Micro drive or flash drive as USB memory stick???
Bookmark this page:
 Yahoo!
 Google
 Windows Live
 del.icio.us
 digg
 Netscape
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
Posted by Martin Larsen on June 28, 2006, 3:59 am
Please log in for more thread options The local store has a quite cheap Samsung 2 GB USB micro drive based "memory stick" (Pleomax UHD-2G) on sale. I know the disadvantages of using a micro drive unit instead of flash ram: bulkier, less robust, draws more power. But are there any *advantages* which I should take into consideration? Such as speed perhaps? Thanks in advance :-) Martin | ||||||||||||||||
|
Posted by Michael C on June 28, 2006, 4:33 am
Please log in for more thread options More than likely ebay will have a 2gb flash drive cheaper. >
> Martin > > | ||||||||||||||||
|
Posted by Martin Larsen on June 28, 2006, 7:09 am
Please log in for more thread options Michael C wrote:
>
> More than likely ebay will have a 2gb flash drive cheaper. Well, perhaps! But that wasn't my question :-) Thanks anyway... | ||||||||||||||||
|
Posted by Sjouke Burry on June 28, 2006, 6:17 pm
Please log in for more thread options Martin Larsen wrote:
> Michael C wrote:
> >>
>> More than likely ebay will have a 2gb flash drive cheaper. >
I have used an IBM microdrive with a
> > Well, perhaps! But that wasn't my question :-) > > Thanks anyway... MATCHBOX PC(google for info) ,and i found only one disadvantage, it does not tolerate continuous write very well. After about 20 minutes it quit(and recovered afterwards), and was hot enough to burn your fingers. The write was gps and navigation data twice per second(followed by flush command). Buffering instead,solved the heat problem. Be aware that flash memory takes only a limited number of write cycles,and when you use a FAT based disk i/o,the fat table will be the most abused part of the flash disk, and a microdrive might outperform the flash disk. Just watch temperature with a microdrive. | ||||||||||||||||
|
Posted by Paul on June 28, 2006, 7:31 am
Please log in for more thread options
> Hi,
> > The local store has a quite cheap Samsung 2 GB USB micro drive based > "memory stick" (Pleomax UHD-2G) on sale. > > I know the disadvantages of using a micro drive unit instead of flash > ram: bulkier, less robust, draws more power. > > But are there any *advantages* which I should take into consideration? > Such as speed perhaps? > > Thanks in advance :-) > > Martin On the Hitachi web site, a 1" Microdrive, 3600RPM, is rated for a 4.9 - 9.4MB/sec write rate. The 9.4MB/sec speed is at the beginning of the disk, the 4.9MB/sec is at the end of the disk. http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/micro/3k6.htm The Microdrive is subject to mechanical wear and tear, like any hard drive. It is fairly shock resistant as hard drives go (200G operating shock, 2000G non-operating shock). That particular one is rated for 300,000 load/unload cycles. If you can copy a set of files to the device without allowing the device to stop, that uses up 1 of 300,000 cycles. Ordinary hard drives have a 50,000 start/stop cycle rating, by comparison. Flash memory has its own set of issues. It has excellent shock resistance, since there are no moving parts. There is a limit to the number of times a location in memory can be programmed, so they do wear out. Some locations will get written more times than others (say the directory space of the flash). The flash probably has some sparing scheme for bad blocks, same with the microdrive. Psychologically, you would probably be more careful not to drop the microdrive, knowing it is mechanical. Whereas with the flash, it is a lot more likely to strike the floor at some point. Depending on the cheapness of construction, the flash might not be any more resistant to droppage, than the microdrive. Now, with all that being said, look at the results here. The microdrives are at the bottom of the list. And one microdrive was killed when dropped 2" to the desktop. The Seagate device that died, is rated for 200G/1500G shock. http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007-8197 It makes you stop and think. Paul | ||||||||||||||||
>
> The local store has a quite cheap Samsung 2 GB USB micro drive based
> "memory stick" (Pleomax UHD-2G) on sale.
>
> I know the disadvantages of using a micro drive unit instead of flash ram:
> bulkier, less robust, draws more power.
>
> But are there any *advantages* which I should take into consideration?
> Such as speed perhaps?
>
> Thanks in advance :-)