Portable USB Power: Kingston HyperX 3.0

We take a look at the Kingston DataTraveler HyperX 64GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive and some reasons we should all have one.

Travelling to PC Gaming Cafés can be one of the most frustrating experiences as a gamer. Not only do they not normally have good quality keyboards and mice, but in some cases, they don't have the games that you want to play already installed on each computer. In the past, USB flash drives haven't had enough storage to carry around important game and video files without costing a fortune. Luckily, Kingston have released a range of USB storage devices under their HyperX brand for just that purpose. Starting at 64GB in storage capacity, the Kingston HyperX 3.0 range features USB 3.0 support and some of the fastest read and write speeds available on a portable storage device. While using USB 3.0 input for transfers, Kingston boast lightning fast 225MB/s read and 135MB/s write speeds, which the compatibility with USB 2.0 devices is limited to a still nippy 30MB/s read/write. To test these speeds, I conducted several timed transfers.

To give the HyperX 3.0 DataTraveler a good challenge for a first file, I selected a 700MB video in an episode of the hit show Firefly to transfer via USB 2.0. Sure enough, 24 seconds later the file transfer had completed, matching the 30MB/s speed promoted by Kingston. Music files are probably the most commonly transferred files and the DataTraveler handles them with ease, before the file transfer window even had a chance to pop-up on screen. Since it dealt so well with a small file, I decided to transfer the entire Diablo 3 game folder from my laptop which took exactly 4 minutes and 30 seconds to write to the DataTraveler. Once again the drive remarkably matched the statistics on the box.

No matter what file size I tried, each transfer was nearly exactly 30MB/s. So many products on the market tout values that seem unobtainable without the highest spec machines, but on my two year old machine, the DataTraveler matched all of the promoted speeds.

The most intriguing claim that Kingston have made is that you can play games directly off the flash drive. As a gamer that travels a fair bit and moves between computers, the ability to play off the drive is a luxury that has not been possible before and that will quickly become a standard within the data storage world. With Diablo 3 pre-loaded on my Kinston Hyper X 3.0 DataTraveler, I plugged it in to my laptop and loaded up the launcher. Instantly the play button lit up green and I was greeted with the login screen.

Jumping straight into the game, there were no issues with lag or frame rate from the data transfer. Remarkably, the DataTraveler held up on this claim as well, for the next hour I played Diablo 3, switching between zones and textures to try and work the USB drive as hard as possible, even on high graphical settings, there was no noticeable decline in performance on the game.

It's not just the performance that is solid, the build of the DataTraveler is just as tough, with durable metal and rubber casting to protect your important data. The sleek design of the device matches the blue and black design of most other Kingston HyperX products and gives the device a futuristic look, with the data transfer indicator flashing blue while the device is active. A lanyard loop is included in the design for extra safety. My only gripe about the design is that the lid to protect the USB connector is not permanently attached to the main body of the device in any way. Because of this, it is easily possible for the USB connector to be exposed to the elements, defeating the point of the rubber protecting the device.

Overall, the 64GB Kingston HyperX 3.0 DataTraveler is an impressive piece of technology that meets all of the promoted statistics. USB 3.0 support has allowed Kingston to give the DataTraveler a lifespan far beyond most flash drives currently on the market. As more computers adopt USB 3.0, the speeds provided by USB 2.0 interfaces just won't meet the requirements of most consumers. The ability to play games straight from a small, external flash drive is an exciting prospect that shouldn't be overlooked and fits a gap in the marketplace for travelling gamers or movie enthusiasts. The massive storage capacity of the range (up to 256GB of storage) and speedy transfer capabilities make the DataTraveler a must have for all PC gamers on the move.

James 'Stress' O'Leary