GetUSB.info Logo

Is it worth buying a USB 3.1 Flash Drive?

Is it worth buying a USB 3.1 USB flash drive?

The tech industry, tech nerds and tech blogs will definitely say that buying a USB 3.1 flash drive is worth it. After all, these blogs need something new to write about and new links to generate for affiliate advertising, but are these blogs reporting back valuable information before someone spends their hard earned cash?

Let us compare the write speed difference between a USB 3.1 flash drive and a USB 3.0 flash drive to see what information we can uncover.

Universal Serial Bus (USB) has different transfer speeds based on the version of technology, we did a write about that earlier. The USB 3.1 specification has a transfer rate which taps out at 1,250 MB/second (Megabytes per second). The USB 3.0 specification has a transfer rate which taps out at 625MB/second. Of course this is the theoretical maximum transfer speed. When anyone says “theoretical transfer speed” they are implicating all conditions are ideal. For example, the host computer has the horsepower and bandwidth to push that much data and the receiving device (in this case, flash drive) has equal throughput to receive that data. But is that the real world – is it worth buying a USB 3.1 USB flash drive?

Below are some images and here is the general order of what you will be reading:

  • Screen shots of the USB device type (USB 3.0 and USB 3.1)
  • Screen shots of benchmark software testing both USB technologies
  • Screen shots of a real-world copy jobs using a Windows computer

From the screen shots below you can see a USB 3.0 flash drive and USB 3.1 flash drive. Both flash drives use an SMI controller for the USB 3.0 and 3.1 technology. These are the same high quality and higher performance controllers seen in iPhones and NAND memory used from Micron Technology. The NAND memory type is MLC (multi-layer cell memory) is slower than SLC NAND memory (single layer cell). Note: USB flash drives do not use SLC memory because the NAND memory price is too expensive and the SLC supply is very small. Flash drives are produced at mass scale and meant to be a low cost data transfer and storage tools – speed is not the #1 priority, despit all the marketing we read online.

USB 3.0 flash drive specifications

USB 3.1 flash drive specifications

Here are benchmark speed tests for both USB devices in discussion today.

The program has two test settings for benchmarking a speed test. One test setting is for the theoretical maximum speed of the device and writes data directly to memory without accounting for operating system and device overhead for were the data is stored. Think of this as a random write test to any available sector on the flash drive.

The second test setting is a write sequence which includes the operating system and device overhead cache for placing files in the file allocation table. This means extra time is spend during the data transfer to log where each sector is written along with the calculation required to write the next bit of data. This second test setting is more like a real-world experience.

Speed benchmark software is designed to provide a relatively quick summary of the device capability. So the first test setting is designed to show the theoretical maximum write speed or “burst” write speed. The second test setting is designed to show a more “sustained” write speed. Any benchmark software is designed to provide a quick and easy snap-shot of what the device can do – but can the device do it?

Readers can download the USB Scrub software for speed benchmarking their flash drives. The software is 100% free, no installation or sign-ups, and includes other cool features like registry cleaning and making image files of flash drives. USB Scrub download link
Continue Reading

IronKey USB Flash Drive – Hacks – $235M of BitCoin

IronKey is the bell-weather for encrypted flash drives. The company, owned by Kingston Digital, a Southern California based private company, uses hardware encryption chips with their USB flash drives which provide the highest level of security known to mass storage devices.

GetUSB.info came across an amazing story by Wired Magazine about how one of the authors at Wired sent an IronKey to a hacking company called Unciphered in Seattle Washington to see if they could access the drive. The did.

This is not an easy task to accomplish. IronKey uses encryption to safeguard important data with FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certified, FIPS 197 certified and XTS-AES 256-bit encryption. The solution allows for 10 tries before the USB controller wipes the device clean of any data. So there is a big risk-reward for using the device and losing the password to the device.

However, Unciphered developed a method to allow more attempts than just 10. It is not entirely clear how many attempts Unciphered is able to apply, but it’s more than 10.

Why is this significant, other than the fact IronKey may now have a security issue on their hands? It is well known in early 2021, a report of just over 7,000 Bitcoin were stranded in an IronKey flash drive due to a forgotten password. The owner, Programmer Stefan Thomas, did not utilize the Enterprise Management Service for password recovery. The 7000 bitcoin is currently (as of Oct 2023) worth over $235 million dollars.

To give Wired Magazine their due credit, read the full story by Andy Greenberg.

Continue Reading

Flash Drive Label – For Professionals and Businesses

Sticky labels are not a professional solution to label flash drives. Today we look at an alternative for labeling a flash drive which suits the demands of a business and/or professional.

There is a clear difference between labeling your flash drive because of personal use and the need to label a flash drive which is sold, shipped or mailed to a paying customer.

