USB thumb drive performance

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bigal_nz

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#143674 23-Apr-2014 13:34

Hi guys,

My thumb drive just isn't performing as well as it should be.

Its a Sandisk 32Gb USB 3.0 Thumb drive on a USB 2.0 port of a PC - which has a theoretical top speed of 60MB/s (I think).

The computer itself has a Intel SSD which shows a read performance of about 160MB/s (tested with HD Tune)

The Thumb drive has a write performance (tested again in HD tune) of about 30MB/s - but when I actually copy a file I am lucky to get 8MB/s.

Surely I should be getting something more up in the 20-30 mark, but why not?

What do other people get (sustained) on USB 2 thumb drives?

-Al

freitasm

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#1029787 23-Apr-2014 14:07

USB drives vary dramatically, and even those "USB 3.0" ones can have problems. I've a Kingston here that's superb, while a Sony supposedly USB 3.0 memory key is terrible. I've posted results here so you can have an idea by looking at four or five different drives.

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Sideface

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#1029798 23-Apr-2014 14:19

USB3 port to USB2 stick: 10 MB/sec
USB3 port to USB3 stick: 18.5 MB/sec
[tested with one 1.5GB file]

EDIT These are write speeds - read speeds are more than double these speeds

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#1029801 23-Apr-2014 14:20

I will post the images here. Basically you pay more you get more:

Kingston USB3:

Sony USB3:

HP USB2:

No brand USB 2:

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bigal_nz

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#1029810 23-Apr-2014 14:33

Funny thing is that I thought Sandisk *was* a good brand?!?!? After all the make memory chips!

I see that even with your Kingston USB2 performance is similar.

eluSiveNZ

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#1029814 23-Apr-2014 14:35

I had a similar issue with a USB Hard drive - really slow transfer speeds. Which was fixed with the below.
Are you using Windows 8.1?

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/usbcoreblog/archive/2013/11/01/help-after-installing-windows-8-1-my-usb-drive-disappears-or-file-transfers-stop-unexpectedly-r-a-post-title.aspx

freitasm

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#1029849 23-Apr-2014 15:32

bigal_nz:
Funny thing is that I thought Sandisk *was* a good brand?!?!? After all the make memory chips!

I see that even with your Kingston USB2 performance is similar.

???

It's a Kingston USB3, and you can see the write speeds is way more than your SanDisk. The Sony is the one with a "funny" write speed.

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bigal_nz

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#1029974 23-Apr-2014 17:54

freitasm:
bigal_nz:
Funny thing is that I thought Sandisk *was* a good brand?!?!? After all the make memory chips!

I see that even with your Kingston USB2 performance is similar.

???

It's a Kingston USB3, and you can see the write speeds is way more than your SanDisk. The Sony is the one with a "funny" write speed.

I was replying to your comment "you pay more you get more" and that the USB stick I originally referred to in the OP is a Sandisk. With regard to you may more you get more - I thought I got more when I brought Sandisk!

-Al

johnr

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#1029979 23-Apr-2014 18:08

I'm getting a Kingston USB 3.0 thumb drive after reading the blog by freitasm unless he wants to sell me his one cheap :P

johnr

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#1030000 23-Apr-2014 18:19

bigal_nz:
freitasm:
bigal_nz:
Funny thing is that I thought Sandisk *was* a good brand?!?!? After all the make memory chips!

I see that even with your Kingston USB2 performance is similar.

???

It's a Kingston USB3, and you can see the write speeds is way more than your SanDisk. The Sony is the one with a "funny" write speed.

I was replying to your comment "you pay more you get more" and that the USB stick I originally referred to in the OP is a Sandisk. With regard to you may more you get more - I thought I got more when I brought Sandisk!

-Al

Have you checked it's not a fake?

nathan

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#1030019 23-Apr-2014 18:47

eluSiveNZ: I had a similar issue with a USB Hard drive - really slow transfer speeds. Which was fixed with the below.
Are you using Windows 8.1?

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/usbcoreblog/archive/2013/11/01/help-after-installing-windows-8-1-my-usb-drive-disappears-or-file-transfers-stop-unexpectedly-r-a-post-title.aspx

this fix is now rolled out thru Windows Update BTW