Other by stefan @ 2011-02-09
ADATA started to introduce speedy USB 3.0 flash drives to the market, one of them being the Superior Series S102 16GB model. These products have different read/write speeds depending on the capacity and thanks to their very high read speed performances we can use them successfully for booting Live USB Linux distributions or for transferring the Windows 7/Vista install kits, to speed up the OS installation.
At first I would like to thank ADATA for offering me a sample of their Superior Series S102 USB 3.0 Flash Drive for review.
"The Leading Memory Brand with the Most Award-Winning Product Designs
Founded in May, 2001 by Chairman and CEO Mr. Simon Chen, ADATA Technology Co., Ltd. is committed to providing the ultimate memory solutions that enrich customers’ digital life with strong belief in integrity and professionalism. With DRAM modules as its initial product focus, ADATA soon recognized the market’s trend and diversified its product portfolio to include Flash application and data storage solutions. Backed by its technical expertise, state-of-the art manufacturing facilities, and premium customer services, ADATA offers complete memory solutions including DRAM Module, USB Flash Drive, Memory Card, Solid State Drive and Portable Hard Drive; and has quickly risen to become the world’s leading provider of memory modules and Flash application products with a 2nd largest share in DRAM modules and 3rd in Flash Application products (iSupply, May 2010).
ADATA understands that professionalism and innovation drive a company’s competitiveness as well as the value of its products and services in the market. ADATA’s strict execution requires performing at the highest standards as it relates to ID design, purchasing and supply chain management (raw materials), manufacturing processes and quality control and testing. Through constant innovation and development of products that exceed customer expectations, ADATA has won many of the most recognized international awards including the National Silver Award of Excellence in Taiwan, Japan’s G-MARK (Good Design Award), CES Innovations Award in the US and iF Design award and reddot design award in Germany.
A Young Enterprise with Remarkable Growth
Although ADATA started with twenty employees only in 2001, the founder, Mr. Simon Chen and the senior management team have extensive memory-related industry experience in manufacturing and global sales, as well as the passion and energy to instill extraordinary corporate values as the foundation of the company. These values consist of integrity, fairness, honesty, perseverance, ingenuity, harmony, love and innovation. All these factors help contribute to remarkable and consistent year-on-year revenue and profit growth, allowing ADATA to achieve 1 billion sales turnover within the first ten year.
When ADATA first started in 2001, there were only 20 employees. But ADATA was a small company with big dreams. Committed to become a world leading provider in DRAM memory and Flash application products, ADATA soon distinguished itself from the competition by its profession, industry know-how, and eye-catching product design.
Perfection through Non-stop Improvement
Despite its impressive achievement, ADATA is determined to outperform itself. In 2010, ADATA began the process of rebuilding brand, and adopted the hummingbird as its corporate icon and an auxiliary symbol of ADATA’s corporate culture, in order to effectively enhance its competitiveness in the international marketplace as well as to prepare the company for the next decade.
The new logo conveys a more modern design that represents consistency, while retaining the foundation of ADATA’s technical background with the traditional corporate color in blue.
The hummingbird incorporates key design elements that reflect our culture, vision for the future and our commitment to become a global brand. The Hummingbird’s agility suggests that ADATA is highly responsive to market and consumer demands; its swiftness demonstrates leading innovation and productivity in the industry; its exploring nature signifies our determination to pursue all possibilities; and the color and modern design reflects the exciting and dynamic characteristics of ADATA’s brand.
Strong Commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility
Realizing its social responsibility, ADATA takes extra care in the selection of key memory components, complies with stringent manufacturing specifications and quality inspection processes, and has passed the ISO14001 certification on environmental management, as well as the EU Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive, thus providing stable, compatible and high-performance memory products. This allows ADATA to fulfill its corporate social responsibility (CSR) at a time the company is pursuing rapid growth, putting emphasis on both protecting our earth and sustaining a green enterprise.”
The USB 3.0 interface is becoming increasingly popular in the market, and we are listening to the voices of the early adapters who are eager to see this new standard incorporated into a wide range of products. This launch introduces the S102 USB 3.0 flash drive, which uses the native USB 3.0 controller chip, at an extremely competitive price. So stop watching USB 3.0 from the sidelines. The S102 gives you an undeniable reason to upgrade, and say an official goodbye to USB 2.0.
The S102 has read speeds of up to 68 MB per second, and write speeds of up to 30MB, which is much more efficient than traditional USB 2.0 speeds. With nearly twice the read performance, you will ride the cutting-edge technology in all data transfer applications.
