What you need to know when choosing a flash drive. Choosing the right USB flash drive

A flash drive of this class is very practical - with a relatively small size, it holds a lot of information and does not take up much space. These USB 3.0 drives are much lighter than external hard drives and are quite fast. We have compiled a rating of the best USB 3.0 flash drives based on such an important parameter as price-quality ratio and a user survey. To implement the connection, your laptop or PC must have a USB 3.0 port so that the flash drive can perform its tasks. Here you will find a huge number of flash drives with interface 3.0 at the best prices http://ru.gearbest.com/usb-flash-drives-c_11258/nu1_usb~3.0.

Silicon Power Jewel J80

The fast Jewel J80 flash drive has an original, sophisticated zinc alloy body and a special spray coating - a harmonious design that gives a luxurious appearance, as well as effective protection against mechanical damage, even fingerprints do not remain. The flash drive stores information securely because it uses COB technology - Chip on Board, which protects the metal components of the USB connector, providing protection from moisture and dust, shock from an accidental drop and mechanical impact during daily use.

Main characteristics:

• Volume: 32-128 GB;
• Housing: zinc alloy;
• Speed; reading - 120 MB/sec, writing - 40 MB/sec;
• Color: silver gray;
• Interface: USB 3.1;
• Dimensions: 44x18x4.5 mm;
• Weight: 11 g.

Pros:

1. Harmony of design;
2. Protection from external influences;
3. Ring to wear;
4. Encryption function.

Minuses:

1. Not detected.

ADATA DashDrive Elite UE700

An all-metal flash drive equipped with a retractable connector has high read and write speeds for any parameters, which has been confirmed by tests. There is proprietary software that expands the standard capabilities of the device, which is not expensive, but very good. The appearance is a classic of the genre, or as they say in Odessa: “oil painting”, the flash drive has a durable body with protection from dust, fingerprints, the connector, whether inside or outside, is held tightly and does not create extraneous vibration. The leatherette strap adds a touch of sophistication, and the blue LED backlight lets you know when the drive is active.

Main characteristics:

• Volume: 32-128 GB;
• Case: metal;
• Speed: read - 190 MB/sec, write - 50 MB/sec;
• Interface: USB 3.0;
• Dimensions: 21x63x7 mm;
• Weight: 5.9 g.

Pros:

1. High build quality;
2. Modern design;
3. Excellent write and read speed;
4. Software.

Minuses:

1. Not identified.

Kingston DataTraveler R3.0 G2

A flash drive with a shock-resistant, rubber-coated body with blue embossed patterns, according to the manufacturers, can be kept under water at a depth of a meter for up to one hour. Based on the rating of the best USB 3.0 flash drives that have been sold to date, this model ranks third among the leading products. A very impressive flash drive with a pleasant-to-touch casing that does a good job of protecting itself, and comes with an impressive 5-year warranty. The only negative is the cap, which practically does not stay on the back of the flash drive when opening the connector; there is a 100% guarantee that users will lose it.

Main characteristics:

• Volume: 16-64 GB;
• Housing: rubberized plastic;
• Speed: read -120 MB/sec;
• recordings - 25-45 Mb/sec;
• Dimensions: 56.0x22.0x9.2 mm;
• Weight: no data.

Pros:

1. High performance;
2. Impact resistance of the case;
3. Moisture resistance;
4. Dual compatibility;
5. 5 year warranty.

Minuses:

1. Risk of losing the cap.

Transcend JetFlash 750

A black flash drive is a high-performance solution, which is confirmed by high read and write speeds: during testing, they were even higher than those specified by the manufacturer - 145 and 40 MB/sec, respectively. The price-quality ratio is excellent, and the variety of memory capacities from 16 to 64 GB also speaks volumes. The flash drive is made in a classic form factor: with a cap and blue LED backlighting, which pleasantly winks at users when the external drive is loading data. Unlike other products, the cap fits perfectly on the back of the flash drive during operation. The cost of such a flash drive is around 2 thousand rubles.

Main characteristics:

• Volume: 32-64 GB;
• Housing: plastic;
• Speed: read -130 MB/sec, write - 30 MB/sec;
• Interface: USB 3.0 (compatible with USB 2.0);
• Dimensions: 69.5×19.8×8.8 mm;
• Weight: 10.3 g.

