TechRadar Verdict
A tough little drive that performs mostly as anticipated. The only drawbacks of the PNY PRO Elite V3 are that Type-A ports are rapidly going out of fashion on modern laptops, and it isn’t especially cheap for 1TB of capacity.
Pros
- +
Ultra-compact
- +
Robust metal construction
- +
Good performance for thumb drive
Cons
- -
Only Type-A USB
- -
High prices
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PNY PRO Elite V3: 30-second review
At this point in the evolution of external storage devices, the external SSD is starting to dominate due to the performance these can offer.
The PNY PRO Elite V3 demonstrates that the humble flash drive isn’t entirely dead and buried, with a model that delivers external SSD performance levels in a highly compact and robust form.
Like its V2 predecessor, the PRO Elite V3 has a switch-blade design. The USB blade is held inside until needed when it can easily be pushed out. This is exclusively a USB Type-A device, and to get the most out of it, you need a port with USB 3.2 Gen 2 capability.
With a port of that spec, the drive can perform 1000MB/s reads and 800MB/s writes, but if you only have USB 3.0 (aka USB 3.2 Gen 1), performance will be approximately half as good.
That said, even with Gen 1 ports, the PNY PRO Elite V3 is much faster than cheap USB 2.0 flash drives and closer to the performance of many of the best portable SSDs.
Made for compactness and durability, this hardware does cost more than a typical flash drive, but it is also likely to be more useful and last longer in use than many more fragile devices.
It's available from numerous online retailers in 256GB, 512GB, and the 1TB model reviewed here.
PNY PRO Elite V3: Pricing and availability
- How much does it cost? From £35/$32
- When is it out? Available now
- Where can you get it? Sold through online retailers.
As a generalisation, the PNY PRO Elite V3 is a little cheaper in the USA than in Europe, but not substantially. American prices on Amazon.com are $31.99, $61.06 and $84.99 for the 256GB. 512GB and 1TB models, respectively.
UK pricing on Amazon.co.uk for the same capacities is £34.99, £61.19 and £86.20.
That makes it more expensive than the Kingston DataTraveler Max, but only by a few pounds or dollars. Lower-profile brands, like Integral, SSK, and Patriot, all make cheaper drives with similar specifications, but these products typically don’t offer a comparable build quality to the PNY PRO Elite V3. Not excessively priced or a bargain, this drive is pitched by PNY as a premium solution.
- Value: 3.5/5
PNY PRO Elite V3: Specs
| Part No. | P-FD1TBPROV3-GE |
|---|---|
| Capacities | 256GB. 512GB and 1TB |
| Capacity tested | 1TB |
| Tested sequential performance (Read/Write) | 905/888 MB/s |
| Connection | USB3.2 Gen 1 or Gen 2 (Type-A) |
| Controller | Unknown |
| Encryption | N/A |
| Dimensions | 57 x 19 x 6 mm (WxHxD) |
| Weight | 41g |
| Power source | USB-bus power |
| Warranty | 2-year |
PNY PRO Elite V3: Design
- Metal switchblade design
- Type-A blade
- Robust-ish
Looking at the prior V2 design, the V3 model appears to be no different in any substantial way.
This is a metal enclosure with a sliding section to enable the Type-A blade to be retracted, 57mm long in both positions. The transition between blade deployed and retracted is a friction-controlled motion that, when you first use the drive, seems excessively stiff. After some use, the blade came out more easily, thankfully.
On the end that doesn’t have the blade is a small cut-out notch that appears designed for a lanyard for those who wish to hang the drive around their necks, although PNY doesn’t provide this in the blister packaging that the drive comes.
While the construction of the drive appears to be exceptionally robust, mostly due to the metal construction, I did note that PNY makes zero claims for what the drive might endure physically or from the environment and I doubt it'd compete with the best rugged hard drives on that score.
I feel confident that it isn’t waterproof, though I imagine it might easily survive a drop from some considerable height since it only weighs 20g. Depending on the individual's weight and footwear, it would probably handle being stood on.
My only concern about this design is how, moving forward, USB-A ports are being left from laptops in preference for USB-C. And, PNY makes a USB-C version of this drive, but none that offers both blade types.
- Design: 4/5
PNY PRO Elite V3: Performance
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Read (MB/s) | Write (MB/s) |
| AJA | 992 | 941 |
| CrystalDiskMark | 1050.09 | 1029.87 |
| ATTO | 1010 | 986.99 |
| AS SSD | 1003.95 | 942.53 |
Unfortunately, I couldn’t hit the quoted read speeds, although I did hit the write performance PNY claims. Real-world performance on CrystalDiskMark is probably the most accurate representation of how this drive operates, assuming the test environment supports USB 3.2 Gen 2 effectively.
To increase the speed of this drive, I activated performance mode using the policy in the device manager, but this didn’t substantially impact the benchmarks.
Some drives can get much closer to the magical 1,000MB/s read speed, but the difference is less than 10% over this model.
- Performance: 4/5
PNY PRO Elite V3: verdict
Sometimes, the simple product is the best solution, as there is less to go wrong, and it is easier to understand. And that, in a nutshell, is the PNY PRO Elite V3.
It’s a reasonable performance Gen 2 drive that seems robust and is highly pocketable.
PNY doesn’t provide software to sync files, but the storage market seems to be moving toward this.
There are faster options, like the Crucial X9 Pro, that offer 2TB and 4TB options, and that’s the other limitation here. 1TB might be on the snug side for some customers.
From a price perspective, this is about $5 more than it can justify, but it's unlikely to be rejected by accounts as an excessive overspend.
For those at PNY working on V4, this product needs to be dual USB-A and USB-C, needs to be tested for vibration and drop, and should come with a short extension cable at a premium price point.
The PNY PRO Elite V3 is a decent product but not exceptional.
Should I buy the PNY PRO Elite V3?
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Row 0 - Cell 1 | Row 0 - Cell 2 |
| Value | Well made, but not enough to justify the price | 3.5/5 |
| Design | Metal construction, but no certifications, no lanyard and only USB-A | 4/5 |
| Performance | Fast enough, but hardly the quickest Gen 2 drive. issue | 4/5 |
| Total | Slightly pricey and limited by port type. | 4/5 |
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