Are there no good options for a 512GB flashdrive? Especially a small form factor one?

[Cyber Akuma]

I have been using Samsung's "fit" line of USB flashdrives for several tasks where I need a very small form factor USB drive that barely takes up more space than the port itself, these specifically: 
 
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D7Q41PM
 
They have been great so far. Reliable, good speeds, don't get too hot, and a good price. Problem is, even the 256GB are starting to become too small for a few of the projects I am using them for, and Samsung does not make a 512GB version. 
 
I tried looking up others, and the only ones I found were by Sandisk, PNY, and Teamgroup. I have no experience with Teamgroup but I have had poor experiences with Sandisk and PNY's flashdrives before. And from reading the reviews on Amazon, I don't appear to be alone in that. On top of both the PNY and Samsung ones apparently being prone to having the casing break, they also run very hot... especially the Sandisk which has apparently burned out some USB ports. They are also slow if the screenshots of CrystalDiskMark in the reviews are anything to go by. I am not expecting NVME speeds, but they are much slower than my current Samsung drives (Many of the user screenshots showed a laughably slow random 4K speed of around 0.01-0.02MBs, my Samsung 256GB drive does around 8.5-9MBs), especially at random 4K writes (and the PNY one is pricy to boot). Considering that I will be handling multiple files that are several gigs and I will need to transfer my 256GB drive to the 512GB one when I get it, these are worrying concerns. 
 
I know these are cheaper USB flash drives and not NVMEs, but some of these are laughably slow while apparently becoming too hot to touch and a threat to your system from the heat if you use them a lot. 
 
I tried to bite the bullet and look for non-slim full size USB drives... but it was mostly the same vendors. Samsung apparently does not even make a full size 512GB drive. The only additional vendor was Micro Center of all things which I am sure is just a rebranded one, and it's advertised speeds are even slower (though in some user tests in CrystalDiskMark tests it was much faster??? But still just barely hitting 1MB/s in 4K random). There are Gen2 drives... but those are mostly USB-C only and expensive, and most of the ports I will be plugging them into are just going to be Gen 1 anyway, as well as USB-A. 
 
Are there no options for a decent 512GB flashdrive? Especially a slim/Fit style one? Surprised Samsung is not making any considering their 256GB slim one, the highest capacity they offer, is a mere $20 now.

[SpookyCitrus]

Flash drive is where this get's tricky, your small form factor requirement doesn't help either. If it were me I'd get rid of the size requirement all together and go for an external SSD(if possible), either making my own via a NVME to USB enclosure or getting a portable SSD from Samsung. You'll not only get much better transfer speeds but the ability to store much more data than even 512GB.

 

Something like this would allow you to use any Nvme SSD you want. 2TB, 4TB, it doesn't matter. And also have the fastest transfer speeds outside of installing an internal Nvme drive.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MNFH1PX?ref=nb_sb_ss_w_ab-bia-two-pane-desktop_nk_11_13&amp=&crid=KAMCDYIYRBJF&amp=&sprefix=nvme+to+usb+e

 

If you don't want to go the enclosure route Samsung offers their slim external SSDs.

https://www.amazon.com/SAMSUNG-Portable-SSD-1TB-MU-PC1T0T/dp/B0874XN4D8/ref=sr_1_4?crid=RBV4EY10NRNR&keywords=samsung%2Bexternal%2Bssd&qid=1707499237&s=electronics&sprefix=samsung%2Bexternal%2Bssd%2Celectronics%2C126&sr=1-4&th=1

 

If these options don't work for you, out of the three options you have, Teamgroup, PNY, and Sandisk. I'd go Sandisk or Teamgroup. I've had less issues(almost zero) with both of them compared to PNY. Teamgroup is newer than Sandisk but so far I haven't had any issues with their stuff, but some would consider them cheaper in terms of quality.

 

You could also go the MicroSD card route, you could get a 1TB microSD card like the ones rated for the steam decks and handheld PCs, but again your limited to brands like Sandisk and Teamgroup(Samsung does have 512GB microSD card offerings). You'd also need a standard flash drive size MicroSD to USB adapter. 

[Dedayog]

Sandisk's has stellar reviews in the 60k range.  What is wrong with it?

 

https://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-512GB-Ultra-Flash-Drive/dp/B083ZS4HYD/ref=sr_1_3?crid=324B1AOG2X78P&keywords=512GB%2Bflash%2Bdrive%2Btiny&qid=1707499872&s=electronics&sprefix=512gb%2Bflash%2Bdrive%2Btiny%2Celectronics%2C130&sr=1-3&th=1

 

Honestly, if you have issues with size... anything larger and you can't smuggle it in your nose or ear?  Not understanding why you can't use one that are an inch or two in size.  You may be on the edge of what's being produced so far.

[FlyingPotato_is_taken]

Kingston DataTravler max.

 

@Dedayog The refreshed SanDisk aren't great.

They overheat if you read large (sequential) files from them causing them to disconnect and subsequently the read fails.

Why? Can't tell for sure but them switching to a 100% plastic build doesn't help with cooling. Even the USB-connector is plastic.

[Cyber Akuma]

I know I could just toss a NVME in an enclosure, I have one of those for a different purpose, but that tends to cost more (especially if you want a decent enclosure) and I was hoping to avoid having something dangling off the systems that I would get if I used an enclosure or external SSD.

 

As for MicroSD, what are the sequential and random read/write speeds of those? Are they comparable to a good USB flashdrive? Better? Worse? Like I said, I deal with many large files on the drive, both reading and writing them often.

[kokosnh]

MicroSD cards usually are on crap nand, The speeds with uhs-II can be good 250MBps, but nothing fancy. And the endurance of 512GB ones isn't good.

 

you can buy good pendrive 400MBps with proper usb controller and nand, but they tend to be bulky, and heat up, and cost nearly the same, or more then external SSD, or internal SSD + usb enclosure.

 

the best sustained transfers, you will get from proper external TLC SSD, like T7, or X9. Best performance will always be in good internal SSD, + NVMe usb enclosure