Verdict and Conclusion
Zalman is a new player on the flash drive market but have already created something innovative, somehow different than any other product.
Under the simple looking, but high quality enclosure we can find SLC flash, which is mainly popular on the server market because of its durability and high performance.
With SLC flash also comes higher price. Zalman U3M32 SLC cost about $80 inc. VAT in Europe which is a high price for a flash drive.
Performance of Zalman’s 32GB Flash Drive
So far the best results on this drive were achieved on the Z77 motherboard with Intel USB 3.0 controller what is a bit better than the board used for this review.
In all tests drive was performing better than Zalman’s declared speed so I assume that on the slowest USB 3.0 controllers, results will be about at this declared speed so no lower than 155/135 MB/s.
Pros:
- High performance, even higher than declared by producer
- High durability, used SLC flash
- High random transfers for a flash drive
- Blue drive activity LED
- Simple but solid design
Cons:
- High price for a flash drive
- Only 1 year warranty, can expect more with SLC flash
Final words. I don’t have much more to add. It’s the fastest flash drive that I have tested so far. SLC flash can give some expectations about warranty length, making the one year warranty Zalman offers a bit disappointing.
High performance, high durability, high quality but also high price … one point less but the final score is still high.
SCORE
9/10
