Which flash drive is better to buy from? Which USB flash drives are the most reliable and fastest? Main characteristics of a USB flash drive

With this article, our website continues a whole series of useful materials, the purpose of which is to make it easier to choose any product from the thousands of options offered on the market. Agree, choosing a specific model of a device always takes a lot of time, which can be spent usefully. In today's article we will talk about choosing USB flash drive - “flash drives”.

Introduction

As with external hard drives, USB drives have lost much of their importance these days - transferring information from one device to another is now much more convenient with the help of cloud Internet services. But this method may still be either inaccessible or too complicated for inexperienced users, but a “flash drive” is both simple and understandable.

Again, the speed of modern USB drive models significantly exceeds the speed of access to the global Internet for most users. In addition, flash drives can be used to quickly and conveniently transfer media content between home devices. Want to watch photos or videos on TV? There is no need to set up a DLNA server or worry about connecting an HDMI cable - just use a USB drive.

At first glance, choosing a “flash drive” is a trivial matter; you just need to find the cheapest model with the largest amount of memory for storing data. But the models on sale differ greatly in their speeds for writing and reading data - sometimes several times. In addition, “flash drives” can use cases of many different designs and designs - some can be quite large, others very compact, some elegant and shiny, others practical and secure.

In the next section, we will talk about the important technical characteristics of USB drives, and then present to your attention the 10 best models in all price categories.

Key Features of USB Flash Drives

Interface

USB flash drives can use USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 interfaces, as well as microUSB and Lightning (optional). USB 2.0 is already outdated - it is not recommended to buy models that only support this interface - the information transfer speed in its case is severely limited. USB 3.0 has been the standard for several years now.

A regular USB connector can be combined in one model with a microUSB or Lightning connector - located, for example, on the other side of the case. MicroUSB is useful for connecting a flash drive to smartphones and tablets, and Lightning is useful for, say, Apple devices.

Memory

The main characteristic of any flash drive. Over many years of development of flash memory, its maximum capacity in USB drives has reached incredible heights - you can now carry a whole terabyte of data in your pocket. Naturally, for such a huge volume you will have to pay a fairly large amount - in our catalog, for example, it is proposed to pay more than 20 million rubles for the Kingston DataTraveler HyperX Predator 1TB.

“Flash drives” with 16, 32 or 64 GB of memory are much more affordable and practical. Most likely, you are unlikely to need a drive with a memory capacity of less than 8-16 GB, but you shouldn’t overdo it either - say, about 15 movies in excellent quality can fit on 128 GB of memory.

Data read and write speed, MB/s

Characteristics that manufacturers of cheap but bulky flash drive models prefer to keep silent about. The best representatives of devices in this category are characterized by at least 100 MB/s (read speed) and 50 MB/s (write speed) - you usually shouldn’t settle for anything less (of course, if you only transfer all sorts of documents to a flash drive, then too large speeds will not be needed). If you plan to use a flash drive to transfer large files like movies, then you should take a closer look at faster options. You will learn about the fastest USB flash drives in just a few paragraphs.

ReadyBoost support

This technology, developed by Microsoft, allows you to use a high-speed flash drive as storage for the Windows system swap file. Fortunately, by now the need to use USB drives in this way has simply disappeared - users are increasingly buying fast SSD drives that cope with loading the OS and processing data much better.

Password protection and data encryption

If you plan to use your future “flash drive” to transfer any information that should not under any circumstances fall into the wrong hands (for example, work documents or personal photos), then this function will definitely be useful. Files encrypted with a long key will simply be impossible to decrypt if the password is unknown - even the most powerful supercomputers in the world may now need many years to do this. Some models of USB drives were even equipped with a fingerprint scanner, but this practice did not catch on.

Dimensions, design, body material

Based on these parameters, it is difficult to recommend something - some like a strict industrial design, some like bright colors, some are more suited to a very small flash drive, others will be more comfortable working with larger models.

Waterproof case

If you lead an active lifestyle, you've probably at some point dropped your electronic devices in water or simply, say, forgotten that they were in your pocket. A flash drive with a waterproof casing will reliably protect your data in any conditions.

10 Best USB Flash Drives

Not too expensive and very fast (both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0) “flash drive” with the ability to protect user information with a password. Perfect for any task - and it looks very attractive.

