Comments on: Does the stick matter? http://blog.melchua.com/2010/02/18/does-the-stick-matter/ Braindumps on things Mel Chua has found shiny lately. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 03:06:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Sameer Verma http://blog.melchua.com/2010/02/18/does-the-stick-matter/comment-page-1/#comment-4442 Sameer Verma Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:13:08 +0000 http://blog.melchua.com/2010/02/18/does-the-stick-matter/#comment-4442 Mel, I finally found a 4GB PNY brand at BestBuy for $12.99 + tax (not bad) that actually works. In fact, I camped outside a local BestBuy and tried out sticks until I found one that worked. Luckily, I didn't have to try too many models :-) Here's a pic of the bar code in case anyone else is interested. http://identi.ca/attachment/9264173 Mel,

I finally found a 4GB PNY brand at BestBuy for $12.99 + tax (not bad) that actually works. In fact, I camped outside a local BestBuy and tried out sticks until I found one that worked. Luckily, I didn’t have to try too many models :-)

Here’s a pic of the bar code in case anyone else is interested.

http://identi.ca/attachment/9264173

]]> By: Chris Tyler http://blog.melchua.com/2010/02/18/does-the-stick-matter/comment-page-1/#comment-4436 Chris Tyler Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:41:42 +0000 http://blog.melchua.com/2010/02/18/does-the-stick-matter/#comment-4436 Flash drive vary enormously in their speed -- from "unbearable" to "faster than disk". I've bought cheap 4G flash drives where I could not summon enough patience to install Fedora (and I'm generally patient -- we're talking hours here) and others in the "really? it saved that much data that fast?" category. The only way to know is to test -- and I don't have enough information to know how much of this is brand and how much is batch. Flash drive vary enormously in their speed — from “unbearable” to “faster than disk”. I’ve bought cheap 4G flash drives where I could not summon enough patience to install Fedora (and I’m generally patient — we’re talking hours here) and others in the “really? it saved that much data that fast?” category. The only way to know is to test — and I don’t have enough information to know how much of this is brand and how much is batch.

]]> By: Sameer Verma http://blog.melchua.com/2010/02/18/does-the-stick-matter/comment-page-1/#comment-4417 Sameer Verma Sat, 20 Feb 2010 19:53:16 +0000 http://blog.melchua.com/2010/02/18/does-the-stick-matter/#comment-4417 The stick brand does matter. Just got 12 sticks of brand "PNY" from a local BestBuy and thay all fail to boot SoaS ("Boot Error"). Going to return. The stick brand does matter. Just got 12 sticks of brand “PNY” from a local BestBuy and thay all fail to boot SoaS (“Boot Error”). Going to return.

]]> By: Terri http://blog.melchua.com/2010/02/18/does-the-stick-matter/comment-page-1/#comment-4415 Terri Fri, 19 Feb 2010 21:51:48 +0000 http://blog.melchua.com/2010/02/18/does-the-stick-matter/#comment-4415 There was an article recently on all flash memory not being created equally: http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=918 But I'm not sure that will help you much, as it seems there's a fair bit of variability even within a manufacturer, but it's an interesting read that basically says no, they aren't all created equal. There was an article recently on all flash memory not being created equally:

http://www.bunniestudios.com/blog/?p=918

But I’m not sure that will help you much, as it seems there’s a fair bit of variability even within a manufacturer, but it’s an interesting read that basically says no, they aren’t all created equal.

]]> By: Chris http://blog.melchua.com/2010/02/18/does-the-stick-matter/comment-page-1/#comment-4410 Chris Fri, 19 Feb 2010 04:30:19 +0000 http://blog.melchua.com/2010/02/18/does-the-stick-matter/#comment-4410 I guess a few points here: * I wouldn't assume that price is actually a indicator of quality; there are so many more considerations that end up determining the final price of a random USB stick. You could easily spend more and get a lesser product. * Yes, there are differences in longevity -- the relevant factor is how smart the wear-leveling firmware on the flash controller is. I wouldn't worry about this too much, though. Choose a reasonable filesystem for flash storage and don't put swap files or partitions on the sticks. * More noticeable will be a large and inexplicable difference in speed between different models of stick, and there's not much to do (if you care about read/write speed) than to try a couple of keys and buy lots of the best type. I guess a few points here:

* I wouldn’t assume that price is actually a indicator of quality; there are so many more considerations that end up determining the final price of a random USB stick. You could easily spend more and get a lesser product.

* Yes, there are differences in longevity — the relevant factor is how smart the wear-leveling firmware on the flash controller is. I wouldn’t worry about this too much, though. Choose a reasonable filesystem for flash storage and don’t put swap files or partitions on the sticks.

* More noticeable will be a large and inexplicable difference in speed between different models of stick, and there’s not much to do (if you care about read/write speed) than to try a couple of keys and buy lots of the best type.

]]>