USB Flash Drive Roundup - 10/2005
by Anand Lal Shimpi on October 4, 2005 11:28 AM EST- Posted in
- Memory
What about NTFS?
By default, Windows XP disables write caching on all USB flash drives, and most of these drives will only allow you to format them as FAT16 or FAT32 with write caching disabled. The benefit of disabling write caching is that you can remove the USB drive as soon as it is done reading/writing, without having to go through Windows' safe removal process - you just simply unplug the drive.
Enabling write caching will let you format the drive as a NTFS partition, but it will also force you to go through the safe removal process before unplugging the drive. There is no performance benefit to enabling write caching under Windows XP on these drives.
If you are willing to deal with the added pain of having to click to stop the USB flash device before unplugging it, formatting one of these drives using NTFS will yield a huge performance increase when dealing with very small file sizes.
In Sandra's 512-byte test, performance generally improves anywhere from 2x - 6x over FAT16. However, the performance advantage isn't nearly as constant as FAT16 over FAT32, as you end up dropping performance with larger file sizes.
Many have cited that NTFS' journaling will increase wear on flash memory, which has a limited number of write cycles before it can no longer be used, but given that that limit is generally about 1,000,000 erase/write cycles, simply using NTFS is not going to make a huge dent in the life span of these drives. You will more than likely upgrade to a larger drive by the time you hit that limit.
In any case, the benefits of NTFS, for the most part, are outweighed by the downsides - so our recommendation continues to be to stick with FAT16 if you can. Otherwise, go with FAT32 and keep write caching disabled under Windows XP.
We mentioned that almost all drives require you to enable write caching under Windows XP in order to allow you to format them using NTFS. There was one exception to that rule in our testing. For whatever reason, the Lexar JumpDrive Lightning would let you format it as a FAT16, FAT32 or NTFS drive with write caching disabled under Windows XP.
By default, Windows XP disables write caching on all USB flash drives, and most of these drives will only allow you to format them as FAT16 or FAT32 with write caching disabled. The benefit of disabling write caching is that you can remove the USB drive as soon as it is done reading/writing, without having to go through Windows' safe removal process - you just simply unplug the drive.
Enabling write caching will let you format the drive as a NTFS partition, but it will also force you to go through the safe removal process before unplugging the drive. There is no performance benefit to enabling write caching under Windows XP on these drives.
If you are willing to deal with the added pain of having to click to stop the USB flash device before unplugging it, formatting one of these drives using NTFS will yield a huge performance increase when dealing with very small file sizes.
In Sandra's 512-byte test, performance generally improves anywhere from 2x - 6x over FAT16. However, the performance advantage isn't nearly as constant as FAT16 over FAT32, as you end up dropping performance with larger file sizes.
Many have cited that NTFS' journaling will increase wear on flash memory, which has a limited number of write cycles before it can no longer be used, but given that that limit is generally about 1,000,000 erase/write cycles, simply using NTFS is not going to make a huge dent in the life span of these drives. You will more than likely upgrade to a larger drive by the time you hit that limit.
In any case, the benefits of NTFS, for the most part, are outweighed by the downsides - so our recommendation continues to be to stick with FAT16 if you can. Otherwise, go with FAT32 and keep write caching disabled under Windows XP.
We mentioned that almost all drives require you to enable write caching under Windows XP in order to allow you to format them using NTFS. There was one exception to that rule in our testing. For whatever reason, the Lexar JumpDrive Lightning would let you format it as a FAT16, FAT32 or NTFS drive with write caching disabled under Windows XP.
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sxr7171 - Tuesday, October 4, 2005 - link
Time to get a Lexar JumpDrive lightning. This may not be important to a lot of people, but a USB drive IMHO needs to have a loop for a keyring. It is the most convenient way to carry the thing and always have it with you no matter what. I guess this applies more to people living in the city and not needing a car and the big bulky car keys/remote that come with that.TheInvincibleMustard - Tuesday, October 4, 2005 - link
Speaking of, is there some reason the Lexar isn't on the RTPE? I mean, it did just win an Editor's Choice and all, so you'd hope it would be one of the drives listed in the newly-announced Flash Storage section ... :(-TIM
Pete84 - Tuesday, October 4, 2005 - link
Bummer, OCZ's dual channel USB stick didn't get in.jkostans - Tuesday, October 4, 2005 - link
Someone didn't read the article......SpaceRanger - Tuesday, October 4, 2005 - link
Are USB drives able to be made Bootable?? I know that systems can recognize USB Floppy Drives, and boot from those, but I was wondering if you could take a USB Flash Drive and make it a bootable device.Phantronius - Tuesday, October 4, 2005 - link
depending on the flash drive and the motherboard BIOS, yes you can do it.Phantronius - Tuesday, October 4, 2005 - link
1st!!!I love my OEM made from some pretty lady in china USB 2.0 stick, its saved my ass so many times for my work, especially in data reterival and spyware removal.
Souka - Tuesday, October 4, 2005 - link
I've had the Memina Rocket for a couple months now....before they even announced it (thanks to NewEgg)....write spead defintly kinda bite with small files especially, but usually I put drivers and stuff there once, then read mutliple times....so its a good match for me.PQI's I got over a year ago, and completely made everyone jealous.... for once, mem were bragging theirs is smaller than someone else's. :D
I still use a SanDisk Titanium.....only a 512mb module, but still works well.
Souka - Wednesday, October 5, 2005 - link
oopsss...typomeant to say...
PQI's I got over a year ago for my office, and completely made everyone jealous.... for once, men were bragging theirs was smaller!! :D