Transcend JetFlash 760 64GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review

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Over the past few months here at TweakTown, we have had a number of flash drives come through our lab. In the past, we ran a few benchmarks, charted the performance and spoke about the aesthetics and build quality. Today, I'm poised to introduce to you another metric from which you can base your purchasing decision, a metric in the form of our new price vs. performance charts. To introduce you to this chart I have chosen one of the latest flash drives from Transcend, the JetFlash 760.

Transcend is a global leader in flash memory solutions. Their product portfolio is so vast it encompasses products ranging from SSDs and memory cards to digital music players and who can forget aXeRam. Today, we will be looking over and sharing our thoughts on the JetFlash 760 in the 64GB capacity. Compatibility of the JetFlash extends as far as Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and Mac OS X 10.4 with a limited lifetime warranty.

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Our sample of the JetFlash 760 was delivered with a gloss black and purple design, the 64GB capacity listed on the end of the drive and the Transcend branding in front of the slide mechanism.

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The JetFlash 760 uses a locking slide mechanism. This keeps the drives connection safely tucked away when it's not in use and just a slide away when you're ready to use it.

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The connector for the JetFlash, appropriately colored blue denoting its USB 3.0 compatibility.

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Pulling apart our sample, we found Transcend used 21nm Samsung TLC NAND in the JetFlash 760.

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The controller found in the 760 is manufactured by Innostor. This is the first drive we have seen that uses the IS916.

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Included with the JetFlash 760 was access to Transcend's Elite Data Management software. Within the software you gain the ability to schedule backups to the flash drive and even encrypt the drive with 256-bit AES if you so choose.

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Another feature of the data management software is Bookmark Sync. This allows you to export your favourite sites from IE, Firefox and Chrome to your flash drive.

One of the lesser known features of running Microsoft's new operating system Windows 8 is the native capability of USB Attached SCSI or UASP. Benchmarking flash drives, we utilize ATTO Disk Benchmark followed by Crystal Disk Mark. Our last bench incorporates DiskBench and our custom set of real-world data, and is by far the most important comparison when looking for a flash drive for everyday use.

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The Transcend JetFlash 760 is shipped from the factory with the FAT32 file system. This allows for wide compatibility across Windows and Macintosh based computers. The usable capacity from the factory is 58.8GB.

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Marketing for the JetFlash 760 is set at 80MB/s read and 25MB/s write. As you can see, we did manage to surpass those numbers during our ATTO testing, with our sample hitting 90MB/s read and 41MB/s write.

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CrystalDiskMark came in closer to marketing specifications, with the 760 touching 88MB/s read and 28MB/s write.

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In our real-world testing we found the JetFlash 760 to land in at the bottom of our charts, with the large file transfer of AVCHD video being its strongest file set at 46MB/s.

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To compute the number seen above which I call the performance index, I take the average MB/s from our three DiskBench tests and divide it by the price per GB. All pricing information is taken from Newegg at the time of writing.

If we take a look at our new price vs. performance charts, there is another chapter for the JetFlash 760. Here we find the JetFlash 760 sitting right in the middle of the pack.

To gather our opinion on the JetFlash 760, we first have to look at the market for which it's intended. Here you will find that Transcend has done an amazing job keeping the price of the 760 as low as possible, while giving the drive enough performance for the average consumer.

The build quality of the JetFlash 760 is commendable, but I did find the plastics a bit flimsy in spots, otherwise the inclusion of the slide mechanism is a welcomed addition. In terms of aesthetics, the 760 carries a simple design for someone that doesn't want all the bling of, let's say the V95 from Transcend.

Pricing of the 64GB JetFlash 760 we tested here today is set at an incredibly low $35.99 at the time of writing. Transcend takes this a bit further offering a limited lifetime warranty as well.

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