Recommend me an USB stick!

[boxleitnerb]

I am looking for an USB stick with 4GB which is really really fast. Buffalo is out of the question, because it is nowhere available at reasonable prices in Europe.
So I am looking for an alternative.

 

[ZoinKs!]

"Fast, cheap, or good. Pick two of the three."

You're asking for something cutting edge and want to get it for a reasonable cost... good luck finding that.

 

[boxleitnerb]

Well, it is possible - the stick is listed with at least 20 online shops throughout Germany, but just not available.
But the Buffalo people assure me, it will get better in October.

 

[Natoma]

I am looking for an USB stick with 4GB which is really really fast. Buffalo is out of the question, because it is nowhere available at reasonable prices in Europe.
So I am looking for an alternative.

Go with a Lexar Jumpdrive Lightning.

 

[Malo]

If your looking for something that might be ReadyBoost compatible then most "high speed" ones won't cut it. Apacer make a 4Gb version of the HT203 which works with ReadyBoost. If your just looking for straight sustained transfer speed then I guess others are fine.

 

[Albuquerque]

If your looking for something that might be ReadyBoost compatible then most "high speed" ones won't cut it. Apacer make a 4Gb version of the HT203 which works with ReadyBoost. If your just looking for straight sustained transfer speed then I guess others are fine.

I'm not sure where you're getting your info, but my two year old Kingston 256mb USB2 memory stick is 100% ReadyBoost compatible. So is another of my ancient original (non-hi-speed) Sandisk 256mb SD cards.

My next removable flash storage purchase will be one of those new "convertable" units -- it's an SD card that also houses a USB connector too. Link for reference: http://www.supermediastore.com. (I am not affiliated with that site, it's the first hit that came up in google)

Update edit: I went and captured a screenshot of my old-assed Kingston traveler 256mb card being used for readyboost by the event manager. Click here to view at 1450x1050 resolution

 

[LunchBox]

there's those new 8GB usb sticks now
go to pricewatch... last time i checked there was a sony made one for like 124 bucks for an 8GB usb flash drive.

 

[Malo]

I'm not sure where you're getting your info, but my two year old Kingston 256mb USB2 memory stick is 100% ReadyBoost compatible. So is another of my ancient original (non-hi-speed) Sandisk 256mb SD cards.

My next removable flash storage purchase will be one of those new "convertable" units -- it's an SD card that also houses a USB connector too. Link for reference: http://www.supermediastore.com. (I am not affiliated with that site, it's the first hit that came up in google)

Update edit: I went and captured a screenshot of my old-assed Kingston traveler 256mb card being used for readyboost by the event manager. Click here to view at 1450x1050 resolution

Not sure where I said other USB keys won't work, I was stating that many of the modern USB keys touting very high speed transfer rates don't actually work with readyboost because they are optimized for sustained transfer rates, not access times.

Also MS recommends 1x-2x your systems RAM total memory for your USB key used for readyboost. So a 1Gb system should have a 1Gb or 2Gb USB key for optimal usage by Vista.

And be careful regarding card readers, they won't be supported for ReadyBoost from what I've read from interviews with MS. Their technology apparently doesn't support external reader devices, only direct USB keys.

 

[Albuquerque]

And be careful regarding card readers, they won't be supported for ReadyBoost from what I've read from interviews with MS. Their technology apparently doesn't support external reader devices, only direct USB keys.

Not quite. It depends on how the card reader is attached to the system. My multi-card reader is directly attached to the PCI bus, so it will be supported. A multi-card reader attached to a USB connector likely will not be unless support is somehow "wedged" by the hardware provider (ie i shows as a locally attached device and not a removable harddrive, etc)

As for "high speed" devices, there really is no way to single them out. ANY device, high speed or not, can be optimized for certain data read/write patterns. It's not a matter of a label, it's a matter of buying good equipment. If a two year old cheapie USB2 stick can exceed the ReadyBoost requirements by 50%, then a decently priced unit today shouldn't have much issue.

 

[Malo]

But thats the point im trying to make, it's really not relative to the price, quality or manufacturer. It's relative to how they've designed the USB key to be fast, either for sustained transfers or access times. So the quality is not a factor at all, especially given some of the reviews of ReadyBoost i've read which have had some of the most expensive USB keys touting the highest speeds fails the tst because of their lack of random access speed, whilst a cheapo brand might pass.

Overall we'll probably see a trend pointing at higher quality devices passing, but it's definitely far from a given. Thankfully once Vista gets closer, we'll start to see "ReadyBoost Compatible" labels on USB keys.

 

[zsouthboy]

Can someone tell me if they ACTUALLY get any speed increases with "ReadyBoost" and a compatible stick?

Because, to be honest, it sounds like can't help that much. (IE: they're paging out data to the stick instead of the hard drive, stick has MUCH faster random access times)


It seems to me, you should... um..

buy some more goddamn memory for your system instead!

Use x64 vista, and add memory to your hearts content.

 

[Albuquerque]

Zsouth, it might actually help if you did some reading to find out what ReadyBoost really is.

Let me get you started with a hint... ReadyBoost != paging file.

 

[zsouthboy]

Zsouth, it might actually help if you did some reading to find out what ReadyBoost really is.

Let me get you started with a hint... ReadyBoost != paging file.

Windows ReadyBoost on the other hand is designed to increase performance of systems that don't have much system memory but do have access to external flash based storage devices (e.g. USB drives). ReadyBoost will use these drives as additional virtual memory and swap to them when it runs out of main memory, which will obviously improve performance vs. simply going to disk.

ReadyBoost is really only targeted to systems with 512MB of memory that won't be upgraded (e.g. corporate desktops that you can't just stick more memory in without approval from IT), since you'd get better performance out of simply installing more memory in the system rather than relying on external flash devices as swap drives.

(emphasis mine)
Source: http://anandtech.com/tradeshows/showdoc.aspx?i=2841&p=3

Albuquerque, please, enlighten me further.

 

[Malo]

It's still a lot cheaper to buy a 2Gb USB key than another Gb of DDR2 RAM no?

 

[Albuquerque]

I didn't see that reply until now...

Put simply, Anandtech is completely wrong. Readyboost will not be used for page file, it is write-thru disk cache and nothing else. Hence the reason why it can be removed at any time and not lose your data.

Instead of asking Anand, howabout asking Microsoft?

Edit...
It seems there are some "PR" pages even on Microsoft's site that incorrectly suggest that ReadyBoost somehow expands system memory. But if you continue reading, it always says you can remove the USB stick at any time without losing data -- that's physically not possible if you were actually using that stick for system memory.

The reality is, ReadyBoost is the new name for "SuperFetch": a write-thru disk cache meant to be used to feed small file accesses that would go faster from solid state media versus seeking the harddrive head. This doesn't help bigger files, but it can help when you have lots of very small frequently used files -- such as all the dynamic DLL's that the Windows OS needs while you're using an app, printing a page, or other standard daily tasks.

It does not augment main memory at all; it does not act as a page file. It is only write thru cache for local hard drives, and it increases performance by very quickly replacing small disk reads from previously read or previously written files. It gains more efficiency the longer you leave it in, and can even assist boot, standby and shutdown performance.

 

[RejZoR]

Patriot XporterXT 2GB is the real deal (also in 4GB flavors iirc). Ultra fast, cheap and durable. ReadyBoost ready too

 

[Albuquerque]

Patriot XporterXT 2GB is the real deal (also in 4GB flavors iirc). Ultra fast, cheap and durable. ReadyBoost ready too

I'll be checking those out shortly now that Vista RTM is on my SD-reader-on-PCI-bus-equipped lappy.