Who makes the Highest Quility USB Flash Drives.

I'm just wondering if anybody knows who makes the highest quality USB flash drives, mostly as in IC chips, but also in construction, dependability, etc.

It's like a car, if the engine under the hood isn't built to last, what good is the car, so with a USB flash drive, I want the one that has the highest quality IC chips inside.

 

the flasher

ann

 

I have the 32 GB Flash Survivor drive from corsair and it's pretty durable.

 

Probably the Corsair Survivor series. Its got a steel case.
Its pretty rigid to me. Over the top - definitely yes.

All of the memory chips are going to be made by either Samsung, Infineon, Hyundai, Hynix, Micron or SST, so it does not even matter.

K-TRON

 

I agree with K-TRON here, the Corsair Survivor is unmatched as far as I know. I have the 4GB one and it is super durable, well-built, not to mention waterproof. It's larger than a normal flash drive but you can basically run it over with a car and not have any damage to the actual drive . . .

 

We're playing with a Corsair Voyager 16GB stick and it is dramatically faster than any of the other USB sticks I've worked with.



Cheers,

 

Corsair is best right now, the OCZ is a bit faster but not as durable as some of corsairs, and its less tha 5mbs. On a budget, the curzer titanium PLUS is great so far. Its a basic titanium, painted burgundy and only comes in 4 gb. Has the u3 and free 6months online backup, but for the price, its great.

 

I've been using a 2GB Lexar Jump Drive Lightning for over a year now, daily, with heavy use, and it's never given me a single problem, it looks great, and seems plenty durable. Now I'm looking to upgrade to a 4GB+ drive, so I thought I ask for some opinions on very high quality drives. From what I understand, not all ICs are created equally, and some will allow more rewrites than others.

I like the Corsair Flash Survivor series, but there just too big for me. I'm thinking maybe a Corsair Flash Voyager GT, or an OCZ ATV Turbo, although I think the OCZ is ugggly! Yellow with black tire treads, what were they thinking!?!

 

OK, judging by the reviews on newegg, the Corsair Flash Voyager GT has taken a big dive in both quality and performance, so scratch that one off my list.

 

How is SanDisk? Isn't it supposed to be a good name? From the customer reviews I've read, it seems they are good but with some annoying software U3 that is not uninstallable. Anyone with experience?

 

Yeah, I've read good things about the SanDisk Cruzer Titanium, but I don't like the retractable connector, I prefer a cap.

The U3 garbage can be gotten rid of, but once removed, I don't think it can be put back, not that you'd likely want it in the first place.

 

Are you sure U3 can be uninstalled? Have you actually done it? Reviews such as this one

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruze...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1207290757&sr=1-2

say it can't be uninstalled. I've been hesitating to buy a new SanDisk just because of this U3. I hope it can be thoroughly uninstalled.

 

I am using an 8GB Lexar Lightning pretty sweet very fast and it survives being banged around in my backpack.

 

Yes, I've read that it can be removed. It does have a special chip inside, but that shouldn't hurt anything.

Google is your friend...

http://www.sandisk.com/Retail/Default.aspx?CatID=1415

 

http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/flash_drives/ocz_atv_turbo_usb_2_0_flash_drive

Don't know of any tougher then that one. Read a review somewhere (sorry cant find the link) where they put it through some pretty tough testing.

Speed wise it was comparable to everything else on the market so thats a moot point but...

They ran it over with a car...
They threw it into a lake...
They froze it in a block of ice...
They thawed the ice block in a fireplace...
Plugged it in and it worked perfectly fine.

 

Yeah it can be removed. I have a 4gb cruzer. You just download the removal program and its perfect. U3 doesnt work for Vista

 

Thanks for the info--that sounds good. It won't automatically reinstall the next time you use the USB?

 

No, gone for good.

 

Yeah, I already mentioned that one in a previous post here. It seems to be the best drive out right now for the most part.

 

Thanks flipfire. In that case I may get one soon.

But why would anyone want to do all this to a flash drive? Those are unlikely accidents and applies only if you are crazy or live in a special environment.

 

Get the titanium cruzer, it looks more sturdier

Pffft.. have they chuck norris tested it?

 

From the pictures of the packages I've seen, it seems Corsair needs installation CD, while Sandisk doesn't (my experience), which is a plus?

 

I've got the OCZ ATV (non turbo) 4GB. Durable, not as fast as the Turbo, and I like it!

Hardware Canucks has a great review of the OCZ ATV Turbo, Corsair Voyager GT and others with durability tests. The server seems to be down right now but I highly recommend the review when it's available again.