Note: For built-in USB 3.0 slots, the actual transmission speed will vary according to the platform, software, and technical differences. (Test results shown are based on a 32 GB product)
In appearance, the textured aluminum casing sets off the titanium metal color of the drive. The crafted exterior incorporates both scientific and technological elements to present an appealing look. The cap can be conveniently clipped onto the back of the casing when the drive is in use, preventing loss. The S102 is available in storage capacities from 8GB to 32GB, providing great value for your speed experience.
Known for being top quality, with their remarkable performance and innovative designs, ADATA portable hard disk drives have more than “hard power” to offer, notably the most valuable software2.
The OStoGO tool assists you by converting your Microsoft Windows 7 Installation DVD to an ADATA portable storage device, providing you the convenience of being able to quickly install Windows 7 via USB booting without the need for an optical drive.
The powerful UFDtoGo tool synchronizes data, e-mails and your Favorites, affording you true mobility.
Norton Internet Security 2010 (60-day trial) safeguards your data from viruses and other harmful processes. Registering your ADATA product online gives you this protection for free.
1. Transfer rate is available with capacity 8G and above. Actual speed may vary by individual computer and system performance.
2. Free download of the valuable software and product registration are available for ADATA products printed with the Software Download mark only.
The ADATA S102 USB 3.0 Flash drive is shipped inside a small cardboard and plastic package; on the front side we can see how the product looks like through the transparent plastic material, along with the full name of the drive and its capacity. On the bottom, we can see two logos, one which tells us that we can find downloadable software for this product, and one that tells us the product comes with a lifetime warranty:
On the back side of the package, we can see a small product description, the specifications and system requirements:
The S102 takes part from the Nobility Series of ADATA's flash drives and has a similar shaped body to the S805 USB Flash drive, which was reviewed in the past:
On one of the product sides, we can see the ADATA inscription, along with the product model and the interface it functions on:
The opposite side maintains the same design, but without any writings:
In the back of the drive, we can see a small hole where we can insert a lanyard (not included in the package!):
After the removal of the top cap, the USB 3.0 connector gets revealed:
Like on the S805, we can mount the plastic cap in the back of the device, to avoid losing it while the device is plugged in:
Here is a closer look on the USB 3.0 connector of the flash drive; after a small visual inspection, we can see that there aren't any writings on both sides of the connector (some drives have laser inscriptions on the connector with product codes, total capacity or other serial numbers):
The testbench was composed from the following hardware:
CPU: Intel I7 Retail @ stock
Motherboard: Foxconn BloodRage with G42 BIOS
RAM: 3x2GB Patriot PVT36G1600LLK 1600MHz
Video: Sparkle GTX 470 with stock and OMNI A.L.C.
Power Supply: Nexus RX-8500 850W modular
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200.11
Case: Thermaltake Armor+ LCS, stock cooling
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64
The drive comes completely empty, formatted FAT32:
To determine the flash drive read speeds, the HD Tune 4.60 utility was used:
HD Tune File Benchmark 64MB
HD Tune File Benchmark 512MB
To measure the real life performance, I have used the Total Commander application to copy to the flash drive and from the flash drive the same file and recorded the transfer speeds, when they have stabilized.
File Copy
File Read
One of the optional applications you can download is OStoGo, which helps us transfer the Windows 7 kit from the original DVD to the flash drive and install it from there:
UFDtoGo is another application that can be downloaded and has the following features:
The application can be started only if the USB Flash Drive is inserted; after the application is initialized, we can see its interface, with the menu on the left side:
One interesting feature that I have found when checking out this software is that you can use your Flash Drive to lock the computer you are working with, while you are away:
Another interesting feature is that we can password protect the data present on the flash drive, with AES 128 encryption:
If the device has been lost, we can enter out personal information so the person that finds it would know where to look:
The speedy USB 3.0 flash drive from ADATA is offered in 3 flavours: 8GB, 16GB (the model which has been tested) and 32GB. The 8GB model comes with the slowest read/write speeds, but the 16GB, 32GB models share the same read speeds, the latter having the highest write transfer speeds (31MB/s, as advertised by the manufacturer).
The read speeds I have obtained in the tests are very close to the manufacturers' rating; when looking at the write speeds, I was impressed because ADATA has rated this model at 18MB/s and I have obtained in the Total Commander tests 20.23MB/s (when transferring a 420MB file from the HDD to the flash drive).
The downloadable software bundle ADATA offers is identical to the other Superior C905 drive reviewed in the past, which can be useful in many instances.
I would like to thank again to ADATA for offering me a sample of their latest product for review!