Amazon Basics 256GB USB flash drive

Here you will find a detailed speed, performance and benchmark test review. Tested was the USB flash drive Basics with 256GB (LS21USB256G1) from the brand Amazon.

Performance score 
64
Price/GB
0.16 $
Read
130 MB/s
 Write
100 MB/s
Connector
USB Typ A
Interface
USB 3.2 1x1
Technical specifications (manufacturer information)
Product image Product image Basics
Manufacturer Amazon  
Model number LS21USB256G1
Capacity 256 GB (231 GiB)
Read speed 130 MB/s
Write speed 100 MB/s
Interface USB 3.2 Gen 1x1 (5 Gbit/s)
Connector USB Typ A
Controller n/a

Product
Score
Price
  Current price
~ 42 $
(= 0.16 $ / GB)
Compare product Compared to the test winner*
Read speed
22 %
Write speed
11 %
*) Test result rated by AS SSD score within the same capacity.

We put the 256 GB Amazon USB flash drive through a detailed test. You can find the test result / test report here:


AS SSD Benchmark

Standard performance test

The standard test was performed with a 1 GB file. A total score of 64 points was achieved.

AS SSD Benchmark Screenshot: TEST: Amazon Basics 256GB USB flash drive
AS SSD Read: Write:
Seq
in megabytes per second
192.45 MB/s
69.78 MB/s
4K
in megabytes per second
9.01 MB/s
0.82 MB/s
4K-64Thrd
in megabytes per second
9.93 MB/s
0.75 MB/s
Access time
in milliseconds
0.715 ms
4.991 ms
Score
38
9
Total score 
64

Copy performance test

A common everyday scenario is simulated here. Three test folders are created:

  • ISO (folder with two large files)
  • Program (folder with many small files)
  • Game (folder with small and large files)

The three folders are copied using the Windows copy command (cache remains enabled). The real-world test from 10 November 2022 shows performance during simultaneous write and read operations. The lower the duration, the better.

AS SSD TEST: Amazon Basics 256GB USB flash drive
AS SSD Copy Benchmark Transfer rate: Duration:
ISO
two large files
66.27 MB/s
16.21 s
Program
typical program folder with many small files
19.47 MB/s
72.26 s
Game
a game folder with small and large files
25.45 MB/s
54.26 s

Compression performance test

Here, speed is measured depending on how compressible the data is.

AS SSD TEST: Amazon Basics 256GB USB flash drive

CrystalDiskMark Benchmark

Similar to AS SSD, two sequential and two random performance tests are carried out here and the write and read speed (manufacturer specs: 130 MB/s and 100 MB/s) the Amazon USB flash drive is measured.

CrystalDiskMark Benchmark Screenshot: TEST: Amazon Basics 256GB USB flash drive
CDM Read [MB/s] Write [MB/s]
SEQ1M
Q8T1
201.94
97.23
SEQ1M
Q1T1
202.16
67.42
RND4K
Q32T16
18.87
2.88
RND4K
Q1T1
13.16
2.77

IOPS (Input/Output operations per second)

CDM Read [IOPS] Write [IOPS]
SEQ1M
Q8T1
192.60
92.70
SEQ1M
Q1T1
192.80
64.30
RND4K
Q32T16
4,607.90
703.40
RND4K
Q1T1
3,211.90
677.20

Average latency

CDM Read [µs] Write [µs]
SEQ1M
Q8T1
41,323.30
77,499.30
SEQ1M
Q1T1
5,182.21
13,501.10
RND4K
Q32T16
88,011.50
206,479.00
RND4K
Q1T1
311.08
1,475.19

HD Tune Pro long-term test

A long-term test was performed to fully utilize the storage. You can see at what point the cache (if present) becomes full and write performance drops. A test file of 4 GB was written to the medium.

HD Tune endurance test TEST: Amazon Basics 256GB USB flash drive

HD Tune Pro Benchmark

HD Tune writes a 1 GB file to the 256 GB Amazon USB flash drive. The transfer data of the read speed is displayed graphically. The minimum, maximum and average values are also determined. The measured access time and burst rate are also shown.

HD Tune TEST: Amazon Basics 256GB USB flash drive

ATTO Disk Benchmark

Here, a 256 MB file is written to the 256 GB Amazon USB flash drive multiple times. The I/O block size varies (from 512 bytes to 64 megabytes). The larger the blocks, the faster writing and reading usually becomes.

ATTO Disk Benchmark TEST: Amazon Basics 256GB USB flash drive

SSD-Z Benchmark

Similar to HD Tune, a 500 MB file is written to the 256 GB Amazon USB flash drive here. The transfer data is displayed. The more consistent the line, the better. Unfortunately, the tool no longer works correctly from around 4,000 MB/s and no line is displayed (and sometimes incorrect min/max data is shown).

SSD-Z TEST: Amazon Basics 256GB USB flash drive

Markus
You can find information about the test system at the bottom of the homepage.
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