- Raspberry Pi Flash Drive offers high-speed 128GB and 256GB options
- Sequential performance briefly reaches USB 3.0’s maximum bandwidth
- SMART reporting and TRIM support help maintain performance and lifespan
Raspberry Pi fans feature a new storage option that combines a compact design and high capacity in a single device.
The Raspberry Pi Flash Drive features an expressive design with an aluminum casing and a subtle Raspberry Pi logo.
This USB flash drive is a compact USB 3.0 device designed specifically for Raspberry Pi enthusiasts, offering 128GB and 256GB storage options.
Maintains USB 3.0 performance
Like many high-density NAND flash storage solutions, it uses a small pseudo-SLC cache pool to improve performance during burst write workloads, streaming data to slow down QLC flash in the background.
This approach allows sequential write speeds to reach maximum USB 3.0 bandwidth for short periods of time, while maintaining sustained performance even under intense I/O activity.
Benchmarking this type of configuration proves difficult, so the figures cited reflect sustained write speeds when the cache is fully engaged and read speeds measured with an empty cache.
The drive has undergone extensive testing to ensure it withstands sudden removals or power outages, surviving tens of thousands of random power cycles under intermittently intensive workloads.
The device also supports SMART SSD health reporting to monitor its lifespan and supports TRIM operations to maintain performance over time.
It automatically enters low-power USB 3.0 states when idle, minimizing power consumption.
The 128 GB variant offers 16,000 IOPS for 4 KB random reads, 21,000 IOPS for random writes, and up to 75 MB/s sequential write speed.
The 256 GB version achieves 18,000 read IOPS, 22,000 write IOPS and 150 MB/s sequential writes.
Both models use a USB 3.0 Gen1×1 interface with a Type A connector and support the USB Attached SCSI protocol, with fallback to USB mass storage.
The drive can store, transfer, or backup data, and it can also directly run operating systems and other Raspberry Pi distributions.
This provides storage flexibility similar to standard SSDs or hard drives without sacrificing portability.
The device also features a durable casing that resists physical damage and a small mounting hole that allows the reader to attach to a keychain or similar accessory for added security.
The Raspberry Pi flash drive is available now from authorized Raspberry Pi resellers at $30 for the 128GB version and $55 for the 256GB option.
Follow TechRadar on Google News And add us as your favorite source to get our news, reviews and expert opinions in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
And of course you can too follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp Also.
