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Looking for quality 128Gb USB stick

P

Pete

Jan 1, 1970
0
I'm looking for a good quality 128Gb USB stick.

Some of the smaller (ie 8gb, 32gb) sticks that I've purchased over the
last year or so have become faulty, or the connector (tin, held on with
solder) has become intermittent, so I'm not terribly impressed with the
general quality that's around.

So far, the sticks that use the circuit board for the USB connection
instead of a separate connector seem to be the hardiest, but I haven't
been able to find a 128Gb stick with this feature.

The stick doesn't need to be bullet-proof, or hermetically sealed, but
it will spend some time in my pocket and on my keyring.

Does anyone have any ideas? I'm in Melbourne if it matters.

Thanks, Peter
 
B

Bob Milutinovic

Jan 1, 1970
0
Pete said:
I'm looking for a good quality 128Gb USB stick.

Some of the smaller (ie 8gb, 32gb) sticks that I've purchased over the
last year or so have become faulty, or the connector (tin, held on with
solder) has become intermittent, so I'm not terribly impressed with the
general quality that's around.

So far, the sticks that use the circuit board for the USB connection
instead of a separate connector seem to be the hardiest, but I haven't
been able to find a 128Gb stick with this feature.

The stick doesn't need to be bullet-proof, or hermetically sealed, but it
will spend some time in my pocket and on my keyring.

Does anyone have any ideas? I'm in Melbourne if it matters.

Thanks, Peter

The SanDisk Cruzer should fit the bill - $129 from OfficeWorks,
http://tinyurl.com/SDCZ60128G

I haven't used this particular incarnation of the Cruzer, but I still have
an 8Gb one I bought in early '08 and it's still going strong.
 
D

Damian

Jan 1, 1970
0
Pete said:
I'm looking for a good quality 128Gb USB stick.

Some of the smaller (ie 8gb, 32gb) sticks that I've purchased over the
last year or so have become faulty, or the connector (tin, held on with
solder) has become intermittent, so I'm not terribly impressed with the
general quality that's around.

So far, the sticks that use the circuit board for the USB connection
instead of a separate connector seem to be the hardiest, but I haven't
been able to find a 128Gb stick with this feature.

The stick doesn't need to be bullet-proof, or hermetically sealed, but it
will spend some time in my pocket and on my keyring.

Does anyone have any ideas? I'm in Melbourne if it matters.

Thanks, Peter

brands like Sandisk are relatively more reliable.
What kills them, is the time it's left plugged into the USB socket(do the
work and unplug). The heat apparently is on of the causes of USB stick early
death.
Always dismount before unplugging.
Never rely on windows guarantee that it can be pulled out without 'safe
disconnect'.
Other thing is that voltage spikes from motherboard also a killer. USB
sticks tend to die when the PC suddenly turn off or turn on while the stick
is already plugged in.
Cheaper ones are more prone to that kind of death.
Verbatim is another good brand.
Stay away from no name brands and funny name brands you've never heard of.
Stick with reputable brands, and it's worth few extra dollars.
 
S

SG1

Jan 1, 1970
0
Damian said:
brands like Sandisk are relatively more reliable.
What kills them, is the time it's left plugged into the USB socket(do the
work and unplug). The heat apparently is on of the causes of USB stick
early death.
Always dismount before unplugging.
Never rely on windows guarantee that it can be pulled out without 'safe
disconnect'.
Other thing is that voltage spikes from motherboard also a killer. USB
sticks tend to die when the PC suddenly turn off or turn on while the
stick is already plugged in.
Cheaper ones are more prone to that kind of death.
Verbatim is another good brand.

My Verbatim 8GB is the slowest drive I have, avoid at all costs.
 
D

Damian

Jan 1, 1970
0
SG1 said:
My Verbatim 8GB is the slowest drive I have, avoid at all costs.

Check your motherboard USB port of the hub. That may be the reason.
 
S

SG1

Jan 1, 1970
0
Damian said:
Check your motherboard USB port of the hub. That may be the reason.

It is slower than noname brands and Woolies homebrand on the same port. It
is shit.
 
D

Damian

Jan 1, 1970
0
SG1 said:
It is slower than noname brands and Woolies homebrand on the same port. It
is shit.

May have something to do with USB version?!
Mine are fine and have been going for years without dramas.
Noname crap has been dying on me for years.
Either way, they all are prone to sudden death.
 
R

Rod Speed

Jan 1, 1970
0
Check your motherboard USB port of the hub. That may be the reason.

Not when the other drives go at a decent speed.
 
D

Damian

Jan 1, 1970
0
Rod Speed said:
Nope, its due to the speed of the ram inside it.

Did you mean the tiny amount of RAM inside the microcontroller?!
 
D

Damian

Jan 1, 1970
0
Rod Speed said:
Nope, the ram on the USB stick.

I prefer to call them flash memory. It's somewhere between standard ROM and
RAM. It's fairly different type of chip from the ones used in computer RAM.
I think it's closer to ROM 'cos it's nonvolatile memory.
It's much slower than computer RAM.

Have you ever opened up a verbatim usb stick?
What brand chips do they use that makes them slower?!
 
S

SG1

Jan 1, 1970
0
Damian said:
I prefer to call them flash memory. It's somewhere between standard ROM
and RAM. It's fairly different type of chip from the ones used in
computer RAM.
I think it's closer to ROM 'cos it's nonvolatile memory.
It's much slower than computer RAM.
EPROM


Have you ever opened up a verbatim usb stick?
What brand chips do they use that makes them slower?!
 
R

Rod Speed

Jan 1, 1970
0
I prefer to call them flash memory.

They're both. And whatever you call it, it’s the speed of that that’s the
problem.
It's somewhere between standard ROM and RAM. It's fairly different type
of chip from the ones used in computer RAM. I think it's closer to ROM
'cos it's nonvolatile memory.
It's much slower than computer RAM.
Have you ever opened up a verbatim usb stick?

Nope, haven't had one fail.
What brand chips do they use that makes them slower?!

Should be on the net somewhere.
 
D

Damian

Jan 1, 1970
0
Rod Speed said:
They're both. And whatever you call it, it’s the speed of that that’s the
problem.

Yes. They are a hybrid of ROM and RAM. perhaps why they invented the name
flash.
Nope, haven't had one fail.

Exactly! That's why I like them. Even if it's bit slower, who cares?! if it
doesn't stuff up your data out of blue.
I opened up numerous ones icluding my very first more than ten years ago.
I've never been able to fix a single one. When they stuff up, it happens
inside the black box most of the time.
I believe it's the controller chip that shits itself, not the actual memory.
Somebody with sufficient soldering gear and experience can recover the data
with a new chip or some other bypass technique.
 
J

Jasen Betts

Jan 1, 1970
0
Yes. They are a hybrid of ROM and RAM. perhaps why they invented the name
flash.

they're not like ram, you cant rewrite random addresses.
the behviour is closest to EEPROM
 
D

Damian

Jan 1, 1970
0
Jasen Betts said:
they're not like ram, you cant rewrite random addresses.
the behviour is closest to EEPROM

Yes. we know. It's been already agreed above.
 
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