Pros:

1. Strict design;
2. High reading speed;
3. Free software can be downloaded;
4. LED operating mode indicator;
5. Lifetime warranty.

Minuses:

1. Not detected.

Corsair Flash Voyager GS 64GB (CMFVYGS3)

This is not even a flash drive, but a flash drive with high capacity and high performance in a stylish design, which is why it takes first place in the TOP. The advantage of a high-speed USB 3.0 interface, but at the same time there is compatibility with already outdated systems - perhaps this is the best flash drive. The case is shock-resistant and showed excellent results during testing, withstanding a fairly large load of 40 G. Polished aluminum inlays add elegance, because of this the flash drive looks very impressive - you will not regret the money spent.

Main characteristics:

• Volume: 64-128 GB;
• Body: aluminum with inlays;
• Speed: read - 295 MB/sec, write - 170 MB/sec;
• Interface: USB 3.0 (compatible with USB 2.0);
• Dimensions: 79.0×26.5×9.0 mm;
• Weight: 30 g.

Pros:

1. Unique read and write speed;
2. LED indicator.

Minuses:

1. The cap does not hold well.

Conclusion

Here you will find a huge number of flash drives with interface 3.0 at the best prices

An important criterion for choosing a flash drive is its appearance (case design, material from which it is made, shape and size). Medium-sized flash drives are most convenient to use. Miniature options can easily get lost, and large drives are not always convenient to connect to a PC. The non-standard shape can also create connection problems (if there is another connected device in the adjacent slot).

Most flash drives are traditionally available in plastic housings. But you can find models made of metal, wood or with a rubberized surface. Some devices may have a dust- and water-resistant housing.

USB drives differ from each other in their housing design. The bulk of devices on the market are made in a classic style. Flash drives with an original design are less versatile and practical, but they can serve as an excellent souvenir or gift.

The drive connector may have various protection options. For example, a removable cap, a rotating bracket or a slider. Miniature flash drives most often do not have connector protection, so you should be more careful when using them.

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.

It turns out that for most users, choosing a flash drive is not an easy task. On many forums people ask questions about this. What parameters should they take into account so that the device lasts as long as possible, works quickly and the price is reasonable. For some, using a flash drive is very important, as it is related to their work. Therefore, there is a list of special technical points that you should pay attention to when choosing a flash drive. Now there is simply a huge number of flash drives on the market from different manufacturers. It's no wonder that some users are confused when they come to buy a USB drive.

Now they are choosing a flash drive - I saw a beautiful design, a large amount of memory, everything is good, you can take it. But few people pay attention to such technical characteristics as the interface, recording speed and data transfer. Today I will tell you about the main points when choosing a flash drive, what you should pay attention to, and what you can ignore.

Manufacturer

Today there are a huge number of flash drive manufacturers. The difficulty is that each of them has their own group of fans. Therefore, it is difficult to choose at least a few manufacturers. Personally, I chose two brands for myself regarding the production of flash drives: Adata and Kingston. Both of these manufacturers have been around for a long time and have proven themselves only from the best side. If you are interested, the official Adata website contains information regarding read and write speeds for fast flash drives.

In turn, Kingston publicly provides the document DTFamily_RU.pdf, which shows the speeds of all types of drives from this company. This document is continually updated as changes are made to the models.

But, besides these two manufacturers, you should also not deprive attention to such brands as: Apacer, Silicon Power, Corsair, Transcend, TeamGroup, Sandisk, Lexar. Everyone will find a good product among these manufacturers. But you shouldn’t rely only on the brand when choosing a flash drive, or any other equipment. After all, any manufacturer has both very good models and low-quality models. Everyone makes mistakes, even giant companies.

As for the read and write speed, it mainly depends on the series of the USB drive.

Some users strongly complain about Chinese counterfeits, explaining that the components are cheap, the soldering is weak, and therefore flash drives quickly fail. I think it was already clear that a Chinese product with a strange name, which looks like some well-known brand, a priori cannot boast of good quality. Although, in defense of flash drives from China, I would still like to say a few words. Sometimes you come across a really high-quality product. But, since this happens extremely rarely, it is still better to give preference to a more well-known brand.

What amount of memory should I choose?