The most compact USB flash drive ever presented. It is distinguished not only by its low cost and acceptable speed, but also by the ability to connect to microUSB ports - transferring data between your PC and a smartphone or tablet will be as easy as shelling pears.

With a metal body, high speeds, low cost and an elegant design, this Adata model is definitely worth a look and can be used for almost any purpose.

Another inexpensive and fairly fast model with an attractive design, metal body and retractable connector. As a bonus, it comes with a ring for attaching to your keychain.

If you are attracted by bright design and large capacity for little money. Unfortunately, although the JetFlash 760 uses USB 3.0, it can only write information at speeds of up to 25 MB/s - this explains its low cost.

A cheap and compact flash drive, the data on which can be protected with a password. Unfortunately, it uses USB 2.0 and writes information at a speed below 10 MB/s.

Metal body, USB 3.0, low cost and high capacity - all this is compensated by not the fastest write speed, which in the case of the S102 Pro is about 25 MB/s.

A very fast and quite expensive model with an interesting design. Unfortunately, it does not support data protection with a password or encryption - it is just a very high-speed and large, but quite affordable USB drive.

A very, very high-speed and expensive USB drive with a huge capacity. It is clearly clear that this is a premium model - you are mainly offered to pay for the brand and stylish design (the case, by the way, is metal).

The fastest “flash drive” presented in our review - the data writing speed in its case reaches 240 MB/s (!). Password protection of data is also supported. Bonus - metal case, retractable connector and very stylish appearance. Naturally, you will have to pay for all this - Extreme PRO costs about one and a half million rubles, but in its case this money is perhaps more than justified.

Conclusion

We hope this article helped you understand the difficult task of choosing a USB flash drive. The next article will talk about

A USB drive or simply a flash drive is an integral attribute of our everyday life today. When buying it, each of us wants it to last longer. But most often the buyer pays attention to its price and appearance, and is rarely interested in its technical characteristics.

To select the right drive, you need to proceed from the following criteria:

• manufacturer;
• purpose of use;
• capacity;
• read/write speed;
• connector protection;
• appearance;
• peculiarities.

Let's look at the features of each of them separately.

Criterion 1: Manufacturing company

Each buyer has his own point of view about which company is the leader among manufacturers of removable drives. But in any case, you shouldn’t rely only on the brand. Of course, most popular companies that produce storage media can boast of high-quality products. Time-tested manufacturers certainly deserve great trust. By purchasing a flash drive from such a company, the likelihood that it will last longer increases.

Among the variety of products in this category, the most popular and reliable are manufacturers such as Kingston, Adata, Transcend. Their advantage is that they offer a wide range of models with different pricing policies.

Conversely, buyers are often skeptical about Chinese flash drives. After all, due to their cheap components and poor-quality soldering, they quickly fail. Here is brief information on some popular companies:

These companies are currently considered the most popular according to users. To understand this, forums and social networks were explored. In any case, by purchasing USB drives from well-known brands, you will be confident in the quality of the product and the correctness of the stated characteristics.

Do not buy flash drives from dubious companies!

Criterion 2: Storage capacity

As you know, the memory capacity of a Flash drive is measured in gigabytes. Most often, the capacity of a flash drive is indicated on its case or packaging. Often, when purchasing, people are guided by the principle “more is better.” And, if funds allow, they purchase a drive with a larger capacity. But, if this is not necessary, then this issue needs to be approached more constructively. The following recommendations will help with this:

1. Removable media capacity less than 4 GB is suitable for storing regular text files.
2. Devices with a capacity of 4 to 16 GB are the best option. To store movies or operating system distributions, it is better to purchase a drive of 8 GB or more.
3. Drives over 16 GB are already sold at a higher price. So, a 128 GB flash drive is comparable in price range to a 1 TB external hard drive. And USB devices with a capacity of over 32 GB do not support FAT32, so purchasing such a flash drive is not always advisable.

You should also remember that the actual capacity of a USB drive is always slightly less than stated. This is explained by the fact that several kilobytes are occupied by service information. To find out the actual size of the flash drive, do this:

• go out the window "This computer";
• right-click on the line with the flash drive;
• select a menu item "Properties".

