Patriot Tab 128GB Micro USB 3.0 Flash Drive Review

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Pico or Micro sized flash drives are quite popular storage solution as they, as of late, have been offering quality capacity options in a compact form factor the size of a thumbnail.

The Tab is the latest of these solutions packing in 128GB of capacity with additional options available including 8, 16, 32, and 64GB. Performance is said to reach 110 MB/s on some models and with our sample being the 128GB we should have no issues reaching those heights. Compatibility includes Windows 7, 8, and 10, as well as adding in OS X 10.7+ and Linux support.

MSRP of the 128GB Patriot Tab comes in at $39.99 with a two-year warranty.

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Packaging for the Tab carries the drive in the center with marketing performance indicated above. Capacity is closer to the top with a few features listed at the bottom.

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More detail is listed on the back in several languages.

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The drive itself is an aluminum design with stamped branding. Capacity itself is embossed into the drive as well with ours being 128GB.

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Looking at the end of the drive, we find the USB 3.0 port colored correctly.

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The Patriot Tab is factory formatted with the exFAT file system. This gives the drive a usable capacity of 115GB.

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Sequential performance of the Tab came in at 140 MB/s read, quite a bit over the 110 MB/s marketing performance. Write results, however, were quite low reaching just 18 MB/s.

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Price/performance put the Tab in the middle of the pack at 50.4%.

The Tab from Patriot, if I remember correctly, may be the largest capacity Pico solution I have seen. At 128GB, that an awful lot of data to pack in such a small form factor. With that said, many vendors have come on recently with microSD solutions up to 256GB, so it's only a matter of time before Pico drives get a boost. The Tab, so accurately named, is a solid little solution. Over the last couple months, I have put a beating on it transferring data to and from and it has yet to have a hiccup.

Read performance is some of the best I have seen from a Pico drive. At 138 MB/s, this rivals many full sized flash drives. With that comes a slight bit of disappointment as write performance topped at 18 MB/s and is one of the reasons why this drive ended in the middle of the price/performance chart.

For those that want a Pico drive with high capacity, the Tab is a top pick. On the other hand, if you need write performance, you may want to look elsewhere.

Tyler's Test System Specifications

• Motherboard: ASUS Z170 Premium - Buy from Amazon
• CPU: Intel Core i5 6500 - Buy from Amazon
• Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Memory: Klevv CRAS 16GB (4x4) DDR4 3000 - Read our review
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• OS Storage: Intel 730 480GB SSD - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Secondary Storage: Intel 750 400GB U.2 SSD - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Case: Thermaltake P5 - Buy from Amazon / Read our review
• Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 1200 - Buy from Amazon
• OS: Microsoft Windows 10 - Buy from Amazon