A common method to label a flash drive is with a sticky label applied to the outside of the flash drive, or a paper merchandise tag with some notes about the contents hanging from the lanyard loop. Albeit a good method for a personal flash drive, not the most professional or durable flash drive label tag when sold as a commercial product.

It is a common requirement from a company to include more information about the contents of a flash drive than what the space of a sticky label or tag will allow. In addition, the durability of said label should withstand environmental conditions which surpass the limits of a merchandise tag. Examples include:

  • Detailed instructions for how the flash drive should be used
  • Software or firmware version information (longer than sticky label space)
  • Medical compliance information about the contents
  • Audit tracking of ownership / possession (longer than sticky label space)

From the examples above, the question becomes:

What flash drive label can be used which is professional looking while having the durability and space needed to print the information required?

The best flash drive label we have found is the plastic credit card sized label offered by Nexcopy.

The CC USB Label is a white PVC plastic product which is 85mm wide by 54mm tall and 0.75mm thick with a total weight of 4 grams. The CC USB Label is printable on both sides and includes a lanyard for connecting to a USB flash drive.

The CC USB Label accepts full color print and with a white background, each color is vibrant and great contrast for users to easily read the printed information. Using an eco-solvent printer, the ink is permanent and water proof. The information printed will last in various weather conditions and environmental conditions.

Nexcopy offers their eco-solvent LOGO-EZ printer for in-house production. Nexcopy also offers print services for those not wanting to invest in a flatbed eco-solvent printer.

The credit card size and the light weight of the card make it a perfect complement as a flash drive label. With double sided print capability, a company has a great deal of space to print the information required for their product.

From the image below, one can see the flash drive label is ideal for printed bar codes for scanning during product fulfillment, shipping and receiving. Printing a more precise image like a QR code could improve user experience, such as streamlining a product registration process or direct landing page for a how-to video for product instruction.

flash drive label

The plastic PVC material is ideal for printing color logos and highlighting specific information. Having the flexibility for color print lends itself to emphasizing certain bits of information the manufacturer wants the end-user to notice.

In addition, the CC USB Label allows custom branding to match the requirements from the marketing department to ensure branding compliance is matched – getting stuck with black only printed sticky labels or merchandise tags decrease the overall perceived value of the product and could fall out of compliance of a company’s marketing guidelines.

Although some of this information sounds overkill for a flash drive label, keep in mind this solution is designed for a business or professional who might be required to provide very detailed labels for the product in which the flash drive is associated with.

Continue Reading

Kingston Road Map for USB 3.0

Kingston LogoThe Intel based standard for USB 3.0 was announced nearly 2 years ago and since then, products have slowly trickled in to the market place. Of course there is a cycle to progress…you can’t get peripherals until you have controllers [main stream now] and once you get controllers you expand out to peripherals. That being said, Kingston, one of the largest memory manufacturers on earth, has launched a fairly detailed road map for USB 3.0 products. Kingston was amongst the first to announce USB 3.0 flash drives into retail under the DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0 drive and HyperX MAX 3.0 external USB hard drive – both launched earlier in 2010. And now, as the first product on their roadmap for the year, have introduced the DataTraveler HyperX 3.0, which will serve as their flagship model and be part of the HyperXperience product line, a family of high-performance Kingston Flash products that will include SSDs, USBs and flash memory cards. Kingston made the announcement at CES but doesn’t expect to release the less expesnive USB 3.0 flash drives until Q2, 2011 under the DataTraveller DTU30 brand and will include capacities ranging from 16GB to 64GB. Continue Reading

Do You Really Need 64GB USB Drives?

I can honestly say, today, no I don’t.  But that doesn’t mean you don’t.  Today we found the Kingston 64GB drive on sale for $147.  That’s about $72 off the regular price.

64GB drive

The company line: Kingston’s new DataTraveler® 200 USB Flash drive is ideal for storing and transferring digital images and presentations and transporting all kinds of data. With capacities up to 128GB, the DataTraveler 200 features password protection via Password Traveler software, which allows you to create and access a password-protected, secure area of the drive called a “Privacy Zone.” DataTraveler 200 is ideal for those who need significant storage capacity and data protection in a sleek, durable design. With a capless design and enhanced with Windows ReadyBoostâ„¢,** the DataTraveler 200 is perfect for home or business. DataTraveler 200 is backed by legendary Kingston® reliability plus a five-year warranty and 24/7 tech support. Grab the GetUSB Dealz now. Continue Reading

GetUSB Dealz: 32GB Flash Drive Only $59

Wouldn’t it be nice to get 1GB of data storage for $1 on flash drives?  We are not there yet but getting close.  We are about $2 per GB for this 32GB Kingston DataTraveler.

c10 flash drive

It doesn’t come with the lifetime warranty we typically see, only a 5 year one…but chances are you’ll lose it before then anyway. The c10 drive comes in four colors [Red, Yellow, Blue, Green] and has a full cap design to protect the entire stick.  No word on performance, but the typical flash drive has a write speed of 5.5MB/s and a read speed of 15 MB/s, again not official just our experience speaking here. Just 5 years ago I had a laptop with a 40GB hard drive, now we have flash drives just about as big and much less expensive.  This deal is for a limited time at buy.com and has a normal price of $90. Continue Reading

Kingston With Secure Flash Drive Issues

It’s been all over the blogs the last couple of days regarding Kingston and their security issues.  They have been tight lipped about exactly what makes the device vulnerable and with specific information it’s hard to gauge just how hard it would be for someone to crack it.

