I did a good bit of research on USB 3.0 readers before purchasing this one and found many of the reviews for other units to be hit or miss. This reader from Transcend scores mostly 4 and 5 stars and I can see why. This thing just works, and works with blazing FAST USB 3.0 speeds.
The size of the adapter is good, it is wider than most USB sticks, but on my computer chassis with 2 USB 3.0 ports right next to each other, I can still use the adjacent port to charge a device or connect an external drive with a standard USB plug. Clean aesthetics, piano black glossy finish with a blue activity LED that is faint enough so that it does not bother.
The main reason I got this drive was because I wanted to test some high-capacity Class10/UHS-I microSD cards I had recently bought since these are known to be counterfeit targets. I only had an older generic USB 2.0 adapter that was capping out at 30MB/s Read and 10MB/s Write, and the devices themselves were not much better over USB 2.0. I also needed the reader to transfer video files from my head-mounted action camera as the transfer speeds over USB 2.0 are excruciatingly slow.
I was ecstatic to see the following transfer speeds with the following microSDs:
***USB3.0 Port*** (Intel Z87 chipset)
Samsung Pro Class10/UHS-I microSDXC 64GB: 77MB/s Read | 32MB/s Write
Samsung Plus Class10/UHS-I microSDHC 32GB: 77MB/s Read | 32MB/s Write
***USB2.0 Port*** (Intel Z87 chipset)
Samsung Pro Class10/UHS-I microSDXC 64GB: 42MB/s Read | 22MB/s Write
Samsung Plus Class10/UHS-I microSDHC 32GB: 42MB/s Read | 22MB/s Write
I was amazed to see 2 things, the Samsung Plus microSD which is only guaranteed transfer speeds of 48MB/s Read and 10MB/s Write actually matched the much more expensive Samsung Pro! I guess this is more of a function of Samsung's flash memory just improving that much to the point there is virtually no difference between the Pro and Plus models now other than capacity. Secondly, as I mentioned earlier, the generic USB 2.0 reader and various devices connected over USB 2.0 were limited to 30MB/s Read and 10MB/s Write, but even over USB 2.0 this reader very nearly reached the maximum throughput of USB 2.0 at 42MB/s Read and also doubled the Write speeds. Very impressed!
You will find USB 3.0 readers for much more, but I think you will be hard pressed to find a better performing reader at any price, much less one for <$10!
Also, if you are having trouble attaining these speeds with this reader, first verify you have a card that is capable of achieving these transfer speeds. You will most likely need Class10/UHS-1 to benefit from the USB 3.0 speeds. Also make sure you have the Intel USB 3.0 drivers or the drivers for your USB 3.0 controller installed. I thought I had installed my Intel USB 3.0 drivers in the main driver package, but they were separate.
| Brand | Transcend |
|---|---|
| Series | TS-RDF5K |
| Item model number | TS-RDF5K |
| Operating System | Windows, Mac OS |
| Item Weight | 0.64 ounces |
| Product Dimensions | 2.2 x 0.35 x 0.94 inches |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 2.2 x 0.35 x 0.94 inches |
| Color | Black |
| Number of Processors | 1 |
| Computer Memory Type | DIMM |
| Voltage | 0.01 Volts |
| Batteries | 1 Unknown batteries required. |
| Manufacturer | Transcend Information |
| ASIN | B009D79VH4 |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Date First Available | October 5, 2017 |
