USB flash drive VS USB HDD drive

Discussion in 'hardware' started by m00nbl00d, Feb 2, 2012.

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  1. m00nbl00d

    m00nbl00d Registered Member

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    Considering "you" won't be needing 500GB (I actually couldn't find any store selling any external HDDs with lower capacities! o_O) any time soon, and probably won't be needing 32GB any time soon either, so the best pick would be two 16GBs over time or better, if cheaper by then, would you rather pay for a USB flash drive of 32GB (or even two of 16GB, because I actually found them cheaper than just one of 32GB) or would you rather pay a bit more and get say 500GB USB HDD?

    Please, do note that one is a flash storage and the other mechanical storage. I'm not an expert, but I believe data reliability is greater in flash drive storage, correct?

    What would be your pick?

    -edit-

    Just allow me to add that there would be a higher chance of needing the 32GB or so over time (way over time) than there would be for the 500GB.
     
  2. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    You did not mention anything about portability. Usb flash drives are extremely portable, while regular usb portable drives are portable to some extent, but they are still a lot bigger than a flash drive.

    If you do not mind the extra size of a portable usb drive then I would go with the usb drive, as it will give you an excellent data transfer rate around 24-27 MB/s. Most usb flash drives can not write faster than 15 MB/s.
     
  3. BrandiCandi

    BrandiCandi Guest

    What are you going to do with it? If it were me the planned use would inform my decision.
     
  4. J_L

    J_L Registered Member

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    Why do you think that?

    I'd go for the relatively cheaper one (space/price ratio), unless portability is needed.
     
  5. Noob

    Noob Registered Member

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    I'd go for the HDD.
    Lots more space for less, portability is good enough IMO, fast enough and last but not least, i still feel HDD are more reliable than USB Sticks (Although that might not be true) :D
     
  6. jonyjoe81

    jonyjoe81 Registered Member

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    Ive had 2 kingston 16gb usb pendrives go bad on me, so I stop buying anything bigger then 8gb, My 500gb usb external drive has been running great for 2 years. Maybe just bad luck on my part but I question there reliability now.
     
  7. m00nbl00d

    m00nbl00d Registered Member

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    I forgot about this thread. :D

    I'll try to answer your questions.

    @ Raza0007

    Portability is always important. Even if one has no need at the moment, we may always need to take it with us, right? :)

    @ J_L

    I don't think that USB flash drives last longer. It was more of a doubt; but, let's not forget that HDDs have moving parts in them and the slightest impact or physical damage could damage data. Again, I'm not an expert in USB flash drives, but I don't think they're as delicate as HDDs are in that regard.

    @ BrandiCandi

    Well, the plan is to store data; whatever data it may be. But, as I mentioned in my first post, over time - say within a year - it wouldn't be that much data that would require me to get a 500GB external HDD.

    I wouldn't mind getting a 250GB external hard disk; the problem is I can't find any. No store sells anything less than 500GB. :(

    Not to mention the price. 2,5" external HDDs are simply way too expensive. I'd be giving away too much money at once for 500GB. And, 3.5" HDDs will need a power adapter that I'd have to carry around, if I face the need of carrying the storage device with me somewhere else.

    These are all tough questions, indeed. If I could find a 250GB external 2,5" HDD, I'd go for it... Unfortunately, I'm unable to find one. o_O

    250GB would be reasonable, and would probably be more than enough after a few years. :argh:

    I've been considering the possibility of a 250GB internal hdd with an external enclosure, but it would be even more expensive than one of 500GB. Not that much more expensive, nonetheless more expensive. :ouch:

    I'll try and see if I can find more reasonable prices. :doubt:
     
  8. act8192

    act8192 Registered Member

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    Take a look here, there are few smaller that 500
    http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=1277
     
  9. m00nbl00d

    m00nbl00d Registered Member

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    Thanks. :thumb: I also found lower capacity external HDDs on Pixmania. Finally. :D

    I'd also like to ask what you folks think of the following.

    Right now, I'm using a laptop (it has a few years now), which only accepts IDE 2,5" HDDs. It has a 60GB IDE HDD.

    I've been wanting to upgrade this laptop for some time. I've been looking around and IDE HDDs are simply too expensive; specially the 2,5", since these are always more expensive than the 3,5".

    My approach would be to buy a Seagate Momentus XT 250GB, which is a SATA HDD. I'd get an IDE to SATA adapter + one of those enclosures to fit 25" in 3.5" (they're really cheap), so that I can have an external support for the Momentus XT; then, I simply connect the SATA cable to the Momentus XT and to the IDE to SATA adaptor.

    So, the Momentus XT would reside outside of the laptop, while still being an internal HDD. I don't take the laptop anywhere, ever.

    The reason for the Momentus XT to reside outside of the laptop, has simply to do with the fact that the HDD+adapter wouldn't fit in the laptop's enclosure.

    I'd then keep the 80GB IDE as an external HDD and get a cheap IDE to USB2.0 adapter.

    What do you think? Would the Seagate Momentus XT be the wrong choice? -http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/laptops/laptop-hdd

    Either way, when I upgrade the laptop, I'll be getting a Sata HDD because IDE are way too expensive, compared to the SATA+adapter. :argh:
     
  10. wtsinnc

    wtsinnc Registered Member

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    I use both so my choice would be dictated by the purpose.
    I lean toward the HDD because at some future point in time I'll use the full capacity, or close to it.
     
  11. BrandiCandi

    BrandiCandi Guest

    I've got a seagate & it's my favorite computer. (But that also may be because I built that one.) Myself I'm partial to frankenstein-type machines like you're building.

    If you're not going to take the laptop anywhere, then I don't see why you couldn't have the hard drive external. I travel with mine (and I'm something of a clutz) so I want mine internal.
     
  12. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    I agree. And most of my flash drives are slower than 15 MB/sec. I bought a 16 GB Sandisk last year that writes at 3 MB/sec but reads at 31 MB/sec.
     
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