 

If you want the over all "best", then the OCZ ATV Turbo is it IMO. I haven't found anything better.

 

What he said, fast and tough drive, and has been tested, i know you might not put the drive thruh those conditions, but you never know when and accident could happen, at least your data will be safe.

 

"They ran it over with a car...
They threw it into a lake...
They froze it in a block of ice...
They thawed the ice block in a fireplace...
Plugged it in and it worked perfectly fine."

Sorry to say, the Laptop did not survive..

At least my 4GB Cruzer has survived the washer..twice

 

I have an old 512 mb Cruzer Titanium that has served me well. It has been through some punishing circumstances (stepped on, whacked against a metal pipe, and jumped on to name a few). The transfer rate also seems decently fast. I actually prefer not having a cap since I figure those tend to get lost. The only negative for the Titanium is that it doesn't fit some USB ports in the front of desktop computers. I'm referring to the desktop computers that have recessed USB ports. It also comes with some useful software.

 

San Disk U3 can be reinstalled one all devices except the Titanium Plus at the moment, which will soon be added to the reinstall list.

 

The fastest drive I've ever owned was Lexar's JumpDrive Lightning, but they're kind of pricy. And, even though they're encased in metal, that doesn't make them unbreakable; I found the rubber seals could crack, and the caps internal plastics could break with age too.

I just purchased a SanDisk Cruzer Titanium. It's slightly slower than the JD Lightning, but it's virtually indestructible; its metal casing is nearly crushproof, and instead of a cap, its USB port is retractable switchblade style. It's also smaller than the JumpDrive Lightning, and cheaper.

I'll stick with SanDisk. I'm happy with it.

 

Wouldn't that make the head prone to dusts etc?

I find there's a simple issue that should be easy to deal with but none of the flash drive makers have been good at: the key-chain ring and the cap. Seems all the caps are loose, and either there's no ring for key chain or the ring is not strong enough or size too big or too small. These are far more simpler problems to solve than making a USB drive, how come they are still so universal?

 

You are exactly right. The drive that has addressed all of the negatives concerning structure and such is the Corsair Survivor ( http://www.corsair.com/products/survivor.aspx) it is also bulky, awkward, and expensive. In example, its like getting a Toughbook versus a Best Buy special.

 

Well it took years to kill the floppy. How universal were they, lol.

I found a box of 23 of the buggers, from an old 30meg HD back up.

 

your worried of dust? lol

the cruzer design is really good. Ive come across alot of usb sticks, i hate the ones with caps.

dust is the very least of your worries. if hydras cruzer has gone through the wash twice then that says alot.

 

Well, if your based in Iraq, I would then re-think the whole thing of do I need a cap or will the retractable hold sand and grit? But small things like "is my laptop bullet proof" comes to mind.

lol, yes, my cruzer was rescued twice in the middle of the wash cycle, rinsed then dried for two days. I don't think it would have survived the gas dryer. YMMV. I keep mine on a red velcro strap, if I look on desk and see an empty strap, I head for the laundry..or look for another $20 sale at radio shack.

 

I have a 2gb Sandisk Cruzer Titanium, as does my dad. I uninstalled U3 from both of them, and formatted mine to NTFS. His is sometimes connected to our PS3, which doesn't support NTFS. The advantage of formatting in NTFS is blazing fast transfer speeds.

I have an old Sandisk Cruzer Micro 512mb (plastic), it has been through the washer and dryer almost 10 times, and still works like new, aside from the matte finish now being very glossy.

 

It hasn't been a problem for me so far, though it might be necessary to remove a tad of pocket lint occasionally from the USB header (pretty easy). Still the best solution I've found so far; none is perfect, but this one is close.

 

The Corsair Voyager is probably one of the fastest flash drive available. Mine has 30.8MB/s average transfer rate. Very fast for a USB flash drive. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=208164

But fast as it might be, I had to return it. The rubber housing attracts dust, dirt and lint too easily. It's also too big. It could interfere with the neighboring USB plug.

 

There are two versions of Sandisk: Cruzer Micro, and Cruzer Titanium. Is there a huge difference regarding the data transfer speed?

 

no they are the same thing, just different casing. one is titanium the other is plastic

edit: oh and titanium has a blue LED while the normal cruzer have a red/orange light

 

I`ve got a 8GB San Disk, with a 10 year warranty on it, costed like 40 bucks last year,and I have literally beat the crap out of it and there`s not a single issue.

 

Thanks. I think then the micro is good enough for me as I don't expect to put it in the laundry or run over with a car etc. Speed is important to me, though.