You can see information about the memory capacity on the flash drive itself or on its packaging. Most often, buyers believe that the larger the flash drive, the better it is. But from the point of view of saving money, this opinion is not correct at all. But, if you need a flash drive with a large amount of memory, at the same time with a high speed of writing files and you have a lot of money, then you don’t have to limit yourself. The more memory a flash drive has, the faster it is! Still, if your main goal in choosing a storage device is as large as possible, then I recommend that you buy an external hard drive. But, if your budget is extremely tight, then it is better to give preference only to certain characteristics, including the appearance of the flash drive.

So that you understand what I mean, I will give a specific example. Some 128GB flash drives cost the same as a 1TB external hard drive. Of course, the operating principle of these devices is very different. If you are really “major”, then I recommend paying attention to SSD drives. But, if you still need a flash drive, then its size should be chosen in the following ranges:

• from 4 to 16GB, the volume is not large, but the price is low;
• from 16 to 64GB, good quality at a reasonable price;
• from 128GB, for a specific purpose at an inflated price.

But this is my personal association of flash drives, it may not suit you. I believe that before buying a flash drive, you first need to determine the specific purposes for which you are going to make a purchase.

Flash drive read and write speed

This parameter, unlike the capacity of a flash drive, is very rarely indicated on the product packaging, and never on the flash drive itself. Therefore, it is not always possible to immediately find out about the speed of reading and transferring information. But those manufacturers who are confident in the quality of their product will definitely indicate this parameter. Always, data regarding the speed characteristics of flash cards and USB drives are indicated in the form of a special rating. For example, 200x, where x means 200Kb/s. Accordingly, the speed of such a flash drive will be 30 Mb/s. You can easily find a table of flash drive speed ratings on the Internet.

This parameter characterizes the reading speed of the flash drive. As for the recording speed, it is generally rarely seen in the specifications when purchasing. You will already recognize it when you test the flash drive on your computer. But, from my experience of using flash drives, I can say that cheap flash drives have a write speed that is half as fast as their read speed. This difference is very significant. That's why you shouldn't buy very cheap flash drives.

If you visit this site, you will be able to see the results of testing various types of flash drives, from different brands and with different characteristics. This site will help you find the best flash drive option, making it clear which drives are of the highest quality today.

Especially disappointing are flash drives whose stated characteristics do not correspond to reality. Most often this happens with cheap flash drives. But even among expensive goods there can be such a setup. However, relatively cheap media usually use MLC, TLC or TLC-DDR memory, while high-speed media use DDR-MLC or SLC memory in addition to MLC. This is why USB 3.0 flash drives are backward compatible with USB 2.0. But, do not forget that you can only copy large and memory-demanding files at the advertised speed using the USB 3.0 port.

For example, if a USB drive has high performance, which provides read speeds of up to 260 MB/s and write speeds of up to 240 MB/s, then you can copy 1000 photos or a full-length film of good quality in a matter of seconds.

Additional features of a USB flash drive

You know the main purpose of a flash drive. But now they have so many additional functions that it’s even hard to believe. Most of them are just an extra “show-off” and a marketing ploy. But some additional functions really turn out to be useful. There are many additions to the standard flash drive software. For example, access to information on the flash drive is allowed only after scanning a fingerprint, the ability to compress data to enlarge data storage density, special protection applications, with the ability to set a password for access to data and much more.

Most manufacturers supply their devices with special software that allows you to secure data on a flash drive and make it easier to use.

But in fact, all these additions provide very little benefit; basically, they only complicate the use of a USB drive. It is difficult to find a flash drive with truly usable and useful software. If you see a colorful description of additional software on the packaging, then most likely this is an advertising ploy, and nothing more. The main task of such software is to extract more money from the buyer for unnecessary, and sometimes ridiculous, functions.

Flash drive housing

It would seem that it could be easier to choose a flash drive. But in fact, everything is not so simple. There are a number of points that are worth paying attention to. And the variety of enclosures for USB drives is now very large. But among them you can choose the main types of cases. These include:

Flash drives with an open connector. Typically this type of case is found on small flash drives. Using such a flash drive is very convenient; it fits in any pocket and takes up almost no space. But on the other hand, the contacts are not protected, which means that scratches will soon appear on them. If there are too many of them, the flash drive will soon stop working.