In addition, the new USB drive may contain support software.

Criterion 3: Speed ​​of work

The data exchange speed is characterized by three parameters:

• connection interface;
• reading speed;
• recording speed.

The unit of measurement for the speed of a flash drive is megabytes per second - how many were written in a specified unit of time. The read speed of a removable drive is always higher than the write speed. Therefore, if the purchased drive will be used for small files, then you can purchase a budget model. Its read speed reaches 15 MB/s, and write speed up to 8 MB/s. Flash devices with read speeds from 20 to 25 MB/s and write speeds from 10 to 15 MB/s are considered more universal. Such devices are suitable for most tasks. Flash drives with high speed characteristics are more attractive for work, but they are also more expensive.

Unfortunately, information about the operating speed of the purchased device is not always present on the packaging. Therefore, it is difficult to evaluate the device’s performance in advance. Although some companies indicate a special rating of 200x on the packaging for high-speed flash drives. This means that such a device can operate at a speed of 30 MB/s. Also, the presence on the packaging of an inscription such as "Hi-Speed" indicates that the flash drive is high-speed.

A data transfer interface is a technology for interacting a USB drive with a computer. A computer drive may have the following interface:

1. USB 2.0. The speed of such a device can reach 60 Mb/s. In reality, this speed is significantly lower. The advantage of such an interface is its low load on computer equipment.
2. USB 3.0. This is a relatively new type that was designed specifically to speed up data exchange. A modern flash drive with such an interface can have a speed of 640 MB/s. When purchasing a model with such an interface, you need to understand that for its full operation you need a computer that supports USB 3.0.

You can find out the data transfer speed of a specific model on the manufacturer’s official website. If the model is fast, then its speed will be indicated exactly, and if it is "Standard", then this is a regular model with standard speed. The performance of the flash drive depends on the installed controller model and memory type. Simple samples use MLC, TLC or TLC-DDR memory. For high-speed types, DDR-MLC or SLC memory is used.

The high-speed storage medium undoubtedly supports interface 3.0. and the read operation occurs at speeds of up to 260 MB/s. Having such a drive, you can download a full-length movie to it in a few seconds.

Manufacturers are constantly improving their products. And after a certain period of time, the same flash drive model contains different components. Therefore, if you are going to purchase an expensive USB device, then you need to correctly find information about it, focusing on the date of purchase.

It is useful to familiarize yourself with the results of testing flash drives from different manufacturers on the website. Here you can also see the latest test results.


Let's say you bought a USB drive with a large amount of memory for recording movies. But if the speed of this media is low, then it will work slowly. Therefore, when purchasing, you need to take this criterion responsibly.

Criterion 4: Housing (appearance)

When choosing a flash drive, you should pay attention to its body, more specifically, to the following characteristics:

• size;
• form;
• material.

Flash drives come in different sizes. It is probably better to have a medium-sized flash drive, because a small thing is easy to lose, and a large one is not always convenient to insert into a computer connector. If the drive is of the wrong shape, then problems will arise when connecting to a device in an adjacent slot - they may simply interfere with each other.

The body of a flash drive can be made of various materials: metal, wood, rubber or plastic. It is better to take a model with a waterproof case. The higher the quality of the material used, the higher the price.


The design of the case is striking in its diversity: from the classic version to original souvenir forms. As practice shows, flash drives with a simple casing last longer than non-standard forms. Funny shapes and moving parts are not practical as they can fall off or cover adjacent slots on the computer.


When choosing a flash drive, it is important to pay attention to the protection of the connector. After all, the reliability of the device depends on this. The following types are distinguished:

1. Connector is open. There is no protection on such a device. Usually small flash drives come with an open connector. On the one hand, it is convenient to have a compact device, but on the other hand, due to the unprotected connector, such a drive can fail prematurely.
2. Removable cap. This is the most popular type of connector protection. For better adhesion to the body, plastic or rubber are usually used to make removable caps. They perfectly protect the flash drive connector from external influences. The only drawback is that over time the cap loses its fixation properties and begins to slip off.
3. Rotating bracket. This bracket is fixed on the outside of the flash device case. It is movable, and in a certain position it covers the connector of the storage medium. This type does not close the connector tightly and thus provides poor protection from dust and moisture.
4. Slider. This case allows you to hide the flash drive connector inside the structure using a locking button. If the latch breaks, then using such a device will be difficult and unreliable.

