It comes in several storage options but has with USB 3.0 support and 320 MB/s performance

Aug 19, 2014 09:12 GMT  ·  By

Most of the flash drives we covered this month were USB OTG units, but now we have a different type of storage device ready to show you: the Super Talent Windows to Go USB 3.0 Express RC4.

USB OTG stands for USB On-the-Go and defines universal serial bus flash drive units that can see and treat smartphones the same way they would a PC, as a host system.

Such drives usually have two USB connectors. A full-size one at one end and a micro-USB port at the other. Also, they mostly stick to USB 2.0 technology, since USB 3.0 micro ports are rare, to say the absolute least.

USB Windows to Go Flash Drives need USB 3.0 support due to the simple role they are meant to play in society, whether they are bought by a random consumer or people working in bring your own device (BYOD) services.

Indeed, BYOD situations in the government, education, and the enterprise sectors will love Windows to Go particularly much, since it cuts on the operational TCO (total cost of ownership).

See, Windows to Go is a technology that allows the Windows 8 operating system to be installed on the flash drive. By extension, it allows you to boot the OS straight from the USB drive, on any PC.

Thus, you essentially carry with you everywhere a fully installed and customized Windows configuration. It lets co-workers swap or permanently switch work places without any hassle.

Sure, they can become security nightmares, but that's what encryption technology is for, and Windows, by default, has password protection.

Anyway, the new flash drive we have for you is the USB 3.0 Express RC4, which is really more of a flash drive series, since you can choose between four storage space possibilities: 32 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB. It's basically like having a portable SSD, only in a much smaller package.

Performance varies according to capacity, but the largest drive can attain a read speed of 320 MB/s and a writing speed of 120 MB/s. Better than on most SATA internal HDDs used in PCs really. It lets the OS boot in 10 seconds, as the video below shows.

Windows 8.1 Enterprise is supported, as long as the PC you're using actually supports booting from a USB port. It depends on how recent the motherboard is and if the BIOS possesses the capability. Shouldn't be a problem for any system built and bought in the past two years.

Unfortunately, Super Talent did not reveal the prices of the four new Windows to Go USB 3.0 Express RC4 flash drive units.