MX Technology ES Ultra 64GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review
One of the very few SLC flash drives on the market, we take a look at the ES Ultra from MX Technology - read on as Tyler tells us all about it.
MX Technology is one of the last vendors still using SLC NAND in their flash drives. In the past, we have had quite a few flash drives from them come through the lab, and today we add to that with the ES Ultra.
The ES Ultra is the latest flash drive to come from MX Technology, featuring capacity options including 16GB, 32GB and 64GB. These drives utilize a SLC NAND for the utmost in reliability and performance. Marketing details offer 210 MB/s read and write, while being compatible with Windows, OS X and Linux.
MSRP of the MX Technology ES Ultra in the 64GB capacity is listed at $109.99 with a five-year warranty.
Packaging for the ES Ultra the drive in the center, with marketing information to the left.
The ES Ultra carries a similar design to other MX Technology drives we have seen in the past. Here the drive uses a metal casing with a clear cap housing just branding on the exterior of the drive.
The ES Ultra uses a USB 3.0 connection, and as you can see, it is a rather slim drive, so there are no issues with blocking adjacent ports.
As you can see above, the ES Ultra fits right in with previous drives we have tested.
The ES Ultra is factory formatted with the FAT32 file system, insuring compatibility between Windows and Macintosh computers. The usable capacity after formatting is 59.5GB.
Performance results for the ES Ultra came in at 213 MB/s read and 221 MB/s write.
Price/Performance for the ES Ultra landed the MX Technology ES Ultra near the bottom of our chart at 65%.
Like previous flash drives we have tested from MX Technology, the ES Ultra carries the same high quality SLC NAND. In addition to that, the metal casing does provide a bit more durability when compared to the standard plastic housed solution.
Performance of the MX Technology ES Ultra was quite good, the drive was able to reach just over marketing numbers at 213 MB/s read and 221 MB/s write. However, our price/performance chart wasn't too kind to the ES Ultra, where it landed towards the bottom due to its high price per GB.
Overall, the SLC powered ES Ultra is a good flash drive, and if MX was so inclined to reduce the price over time, I feel it would fare a bit better in today's market. Of course, putting SLC NAND in a flash drive does cost a bit more than the standard MLC in most drives today.
| Performance | 90% |
| Quality including Design and Build | 90% |
| General Features | 90% |
| Bundle and Packaging | 80% |
| Value for Money | 70% |
| Overall TweakTown Rating | 84% |
The Bottom Line: Featuring SLC NAND in today's market, the ES Ultra is a great performing flash storage solution. However, it would be nice to see higher capacities offered to offset the high initial cost.
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