Sometimes it's better to sacrifice appearance for the sake of device reliability!

Criterion 5: Additional features

To attract customers, companies add additional features to their products:

The above functions are not always needed by the average user. And if they are not necessary, then it is better to abandon such models.

So, in order for the choice of a flash drive to be successful, you must decide for what purposes you are purchasing it and what capacity it should have. Remember the practicality of the case and don't bother with additional features if you don't need them. Have a nice shopping!

Hello, dear readers!
From this article we will learn what USB drives are, how to choose them, and list the TOP 10 popular manufacturers.

Do you remember the times when a PC owner's shelves were full of floppy disks and CDs? Today, Flash drives are used to store information and provide convenience.

Flash memory is a very convenient tool with large storage capacity and high data transfer speed. Today there is a huge range of storage devices. That is why, when purchasing such a gadget, you need to understand the device with what characteristics you need.
We know very well what a USB drive looks like, but what is a flash drive anyway? A Flash drive is a removable storage medium with a specific type of file system that has no moving elements in its structure.

Criteria for choosing a USB drive

Which device is better (why)? When choosing a flash drive, you should pay attention to its type, data transfer speed and, of course, memory capacity.

Types of information storage devices

There are only three types of USB drives: 2.0, 3.0 and 3.1. But flash drives are divided into types based on appearance:

– With removable cap. The most popular plate protection option.

Caps are made from different materials to prevent debris and moisture from entering.

– Rotary. Such a drive consists of a bracket and the body of the device, and they rotate sideways in relation to each other. In this case, the plate is protected from scratches, but is susceptible to debris and moisture.

– Sliders. In such a device, the connector is hidden inside the housing. Protection from mechanical damage is good, but not from moisture and debris.

Devices with a combined protection system are considered the best. For example, a metal body with a rubberized base. These are the most reliable flash drives, but, of course, they are more expensive.

It is also necessary to take into account that the fewer moving parts a flash drive has, the longer it will last, because after a month or two of using it nothing will break.

Data transfer rate

One of the main criteria when choosing a device is the data transfer speed. This criterion includes the write speed to the flash device and the read speed of the flash drive. The speed of interaction between the drive and the computer depends on them. The USB drive can be rewritten many times, so the maximum data transfer speed will be appropriate.

This parameter is expressed in megabits per second (Mb/s) and is always indicated on the packaging. High-speed drives cost more.

Memory

How to choose a usb flash drive from memory.

The volume of the device is the most important characteristic that is important for the person who purchases a flash drive. This characteristic is expressed in gigabytes. Today, USB drives are designed for 32/64/128/more GB, and if necessary, you can purchase 2/4/8 GB. That is, today the maximum capacity of a flash drive is 2048 GB.

Do not forget that a flash drive is a compact device for storing information.

Based on memory capacity, the following types of drives can be distinguished:

– cheap, but with a small volume – 2-8 GB;

– affordable price and optimal volume -16-64 GB;

– high cost, but large volume – 128 GB or more.

USB storage performance

Also, one important criterion when choosing a device is its performance, which depends on the following factors:

Chips used in flash memory. The most common trade-off is between high-speed, expensive chips that have single-level cells, and low-cost flash chips that have few levels with multi-level (MLC)/triple-level (TLC) cells at regular speed.

Flash memory device controller. The flash memory controller is a special chip that controls the interface and controls all actions with the drive. If the controller supports fast data transfer, it saves time.

The host device to which the device connects. A limited host device will not provide high drive performance. Let's give an example: if the computer supports speed 2.0, then a usb 3.0 flash drive will not work at the required speed.

Rating of USB drive manufacturers

You already know that today a huge number of companies are engaged in the production of USB drives. Everyone who wants to purchase such a device wonders which flash drive is best for a computer. Yes, yes, specifically for the computer, because there are special storage devices (SD) for cameras and phones. Of course, they also connect to the computer, but only through special adapters (card readers).

Well, let's look at the TOP 10 companies whose flash drives are preferred by users:

1. Transcend. This is a well-known company that began its work back in 1988. Flash drives from this company are known for their individual style and long service life.

2. Silicon Power. Devices of this form are sold in more than 90 countries around the world.

3. Kingston. This company is an old-timer among manufacturers of USB drives. It was created back in 1987 and today is not inferior to other manufacturers.

4. Team Group. Regarding this company, it is worth noting that its range is growing every year.

5. SanDisk. Another fairly old company on the market. Devices with a simple design and at a reasonable price.

6. Apacer. The company produces flash drives, which are famous for the quality of data storage.

7. Pretec. And the drives of this company are used for military and industrial purposes. This is probably the very indicator of quality and reliability that many users are looking for.

8. Adata is a company with the motto: “Trust and reliability.” And I would like to note that since its formation in 2011, the company has lived up to it.

9. P.Q.I. And this company began its work precisely with the production of USB drives.

10. Corsair. This company produces exclusive products, such as flash drives with a body made of natural rubber, whose flash drives are long-lasting.

The most reliable flash drives

Of course, it is better to buy devices for storing information, especially large volumes, from official stores, because today a huge number of fakes are produced in China. Let's look at the five most reliable USB drives:

1. . A device with a simple design. This model is suitable for users who need high performance at a low price.

This device is distinguished by its cell design, allowing data processing to be performed at a high level.

This model is simple and practical and has a sliding plastic body.

A flash drive that is perfect for work or school because it is small in size and convenient.

This model has a convenient fastening system.

Do not forget that defects occur in production, and therefore the rating changes.

So, when you finally decide to buy yourself a USB drive, first decide what it is intended for in order to decide on the device that will suit you. If you need a flash drive to copy work files, then a device with a memory capacity of 8 GB is suitable.
When purchasing, consult with a consultant, because, as a rule, people only look at the memory capacity. You can purchase a device with a memory capacity of 128 GB, but the speed will be low and the movie will take a very long time to copy.

— Reasonable price and good quality, case made of moisture-proof material;

2 - The most effective speed indicator;

3 - Attractive price.

The rapid development of electronic technologies has led to the creation of high-quality films and photographs, productive work and game programs. Sometimes you can't download multiple movies to another device. This requires a transition device with sufficient memory capacity. Removable media - flash drives - are required. They have become such a common accessory in everyday life that every modern person has such an interactive memory store.

Their variety is great, but today we will talk about familiar devices - USB flash drives. They are used to save and transfer video files, documents, pictures, audio materials. They can store information from operating systems and programs.

The structure of a flash drive of any format is standard - a device for connecting to a transmitting source - a TV, computer, audio or video - a car system, a controller, an oscillator and a flash memory chip. With a similar structure, flash drives differ in the main technical parameters - memory capacity, speed of writing and reading information, appearance, additional functions (password encryption).

The best flash drives with interface 2.0

Previous flash drive technologies with these parameters were developed in 2000. They cannot keep up with the demands of modern electronic devices. The highest speed for them is 60 Mb/s. In reality, these figures are overestimated, and USB 2.0 flash drives read no more than 35 meters per second, and write even slower. Among their peers, these flash drives compare favorably in price. Even from one manufacturer, old-style flash drives are 2 times cheaper than a modern analogue with the same amount of memory.

Such drives can be used by consumers who do not care about recording and playback speeds or who download small-sized materials onto a flash drive.

A review of USB flash drives with 2.0 interface may be useful for such people. We are considering models with a storage capacity of 16 GB. These are the most popular drives.

Score (2018): 4.4

Advantages: Stylish original design

Manufacturer country: USA (China assembly)

Buyers ranked this flash drive in third place among the best sellers. Its quality is average. The compact, beautiful device amazes with the slow pace of downloading large files. It takes a long time to download, read, play. Many times you will think about whether it is worth saving 50-100 rubles, so that every time you get nervous from the long wait for the process.

Score (2018): 4.7

Advantages: Operational speed

Manufacturer country: China

Transcend is a popular storage company. The laconic, unpretentious design of the plastic case has a significant drawback - the absence of a loop for attaching a chain or cord; such a flash drive is easy to lose. But these shortcomings are smoothed out when the device shows itself in operation. For its line, the flash drive has decent speeds for downloading (16 MB/s) and reading (32 MB/s) information.

Score (2018): 4.8

Advantages: Convenient size to store on a keychain or chain

Manufacturer country: USA (China assembly)

The SanDisk model is the best in its class. Its minimal dimensions allow it to be used in a car, where careless movement in tight spaces threatens to break a large flash drive. And this model protrudes forward from the connector by half a centimeter. It is convenient to use for a netbook or laptop as additional memory storage. With its minimal size, this baby has sufficient speed parameters. Reads 28.3 MB/s, writes at a speed of 13.96 MB/s.

Popular flash drives with interface 3.0

USB 3.0 flash drives cannot be called modern devices. Their main parameters were formed in 2008. Technological progress in the field of electronic information has come a long way since that time, but these media are still in demand. Their declared speed reaches 625 Mb/s, but in practice this figure barely reaches 250 Mb/s. But this is a decent result, it’s convenient to work with such devices.

We will compare models with the same amount of information 64 GB.

Score (2018): 4.4

Advantages: Attractive price

Manufacturer country: China

In the previous category, the manufacturer Transcend presented a fairly high-speed flash drive, which cannot be said about the Jetflash model. A more impressive design and a convenient retractable working part make it more attractive in appearance. But the performance characteristics leave much to be desired. Namely, the speed of reading and writing is unstable. It is difficult to explain this phenomenon. In general, for a reasonable price, the flash drive copes with its tasks.

Score (2018): 4.7

Advantages: The most effective speed indicator

Manufacturer country: USA (China assembly)

Computer connoisseurs are well acquainted with Corsair products. But among ordinary users they are less popular. This is due to the high cost of flash media. This is the reason for poor brand distribution. But the technical characteristics of the Corsair flash drive are the best in the line. The model is distinguished by high-quality assembly, reliability, and durability. If you need a flash drive for constant work, transferring, downloading, and playing materials, this is a reliable option. But you will have to pay 4 times more for it in the store than for a similar media of another brand. For the average buyer, technical parameters are not particularly important; these properties, as a rule, are of more interest to specialists.

Score (2018): 4.8

Advantages: Reasonable price and good quality, case made of moisture-proof material

Manufacturer country: USA (China assembly)

The leader in its group is the Kingston model. This is an interesting specimen, not at all afraid of moisture. The complete sealing of the rubberized case protects your information from dissolution in water. This flash drive is necessary for absent-minded people who can drop, lose, or drown a compact thing. Flash media has high write and read speeds. Official testing parameters give even better results than stated in the specifications.

Today our colleague Victor Mrikh will talk about the pains of choosing USB flash drives in terms of possible data recovery from them.

The emergence of a “different” view on choosing a flash drive

Very often, friends and acquaintances, knowing the specifics of my work, ask me about choosing a good/reliable/stylish drive for storing data. Some people need another flash drive, others need a memory card for a new gadget or camera. I usually answer that all carriers are almost equally unreliable, but as a rule, such an answer suits few people and is perceived as an act of disrespect and indifference towards the questioner. The most persistent ones continue to insist: “This is how you choose flash drives and memory cards?” And I decided to answer...

I choose drives from which, if something goes wrong, I can most likely recover data. The specifics of my work are as follows: our company receives completely new Flash drives for research, and the main task is to simulate the failure of this flash drive and restore the contents from it.

It was restored quickly, with the help of existing developments - good, it was not restored - we need to figure it out and replenish the base of knowledge and experience. Thus, a situation has arisen in which a list of manufacturers of flash drives and specific models of media from which data recovery, in the event of a hardware failure, occurs without any problems has been determined.

This is important, since it should be noted that today there are flash drives, data recovery from which has not been studied not only within our company, but also since we closely communicate with all the leading specialists around the world and keep our finger on the pulse, we know that some devices are not yet recoverable in principle.

An idea came to mind. Why not review flash drives from this batch on behalf of a data recovery engineer? Perhaps this information will be useful to someone, and they will read it before the flash drive dies, burying files that were not backed up in time.

Flash drives 64 GB. Prices

In this article we will talk about seven USB Flash drives. All of them were purchased in one of the chain stores on the same day.

