USB flash drives are handy for moving files around, but for speed or capacity, they aren’t the best choice. That may still be the case for many drives, but it certainly isn’t true of the PNY PRO Elite V3 Type-C USB Flash Drive.

Price and Availability

Like many flash drives, the PNY PRO Elite V3 is available in multiple capacities. In this case, you get four options: a 256GB version retailing for $35, a 512GB version for $53, the 1TB model (which is the model I’m reviewing) for $$84, or 2TB for $145.

A Sturdy Metal Build and a Sleek Design

One difference that is immediately apparent between the PNY PRO Elite V3 and your typical flash drive is the build. While most portable drives are made from plastic, the PNY’s enclosure is made from sturdy metal. I wouldn’t want to run a car over it to be on the safe side, but I’m fairly confident it’s tougher than most typical flash drives.

Similarly, the USB-C connector the drive uses to connect retracts into the metal body to keep it protected when not in use. This feels fairly sturdy, and there’s a satisfying click that lets you know when it’s fully extended, but any part like this does leave me wondering how well it will last over the course of years. Still, even without the click, the drive should remain fully usable.

One other note is that this drive, whether due to the higher speeds, larger capacity, or both, does tend to heat up over time. I noticed that even when I wasn’t transferring files, it tended to stay fairly warm while plugged into my laptop. It didn’t get hot to the touch, but was definitely warmer than I’d typically expect from a flash drive.

Plenty of Capacity, Plus Simple Connectivity

As you’ve likely noticed, the PNY PRO Elite V3 uses a USB-C connection, which is, somewhat surprisingly, still not too common in the world of flash drives. Most computers and even many phones sold in the last few years feature USB-C, so it’s fairly likely that you have at least one device handy that can use this thumb drive. Using it to its fullest extent is another story, however.

To reach the maximum speeds the PNY PRO Elite V3 is capable of, you’ll need to plug it into a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port. These are relatively common on newer laptops, but they’re often not the only type of USB-C port available, so you may want to check to make sure you’re plugging into your fastest available port.

If you don’t have a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port, any USB-C port will still offer relatively fast speeds. If you’re limited to USB-A, the main advantage of the PNY is capacity, but you’ll need a USB-C to USB-A adapter, as PNY doesn’t supply one.

Scorching Speeds and Temperatures to Match

I could jump right into the data, but instead I’ll start with this: I knew going into this review that the PNY was going to be quick compared to an average flash drive. Even so, I was still so surprised when a batch of files copied to the drive near-instantaneously that I had to immediately pop the drive into another computer to make sure the files actually transferred. This was despite already having tested the read and write speeds.

Testing the drive in CrystalDiskMark, I saw an average of 1058.95MB/s read speeds, and 1028.84MB/s write speeds. Both of these results came from running the test and averaging the result over five runs. The results actually beat PNY’s own claims of “extreme read speeds up to 1,000 MB/s and write speeds up to 800 MB/s,” though this could be based on a different test.

To see how an older, non-3.2 USB-C port handled the drive, I plugged it into my aging Intel MacBook Pro and ran AmorphousDiskMark. This reported a read speed of 659.19BM/s and writes of 825.82MBs. Again, not a real world test, but still fairly impressive.

Finally, I tried using a USB-C to USB-A adapter I had handy, which brought speeds to a crawl, with reads of 23.87MB/s and write speeds of 11.10MB/s. This could be the adapter’s fault, but I certainly wouldn’t plan on using the drive this way.

Should You Buy the PNY PRO Elite V3?

It’s one thing to look at the speeds and paper and say “yeah, sure, that’s fast,” but it’s another to actually transfer large files as quickly as the PNY PRO Elite V3 Type-C USB Flash Drive is capable of. For its (still fairly sizable) smallest capacity, the flash drive is fairly affordable and while the price for the 2TB is steep, the 1TB model I looked at for this review seems to be the sweet spot.

The main downside of the PNY PRO Elite V3 is its tendency to heat up during use. While I wouldn’t hesitate to use this drive for moving copying large files around (which it excels at), I’d worry about its longevity for anything resembling long-term storage. If you’re looking for something to keep plugged it and running for days at a time, you’re probably better off with a more traditional portable SSD or hard drive.

PNY’s PRO Elite V3 isn’t perfect, but if you frequently need to move large files around and hate waiting any longer than you have to, or it’s just time to replace your old drive, it’s certainly worth the purchase.