On PCs and notebooks we always find one or more USB 3.0 ports together with the classic USB 2.0 ports, present for decades now on the back of our PCs or on the front of the case. After having clarified how the high-speed USB 3.0 port works, we now see the difference with the 2.0 ports and, above all, how much faster a USB 3.0 pen is compared to a standard 2.0 .
This is an important difference to know when you go to buy an external drive or a USB stick because if it is true that 3.0 goes faster, it is also true that it costs more, without forgetting the arrival of the new USB 3.1 standard (in its two versions) and the arrival of the USB Type-C port, a new frontier of connectivity thanks to bidirectionality.
We will also see in this guide how to recognize the standard of the flash drive or USB port simply by looking at the contacts and finally a guide to purchasing the best USB flash drives currently in circulation.
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1) Differences between USB 2.0, 3.0 and 3.1
The USB 2.0 standard has a theoretical maximum transmission speed of 480 megabits per second, while USB 3.0 has a theoretical maximum speed of 5 gigabits per second; the speeds, however, are estimated, since often and willingly the speeds are slightly lower also to take into account the speed of writing and reading in the USB stick and in the capacity of the PC (or better of its internal chipset) to manage the USB ports used to the maximum .
Reading the numbers above it is clear that USB 3.0 is ten times faster than USB 2.0 .
USB 3.0 devices are backwards compatible with USB 2.0 ports and work properly even attached to older generation ports even if, in this case, the data transfer will be less (linked to the maximum speed offered by the port).
If the comparison had ended here, there would be no doubt and there would be no reason not to choose to buy a USB 3.0 drive that is ten times faster.
In reality, however, this standard only defines the maximum data transmission speed through a USB port in perfect conditions: these conditions never occur!
The USB 3.1 standard, usually associated with USB Type-C (but is also available with classic ports), which is reaching a maximum transmission speed of 10 Gigabit per second, is also recently spreading.
Specifically, the standard is known as USB 3.1 Gen 2 and offers double transfer rates compared to the USB 3.0 standard and the USB 3.1 Gen 1 standard (identical in terms of performance), even if at the moment the USB sticks are still quite expensive.
The keys with USB 3.1 support can be presented as convertible keys, i.e. they can host both the standard USB socket and the USB Type-C socket on the same stick, so that it can be connected to any type of socket.
2) How to recognize USB 2.0, USB 3.0 and USB 3.1 standards
Once the discussion of speed has been clarified, we must learn to recognize the standard of a USB stick or port simply by looking at the color of the contact support present on all USB sockets.
A USB 2.0 stick has an internal white socket, as shown in the image below.
A USB 2.0 port also has the white socket (rarely even black), as shown in the following image.
A USB 3.0 or USB 3.1 Gen 1 stick has a blue internal socket, as shown below.
As a result, a USB 3.0 port will have an internal blue (rarely red) socket, as shown in the image we posted below.
To conclude, a USB 3.1 port, if not associated with the Type-C socket type, is identical to the USB 3.0 ports, as shown in the image below.
Finally we could not miss a mention of the USB Type-C port, which is unique (black color) and bidirectional, that is, we can insert the homonymous sockets in any direction without fear of damaging the port.
Usually the minimum standard for this port is USB 3.1 Gen 1, but many ports are also USB 3.1 Gen 2 .
In this port we can insert the convertible keys created precisely to exploit this type of port on the latest generation PCs.
3) Guide to buying USB sticks
Now that we really know everything about USB sticks, let's see together the best models that you can buy online so you can save money and get a wide choice of both models and capacities (up to 512 GB).
USB 2.0 sticks
- Toshiba 16GB Portable USB Memory (€ 6)
- Kingston DataTraveler Portable USB Memory 16 GB (7 €)
- Toshiba Hayabusa Pendrive 32GB (€ 9)
- Toshiba Hayabusa Pendrive 64GB (€ 16)
- KEXIN USB 2.0 sticks 32 GB (5 pieces, € 26)
USB 3.0 sticks
- Kingston DataTraveler G2 32 GB (11 €)
- Kingston DataTraveler 64 GB (€ 16)
- SanDisk Ultra Fit 64 GB (ultra-compact, € 19)
- Sandisk Ultra Flair 128 GB (€ 39)
- Sandisk Ultra Flair 256 GB (€ 84)
USB 3.1 flash drives
- SanDisk Extreme Go USB 3.1 64 GB flash drive (36 €)
- MAXINDA 64GB USB 3.1 stick (convertible, 36 €)
- Lexar JumpDrive Tough USB 3.1 128 GB flash drive (68 €)
- Sandisk Ultra Dual USB Drive 3.1 256 GB (convertible, 85 €)
- Patriot Memory Supersonic Rage 2 USB 3.1 512 GB (178 €)
4) Conclusion
But in the end which USB stick is better to buy and which USB standard is better to focus on?
Much also depends on the needs of the user: to store a few files or to have USB sticks to install operating systems, a small USB 2.0 stick is enough.
If, on the other hand, we want to get the maximum speed, we have to save many photos and videos in HD or 4K or we simply have a large amount of files to move, it is certainly worth focusing on USB 3.0 sticks or better yet on USB 3.1, which can offer truly incredible performance.
Obviously the latest models cost a lot (for the 512 GB model it takes more than 150 €!) So to save we focus on the capacities that we can really make the most of as the 32 GB and 64 GB, which should be good in any scenario.
READ ALSO: Best USB sticks to buy: the fastest, cheapest, largest