Kingston secure flash drive

I don’t think the typical user who keeps their personal information secure with this drive [in the event it’s lost] has much to worry about, but the government has purchased plenty of units and that’s clearly a concern.  The list of drives include Data Traveler BlackBox, the Data Traveler Secure – Privacy Edition, and the Data Traveler Elite – Privacy Edition.  Again, a typical computer user probably doesn’t have the tools or skills to unlock the device, but a professional would. My guess is the IC controller chip which runs the AES 256 encryption is at fault here and someone has figured out how to hack the machine code and disable the encryption, but that’s just my educated guess being in the industry. PC World did a good write up about the statement and interesting perspective on the whole situation. Continue Reading

GetUSB Dealz: Kingston 4GB DataTraveler Only $10

Buy.com has a very good special going right now.  The Kingston 4GB DataTraveler for only $10.  What’s even better – buy in bulk as your limit is 100 units.  Shipping is also free within the US.

Kingston DataTraveler

Sleek, practical, and attractively designed, the affordable DataTraveler 120 serves the needs of the budget conscious user as well as those looking for significant storage capacity in a lightweight, compact design. DataTraveler 120 features a retractable USB connector for ease of use and safe housing and is available in 4GB (lime green), 8GB (orange), 16GB (light blue), and 32GB (gray). DataTraveler 120 is available for co-logo. Backed by a five-year warranty, 24/7 tech support and legendary Kingston® reliability, DataTraveler 120 is a reliable, inexpensive solution for carrying digital files with you wherever your travels may take you. Grab your GetUSB Dealz now! Continue Reading

How Is A USB Stick Made – Video Of Kingston Factory

Do you wonder if a USB stick will drop below $2? I don’t think it ever will, and for several reasons. First, the bare cost of the Flash, Controller and case will keep the price much higher than it’s predecessor [CD/DVD] but also consider the millions of dollars needed in equipment just to make these things in bulk. So let’s find out how a USB stick is made…here is a behind-the-scenes video of the Kingston USB flash memory plant. With step-by-step video it’s an amazing process. Note: The narration is nothing close to an award winning voice over. Source: Engadget. Continue Reading

World’s Largest USB Stick: Kingston 128GB DataTraveler

The last time GetUSB.info did a post about the largest USB stick it was for the 64GB Transcend flash drive.  That little guy retailed at near $200, but that was also back in September of 2008. Two days ago, Kingston released their 128GB USB flash drive.  The Kingstong DataTraveler 200 is “now” the largest USB stick in the market.  128GBs.

largest USB stick

This guy retails for $546.  That is a very expensive drive when you compare it to the Western Digital Passports where Terabytes are under $300…but you can’t put a price tag on portability.  Or can you? There are no special features nor auto-backup software included in the bundle, just a simple drive with a ginormous capacity, a sliding cap, and password utility for extra security. Strangely enough, Kingston will only sell the 128GB version as a made to order process.  Go figure. Continue Reading

Windows Readyboost Blows

I’m just a blogger; have written about Readyboost; but never investigated it’s performance. I found an article today from PC World who took a closer look. Basically, it blows. “What is Readyboost you ask?” well it’s a feature of Vista that allows flash memory (like USB Sticks) to be used as additional RAM to boost PC performance.
vista readyboost benchmark
PC World took that claim and put it to the bench. First off, Microsoft indicates that only the best performing flash drives should be used, (3.5MBs per/sec reads and 2.5MBs per/sec writes) so although some web sites claim “use any extra flash drive for Readyboost,” that claim is a bunch of BS. Using the best performing drives from Kingston, Lexar and Ridata it was concluded the Readyboost did improve performance, but only by 4 to 6%. So unless you had a stop watch – BFD!  My Vista upgrade is going to wait. Continue Reading

Copyright © 2006 +

USB Powered Gadgets and more...

All Rights Reserved

GetUSB Advertising

This is a high value website providing great exposure to your product and brand. Visit our advertising page to learn specifics.

For more information
Visit our advertising page.

Nexcopy Provides

USB copy protection with digital rights management for data loaded on USB flash drives.

Contact us learn more