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View Full Version : Advise in purchasing 16 GB USB Flash Drive



Brian Deakin
03-22-2014, 6:17 PM
Can anyone please advise on how to choose a 16 GB USB Flash Drive and suggest a product to buy



regards Brian

Raymond Fries
03-22-2014, 6:24 PM
I have always been happy with Sandisk but I believe any major brand is a good choice.

Bruce Page
03-22-2014, 6:25 PM
If I'm understanding your question correctly, I'd just go with a name brand like SanDisk for $10 or $12.

Art Mann
03-22-2014, 8:42 PM
I always buy the very cheapest ones I can find and they work perfectly until I lose them.

Myk Rian
03-22-2014, 9:47 PM
The cheap ones (Ebay) often don't use all available storage space. Get a name brand at a store. It's returnable easily.

Bryan Rocker
03-23-2014, 1:31 AM
I have seen some on those size at Sam's recently fairly cheap. I would also give New Egg a try. I have bought from them numerous times no issues and amazon as well....

Chuck Wintle
03-23-2014, 7:21 AM
Sandisk is a good brand.

Moses Yoder
03-23-2014, 9:08 AM
To avoid losing my flash drives I keep them in this case. One stays plugged into my car stereo for music. Just a thought. Most have been given to me, various brands, none have failed. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009Y7AW8/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Curt Harms
03-23-2014, 9:32 AM
If you have a Best Buy nearby, they tend to have Toshiba flash drives for very good prices. Toshiba was one of the pioneers of flash memory and own their own fabrication facilities. If you want USB 3, it may be hard to find that in a store. I don't have a USB capable device right now but have bought some USB 3 drives from MicroCenter, they only cost about $1/device more than USB 2 and they should be significantly faster when plugged into a USB 3 capable machine. USB 3 is about 10 times faster than USB 2, theoretical maximums.

Scott Shepherd
03-23-2014, 11:18 AM
Those things are also on sale every weekend at all the office supply places. You can get all the name brands from one place or another. Staples, Office Max, Etc. They go on sale VERY cheap compared to their normal pricing.

Dan Hintz
03-23-2014, 11:39 AM
http://www.amazon.com/PNY-Attache-Flash-Drive-P-FD16GATT03-GE/dp/B003SGQQQU
$10, and if you have Prime, shipping is free

Brian Deakin
03-23-2014, 12:41 PM
A huge thank you to everyone for taking the time to post

The PNY Attache III 16 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive P-FD16GATT03-GE (Black)
suggested by Dan is the front runner

I woud like see other members suggestions

regards Brian

Jerome Stanek
03-23-2014, 1:35 PM
best buy PNY $8.99

Brian Elfert
03-23-2014, 2:31 PM
I wouldn't agonize too much over a $15 purchase like this. Just grab a brand name one and move on with life. If the files are critical and you can't lose them buy two and copy the files onto both for redundancy.

Jim O'Dell
03-23-2014, 4:51 PM
I've been happy with the 2 HP drives I've purchased. My 8G was from Staples, and the 32G for my wife was from Amazon. Jim.

Curt Harms
03-24-2014, 7:55 AM
Anyone who wants to get a little obsessive could read this. Of course they're not $8-$10.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/usb-3.0-thumb-drive-review,3477-7.html

Phil Thien
03-24-2014, 10:49 AM
If you have a Best Buy nearby, they tend to have Toshiba flash drives for very good prices. Toshiba was one of the pioneers of flash memory and own their own fabrication facilities. If you want USB 3, it may be hard to find that in a store. I don't have a USB capable device right now but have bought some USB 3 drives from MicroCenter, they only cost about $1/device more than USB 2 and they should be significantly faster when plugged into a USB 3 capable machine. USB 3 is about 10 times faster than USB 2, theoretical maximums.

The bottleneck for the most part has been the flash chips themselves, especially writing. There are some USB 2.0 drives which approach (match?) the speeds of USB 3.0 drives because they used faster flash chips.

Larry Browning
03-24-2014, 1:18 PM
A huge thank you to everyone for taking the time to post

The PNY Attache III 16 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive P-FD16GATT03-GE (Black)


suggested by Dan is the front runner

I woud like see other members suggestions

regards Brian

Just curious, What are you going to using this for? Is it one that you will be carrying around with you in you pocket? Are you going to keep it installed in you car stereo? Maybe you will be using it as extended memory on you computer? Are you looking for something cheap to use once in a while to transfer photos to you friends computer, or are you going to be using it everyday? I have one I carry in my pocket, the case is metal and very durable, I have a bunch of portable apps on it so it has a lot of security features on it so that if loose it nobody can access the stuff on it. I have another that I keep plugged into my car usb port with nothing but music on it. One is quite a bit more expensive than the other. It really does make a difference in what you are going to use it for and what your motive is for your purchase.

Larry Browning
03-24-2014, 1:40 PM
Anyone who wants to get a little obsessive could read this. Of course they're not $8-$10.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/usb-3.0-thumb-drive-review,3477-7.html

That's a great article! Thanks for sharing!

Curt Harms
03-25-2014, 9:00 AM
The bottleneck for the most part has been the flash chips themselves, especially writing. There are some USB 2.0 drives which approach (match?) the speeds of USB 3.0 drives because they used faster flash chips.

Right. It seems another consideration is the controller chip. I recall reading - don't recall where - that the Sandisk Extreme flash drives use the same controller as some of the Sandisk SSDs.

Myk Rian
03-25-2014, 10:44 AM
What I like are the Iogear card readers. I keep a Micro SD card in it, and can also put a regular SD in it.
Nice for everything.
http://www.amazon.com/IOGEAR-MicroSD-Reader-Writer-GFR204SD/dp/B0046TJG1U
285621

Larry Browning
03-25-2014, 12:23 PM
What I like are the Iogear card readers. I keep a Micro SD card in it, and can also put a regular SD in it.
Nice for everything.
http://www.amazon.com/IOGEAR-MicroSD-Reader-Writer-GFR204SD/dp/B0046TJG1U
285621

Wow, that's pretty cool! Looks like there is a USB 3 version too:
http://www.amazon.com/Transcend-Information-Card-Reader-TS-RDF5K/dp/B009D79VH4/ref=pd_cp_e_0

Dave Verstraete
03-26-2014, 7:05 AM
They are not the cheapest but I like a flash drive that I can put on my key chain. PNY Half-Hinged. I tend to lose the other ones.

Chuck Stewart
03-26-2014, 2:07 PM
I recently needed a flash drive to put the portable version of Calibre to manage ebooks. tried a USB 2.0 drive but felt it was too slow bringing up the books, especially using the cover view mode. Bought the Sandisk extreme USB 3.0 and using the usb 3 port on PC it made all the difference. It was the SDCZ80-016G-A75