is usb 3.0 flash drive fast enough to install games on ?

Hi, I want to install games on a external drive, would a usb 3.0 flash drive be fast enough to run games on without lag ? I would be playing on a macbook retina 15 inch on 1900 x 1200 resolution. If its possible, any suggestions on which flash drives ?

 

For normal USB drives, forget it.

Many games write save files every a few minutes, replacing the last save, resulting in many rewrites to the same logical file. USB mass storage is a block level protocol, which means without a real SSD controller the task of wear leveling is left to the OS. Does Microsoft/Apple worry about breaking your USB drive? Of course not.


There are real SSDs in a USB drive form, but those are not cheap.

 

It depends on the game. I've played Starcraft 2 off a flash drive.

Sent from my YP-G70 using Tapatalk 2

 

which flash drive did you use ?

 

Generally, you will need USB3.0 if possible and something beefy along the lines of the Sandisk Extreme 64gb or the Kingston HyperX 64-128gb. Both of these use multichannel Flash and scaled down SSD controllers (which means Garbage collection is present), they are reasonably affordable and can achieve speeds equivalent to low end SSDs.

 

Our MyDigitalSSD mSATA USB 3.0 Enclosure Adapter paired with any good mSATA will do the trick and then some. You could run anything you like from it including an OS Random 4K R/W is 15/20MB/sec and Sequential R/W is 180/150MB/sec. It is the #1 seller in Amazons External SSD section. If you have a good USB 3.0 controller on your motherboard it will be much faster up to 480/200MB/sec

 

Out of curiosity, have you guys managed to implement UASP on this enclosure? So far, the only enclosure I've seen that have done this is the BlacX though the Silverstone RVS02 implements USB3.0 BT which is also pretty good. Also, how is the TRIM support? last I checked most guys were having trouble implementing TRIM over USB3.0.
Good god it would be awesome if there was finally a manufacturer that could do both of the above for 2.5inch enclosures.

Cheers

 

Yes sir it supports USAP and SATA 6G and as long as the SSD you are using in it supports TRIM it supports TRIM.

Why would that be so great to have this in the 2.5" form factor? Extra capacity, other?

MyDigitalSSD

 

Here is more info on what our adapter supports in this link to the controller specs: ASMedia Technology Inc. 祥碩科技

 

I've been looking for a good UASP 2.5inch enclosure so I can use an internal SSD as a portable drive (similar to how people are now using portable HDDs), I can live without TRIM but UASP is a must.
That Asmedia controller is definitely a notch above the Raven SV02 one (which I currently own), if you guys do make a 2.5inch one with that controller, I'm in the market.

 

How much storage do you need because you can buy one for these adapters with one of our 256GB SSD for only $194.99. Cannot post a link because of my user status as a retailer. But if you search for the 256GB BP4 on amazon you will find the combo fast enough.

MyDigitalSSD

 

ASMedia good controller.

I suspect Marksman has drives already.

 

This one? Mobile SSD | Solid State Drives | MyDigitalSSD.com

Someting I might look into. Great idea

 

Yeah, I got a 500gb Samsung 840 on sale for about $270 from B&H Photovideo and have been wanting to use it as a portable for ages now. The RVS02 is capped to 400Mb/s due to the USB3.0 Turbo protocol, 520mb/s is only possible with UASP. The MyDigitalSSD solution is still really tempting since its a heck of a lot smaller but I'd hate to leave the Samsung Drive unused.

 

I've got a M500 960GB sitting around... impulse buy. I've got the Raven as well. It's hosting a dying HDD at the moment. Not many enclosures out there with the ASMedia controller, at least not listed as such.

 

200pcs 2.5" with the same controller in the works now. I will post here when available.

MyDigitalSSD

 

Awesome! I'm interested.