Flash drives with a cap. This type of flash drive case is especially popular among users. Personally, I think that this type of hull structure is the most practical. Caps for such flash drives are made from different materials: rubber, plastic, metal. Rubber caps are considered the best because they protect working contacts from moisture and dust. Also, such caps do not require fasteners. They hold up great as is. Many users lose protective caps that are made of plastic or metal. But on YouTube you can find many videos that tell you how to make such a cap yourself.

Bracket body. The design consists of a housing and a bracket, which is fixed on the outside and can be rotated from side to side, which makes it possible to close the USB connector in a certain position. But with such a security bracket, such a flash drive cannot be protected from external factors at all. And you may eventually lose the bracket, since it is attached extremely unreliably.

Flash drive sliders are also very popular among users. The case is designed in such a way that the working connector is hidden in it and removed using a movable key. The disadvantage of such a case is that the latch, which allows you to slide the flash drive in and out, may break. It is extremely inconvenient to use the drive in this state. Despite the fact that the flash drive is hidden in the case, it does not have proper protection. From moisture and dirt for sure.

Of all of the above, I advise you to take a flash drive with rubber protection. This way you will be sure that neither dust nor dirt is harmful to the drive.

There are flash drives whose body is made of rubber. On the one hand, this protection is reliable. But any break in the case will render the flash drive unusable. Therefore, it is necessary to choose models that have a base on a rigid body. Even if you drown such a flash drive in water, even if you throw it from a height, no damage will be done to it. Recently, there have been more flash drives that have a drive full indicator.

Before you buy a flash drive, you need to decide what specifications it should have so that you can fully use this device. After all, a high-quality flash drive saves your time. It is better to choose from brands that are known to everyone. Skip dubious manufacturers immediately. Don't be fooled by low prices from unknown brands.

Before purchasing, visit the official websites of flash drive manufacturers and study the functionality of their product. I advise you to choose several models to compare them with each other. You can also compare selected flash drives with the same characteristics with flash drives that are slightly cheaper. You might be able to save a lot of money.

I hope my tips will help you choose a USB drive to your liking. Thank you for being with us.

It is unlikely that anyone reading this article does not know what a flash card is, but I will still allow myself to remind you that it is a storage device that uses flash memory. The latter received enormous success due to its low cost, compactness, strength, fairly large volume and speed of operation. Most often, flash memory is found in portable devices.

The creator of this ingenious technology is Toshiba engineer Fujio Masuokoi. The event took place in 1984. He came up with the name of the technology together with his colleague; it comes from the English word Flash (“Flash”), because the process of erasing memory was reminiscent of a flash.

According to data at the end of 2008, the world leader in the production of flash memory is Samsung, and Toshiba, together with its enterprises, is in second place. It is unknown who is the leader at the moment (end of 2013).

Now let's move directly to the internal memory. So, in 2009 the world saw the storage device Kingston DataTraveler 300, one of the leaders in this field. The company presented a flash drive, the volume of which reached a fantastic 256 GB of memory! At that time, the result was simply phenomenal! The read speed is 20 MB/sec, and the write speed is exactly half that. Externally, the flash drive is no different from other devices. The only negative is that, for unknown reasons, the drive can only operate at above-zero temperatures. Whether the Kingston DataTraveler 300 goes on sale or not is unclear.

The premiere took place in 2013 Kingston HyperX Predator USB 3.0, flash cards whose memory capacity reaches 1 TB! In fact, an entire hard drive in your pocket! The read speed is an incredible 240 MB/sec, and the write speed is 160 MB/sec, which is even faster than the average hard drive. It’s a pity that few people will be able to afford the Kingston HyperX Predator - the preliminary cost of the gadget is just over $3,000 (there are no more accurate data at the moment), and for the version with 512 GB of memory the manufacturer is asking about $1,700.

Well, in the end I will tell you HyperStor-6200— a flash drive with a capacity of as much as 100 TB! Is this possible? Certainly! And right now you will understand why this is so. ViON Corporation introduced HyperStor-6200 back in 2009. The manufacturer claims that the device is capable of performing about five million operations per second, and the average speed of one operation is only 0.07 seconds. HyperStor-6200 is used for work in corporations and is a rather impressive unit that will not fit in a pocket, or even a bag. However, it can also be considered a flash drive, but with a very big stretch. The cost of the device could not be determined, but it is likely to be in the tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars.