USB flash drive speeds

I just got an 8 GB USB 2.0 flash drive, and I timed some file
transfers.

Small file test (photos ranging from 100K to 4 MB):
- I copied 1.9 GB worth of photos from my HD to the flash drive, and
it took 25 minutes. That's about 1.3 MB/sec.
- Then I copied all 1.9 GB worth of photos from the flash drive back
to the HD, and it took 150 seconds. That's about 12.7 MB/sec.

Large file test:
- I copied a 550 MB file from my HD to the flash drive, and it took
105 seconds. That's about 5.2 MB/sec.
- Then I copied the 550 MB file from my flash drive back to the HD,
and it took 30 seconds. That's about 18.3 MB/sec.

Do you think the drive is slow? This was on XP on a HP laptop with a
T2400 processor @ 1.83 GHz and 1 GB of RAM.

On Wed, 7 May 2008 15:02:45 -0700 (PDT),
"void.no.spam.com@gmail.com" <void.no.spam.com@gmail.com>
wrote:

>I just got an 8 GB USB 2.0 flash drive, and I timed some file
>transfers.
>
>Small file test (photos ranging from 100K to 4 MB):
>- I copied 1.9 GB worth of photos from my HD to the flash drive, and
>it took 25 minutes. That's about 1.3 MB/sec.
>- Then I copied all 1.9 GB worth of photos from the flash drive back
>to the HD, and it took 150 seconds. That's about 12.7 MB/sec.
>
>Large file test:
>- I copied a 550 MB file from my HD to the flash drive, and it took
>105 seconds. That's about 5.2 MB/sec.
>- Then I copied the 550 MB file from my flash drive back to the HD,
>and it took 30 seconds. That's about 18.3 MB/sec.
>
>Do you think the drive is slow? This was on XP on a HP laptop with a
>T2400 processor @ 1.83 GHz and 1 GB of RAM.


Yes it's slower than some, but that seems about right for
the low end drives with MLC flash chips, the ones typically
costing about $40 USD /8GB these days. Many other drives
would have about the same performance at similar price
points.

As you've noted, small files take quite a bit longer. You
might consider putting everything in a zip file writing it
to the USB drive as the destination to speed it up a little,
or of course return that drive for another that's faster...
which for 8GB would tend to cost about twice as much though
sometimes the higher priced drives have rebates to lower
cost a little.

On May 7, 7:58*pm, kony <s...@spam.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 7 May 2008 15:02:45 -0700 (PDT),
> "void.no.spam....@gmail.com" <void.no.spam....@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> >I just got an 8 GB USB 2.0 flash drive, and I timed some file
> >transfers.
>
> >Small file test (photos ranging from 100K to 4 MB):
> >- I copied 1.9 GB worth of photos from my HD to the flash drive, and
> >it took 25 minutes. *That's about 1.3 MB/sec.
> >- Then I copied all 1.9 GB worth of photos from the flash drive back
> >to the HD, and it took 150 seconds. *That's about 12.7 MB/sec.
>
> >Large file test:
> >- I copied a 550 MB file from my HD to the flash drive, and it took
> >105 seconds. *That's about 5.2 MB/sec.
> >- Then I copied the 550 MB file from my flash drive back to the HD,
> >and it took 30 seconds. *That's about 18.3 MB/sec.
>
> >Do you think the drive is slow? *This was on XP on a HP laptop with a
> >T2400 processor @ 1.83 GHz and 1 GB of RAM.
>
> Yes it's slower than some, but that seems about right for
> the low end drives with MLC flash chips, the ones typically
> costing about $40 USD /8GB these days. *Many other drives
> would have about the same performance at similar price
> points.

Yeah that's exactly how much it cost! It's an A-Data PD30 drive.
It's designed with a built-in cover, so you can't lose any caps.
Although is the cap really that important? I see so many reviews
where people are concerned about losing their caps.

>
> As you've noted, small files take quite a bit longer. *You
> might consider putting everything in a zip file writing it
> to the USB drive as the destination to speed it up a little,
> or of course return that drive for another that's faster...
> which for 8GB would tend to cost about twice as much though
> sometimes the higher priced drives have rebates to lower
> cost a little.

Which brands or models are you thinking of?

On Wed, 7 May 2008 19:37:13 -0700 (PDT),
"void.no.spam.com@gmail.com" <void.no.spam.com@gmail.com>
wrote:


>> Yes it's slower than some, but that seems about right for
>> the low end drives with MLC flash chips, the ones typically
>> costing about $40 USD /8GB these days. *Many other drives
>> would have about the same performance at similar price
>> points.
>
>Yeah that's exactly how much it cost! It's an A-Data PD30 drive.
>It's designed with a built-in cover, so you can't lose any caps.
>Although is the cap really that important? I see so many reviews
>where people are concerned about losing their caps.

I haven't lost any caps in a long time, but I would want
either a cap or a retractable so pocket lint and various
other small things like screws don't get lodged inside. I
would assume I'd notice a screw in one, but admittedly I
never check (partly because I have a cap on it).



>
>>
>> As you've noted, small files take quite a bit longer. *You
>> might consider putting everything in a zip file writing it
>> to the USB drive as the destination to speed it up a little,
>> or of course return that drive for another that's faster...
>> which for 8GB would tend to cost about twice as much though
>> sometimes the higher priced drives have rebates to lower
>> cost a little.
>
>Which brands or models are you thinking of?

Check a few at Newegg, those with good speeds carry a speed
rating as it is a predominant feature justifying (to some
buyers) the price. I glanced at newegg and didn't see as
many in 8GB size as I expected, a Patriot XT

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220252

and a very overpriced Kingston
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820134616

I'm not sure if Newegg decided not to carry the faster ones
or there's just a lag in them being introduced in 8GB
models. Since the flash drive market changes so fast, new
models introduced all the time, your best bet would be to
web search for some benchmarks. Tom's Hardware does a lot
of benchmarks of such things but I dont' know if they did
any recently.