1. Kingston DataTraveler HyperX 3.0 - 4,630 rub. (RUB 72.34 per 1 GB)
2. Toshiba SUZAKU - 1,840 rub. (RUB 28.75 per 1 GB)
3. Kingston DataTraveler G4 - RUB 1,920. (30 rubles for 1 GB)
4. Qumo Aluminum 3.0 - RUB 2,120. (RUB 33.13 per 1 GB)
5. Transcend JetFlash 780 - 3,820 rub. (RUB 59.69 per 1 GB)
6. Kingston DataTraveler 101 G2 - RUB 1,840. (RUB 28.75 per 1 GB)
7. SanDisk Extreme - RUB 3,270. (RUB 51.09 per 1 GB)

Read and write speed

For the speed test, I deliberately did not use software written by my colleagues. To check the speed of the drives, the publicly available CrystalDiskMark version 3.0.3 program was selected. A very simple and understandable software that shows:

• Sequential read/write speed
• Random read/write speed of 512 KB blocks
• Random read/write speed of 4 KB blocks (Queue depth 1)
• Random read/write speed of 4 KB blocks (Queue depth 32)

The test was performed on the same computer, on the same port. Although most of the flash drives in this review have a USB 3.0 interface, this connector is often not very conveniently located and many users insert flash drives into the USB 2.0 connector on the front panel of the computer, so the review will show performance characteristics when connected to USB 3.0 and USB 2.0.

Kingston DataTraveler HyperX 3.0

USB 3.0 port

USB 2.0 port

Toshiba SUZAKU

USB 3.0 port

USB 2.0 port

Kingston DataTraveler G4

USB 3.0 port

USB 2.0 port

Qumo Aluminum 3.0

USB 3.0 port

USB 2.0 port

Transcend JetFlash 780

USB 3.0 port

USB 2.0 port

Kingston DataTraveler 101 G2

USB 3.0 port

Here an inattentive reader will say: “Why so little???” An attentive reader will pay attention to the packaging of this flash drive and see that it has a USB 2.0 interface installed. Most likely, this explains the lowest price in this group of flash drives.

USB 2.0 port

SanDisk Extreme

USB 3.0 port

USB 2.0 port

Subtotal of tests

Leader in speed reading became a storage device Transcend JetFlash 780
Leader in speed records became a storage device SanDisk Extreme

Analysis of intermediate test results

After conducting read and write speed tests, we will calculate several important coefficients that will help determine the most profitable drive in terms of several parameters.

Having counted ratio of reading speed to cost of 1 GB of memory

Having counted ratio of recording speed to cost of 1 GB of memory, we received the following values ​​(the larger the value, the more profitable it is to use the drive):

It will also be useful to know ratio of write speed to read speed. The closer the value is to 1, the more versatile the device is, and the more “comfortable” it is to use the drive.

Logical conclusions

So, it's time to draw some basic conclusions from this bunch of pictures:

• If your budget is very limited and you need to find the cheapest option, the obvious choice is Toshiba SUZAKU for 1,840 rubles.
• If you need the best option, taking into account reading speed and cost, then the choice would fall on Qumo Aluminum 3.0 for 2,120 rubles.

But Hollywood cinema in general, and Ethan Hunt in particular, ingrained in my mind that the most important indicator of drive performance is write speed.

• Therefore, if I were shown all these tests and asked, “What would you choose for yourself?”, I would answer that in terms of price-performance ratio, I would take myself SanDisk Extreme.

Honesty test

Some manufacturers display read/write speed indicators on the packaging of their drives in the hope that when choosing, the buyer will pay attention to this and make a choice in favor of this product. Let's check how much the declared values ​​differ from the real ones.

Reading

Recording

It is clear that next to each declared value there is a small " * ", which refers to barely noticeable text. It says that real data may differ, testing took place in special conditions and UAV UAV UAV.

The most “honest” flash drive is Transcend JetFlash 780. Missing percentages can be attributed to measurement error. In second place - SanDisk Extreme And Toshiba SUZAKU.

If something went wrong...

Flash drives tend to break at the most inopportune moments. And it contained important data that was needed two hours ago. Frustrated, you search and find a data recovery company and go there with the hope of hearing an answer that everything will be ready in a few days.

Then the specialist in data recovery from flash drives begins his work. He disassembles the drive and begins to shamanize and get the data piece by piece, step by step. And he thinks to himself: “Well, why again these low-quality microcircuits, again a complex controller, etc.”

We tried to look at the flash drives presented in the review through the eyes of a data recovery engineer and evaluate them. And this is what happened.

Methodology and evaluation criteria

Let's try to evaluate drives using a 9-point system. 4 criteria will be considered:

Removing memory chips

• 0 points - no problems
• 1 points - possible difficulties
• 2 points - possible under certain conditions

Reading a memory chip dump

• 0 points - no problems
• 1 points - possible difficulties
• 2 points - time-consuming/labor-intensive, impossible

Performing preliminary transformations

• 0 points - no problems
• 1 points - possible difficulties (solvable)
• 2 points - possible difficulties (currently unsolvable)

Build the image

• 0 points - no problems
• 1 points - possible difficulties (solvable, labor-intensive, time-consuming)
• 2 points - possible difficulties (not yet solvable)

Respectively, the less points in total the drive accumulates, the higher the probability of data recovery and the speed of work to save these files.

Drive components

Any flash drive includes a controller (a microprocessor responsible for distributing user data) and memory chips (at least 1, but there may be several. In fact, the memory chips store data in a specific form). The task of an engineer for data recovery from flash drives is to emulate the operation of a controller that has failed. Let's see what our drives consist of:

1. Kingston DataTraveler HyperX 3.0

• Phison PS2251-01-L controller
• Memory chips 4 pcs in TLGA-52 package, manufactured by Toshiba

2. Toshiba SUZAKU

• Toshiba TC58NC2303GST controller (relabeled Phison PS2251-03-v)
• Memory chips 2 pcs in TSOP-48 package, manufactured by Toshiba

3. Kingston DataTraveler G4

• Phison PS2251-07-V controller

4. Qumo Aluminum 3.0

• Phison PS2251-07-6 controller
• Memory chips 1 pc in BGA-132 package, manufactured by Toshiba

5. Transcend JetFlash 780

• Innostor IS903 controller
• Memory chips 2 pcs in BGA-132 package, manufactured by Samsung

6. Kingston DataTraveler 101 G2

• Phison PS2251-68-5 controller
• Memory chips 1 pc in TLGA-52 package, manufactured by Toshiba

7. SanDisk Extreme

• SanDisk controller 20-82-08369-1
• Memory chips 1 pc in TLGA-52 package, manufactured by SanDisk

With a short analysis, it becomes clear that almost all drives have controllers and memory chips of the same generation, manufactured in the same factories. This data also confirms the thesis that all drives are equally unreliable because they are made from almost the same components.

Recovery test results

Having gone through all the necessary steps to recover data from these flash drives, we received the following results:

The winner in the category of the most likely successful recovery of files in the event of a failure was the drive Toshiba SUZAKU, since this flash drive scored the lowest number of points. If I were choosing a drive for myself based on the best chance of successfully recovering files in the event of a hardware failure, I would choose this one. Data recovery from it is the fastest, and the probability of recovering data is very high. To be fair, it should be noted that USB drives under the Toshiba brand appeared relatively recently. This is a new player in the market, such low prices are associated with the company’s marketing moves, and, according to forecasts, prices for these products will increase.

Practical Conclusions

Each of you will be able to quickly and effortlessly assess the likelihood of data recovery from your flash drive by following two simple steps:

Download a special program from the website flashboot.ru that will help determine the composition of the components of the drive without disassembling it. For example, Flash Drive Information Extractor 7.5

Having found out the controller’s markings, go to the “Solution Systems” website of AceLab and search for your controller. If the controller is on the list, then your data can be recovered using special equipment. If trouble happens and the flash drive does break, then look for specialists who use the PC-3000 Flash hardware and software complex in their work. If your controller is not on the list, then my advice is to replace your flash drive with one from which you can recover data.

Finally, I would like to add - when choosing a drive, carefully study the prices, read reviews and look at our Habra blog or the Hardmaster website. We may have already reviewed this flash drive, and the test results will help you make the right choice.

That's all. And remember, Lost forever still can be found...

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• data recovery
• flash drive recovery
• flash drive recovery

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