is fast for sure. I’d like to see this with a usb-c interface and using usb4. It comes formatted as an ExFAT drive so it works on my windows pc, my MacBook and, with an adapter, my iPhone sees the drive and files app can copy files to it. Overall I’m very satisfied. We’ll see how long it lasts though.I’m a little biased because of the issues I had with a (much) older drive; that one had a plastic shell and didn’t work well with non-windows pc’s. This new model addresses all the older product’s flaws.

Even as though its a new product, I am switching from v2 to v3 to take advantage of the new speeds. I have both the 1TB sizes and formatted them to APFS > GUID Partition Map which works well on mac. Here are the posted read/write speeds on the V3 (794mb/write 380mb/read) . I was skeptical on upgrading since at the time of this review there was no reviews or ratings to see how the turnaround would be.Pros:Solid metal USB casingComparable to my Corsair Voyager GTX (clocking out at 700mb/write 334mb/read), but I love the PNYs because I can fit on a keychain if needed. Even comes with a built in loop in the design.Super fast usb reliable speeds that don't break down after a year or two like others.I've had mine for 3 plus years, has been in washer, dryer, hot swiped several times, etc and still going strong.Data transfer when moving or copying large files, 10GB+ doesn't slow down over the corse of the transfer like other cheap models.Cons:Need an adapter for USBCs.It beats the heck out of everything so other devices need to catch up to match the speed.

Fast and reliable.

I purchased this flash drive because of high storage capacity and speed. I just inserted the flash drive in my computer USB port and didn't use it. After short time I tried to take it of the casing metal was hot. I contacted the manufacture to get feedback about the heating issue. The representative said it could be defective item. I would like the manufacture PNY to give us feedback related to the heat coming from the flash drive and what causing if not in use.

Super fast but gets really warm in a short period of time. So caution if you plan on walking away from it when it's plugged in.

I recommend this flash drive more than any other.