So it sounds like the answer here is that because no one has ever heard of them, they must be crap. They are featured on Amazon and Temu, with good reviews, if you believe them. I don't.
Uh, no. Crucial, Samsung 500GB are $35. These are $20.
Anyone have any impressions about these? They are cheap, about half the price of SSD drives from reputable makers. I DO NOT CARE about speed. They would be used for backups only. So the issue is reliability and lifetime, and maybe shock resistance. Online ratings are pretty good, if you believe...
I know people who routinely use unpowered USB sticks for long-term storage. You're saying that's not smart? Ten years is supposed to be the standard retention time for non-volatile memory.
Ha ha. Temu is advertising these for $15-20 (500GB-1TB) Again, for backups, speed is NOT an issue. For this application "performance" isn't speed. It's about reliability. But yes, a cheap-ass, knock-off, spywarez-ridden crap from over yonder probably isn't smart, though that's a different issue...
In looking at SSD drives for backups, I'm stunned to see QLC drives being sold (Chinese vendors, mainly) for ridiculously low prices. Maybe a third or a quarter that for TLC drives, which are becoming the industry standard. Now, I understand that QLC can be slow for reading, but for backup...
But there isn't any real evidence that they ought to be. This is a bit awkward, no?
Yes, when people ask hard questions, they can be accused of trolling. What I want to do is what will work best for me. But no one here seems to be able to offer any real evidence to justify a decision.
This is a pretty funny thread. Everyone KNOWS that flash drives are unreliable, but no one can point to a real series of credible tests that show that. I have an open mind about it (which is why I'm here asking), but all I'm hearing here is rumor, innuendo, and personal failures. I know of an...
So I asked Western Digital support. Here's what they said.
We would like to inform you that an SSD is a great choice if you're all about speed. SSDs have comparable storage space to a USB flash drive. This makes them an excellent choice for storing operating systems and software. The durability...
Um, looking at reviews that are obviously not for this product? Why are we doing that? Again, let's see some real testing in order to come to some believable conclusions.
Duh? But what if they were good and were cheap. Oh, that's why when I get a car for reliable transportaton I simply must get a Porche or a Tesla? Who knew?
And that is very sad. Again, there is an obvious fiscal advantage in using flash drives (if speed isn't an issue). If flash drives are truly unreliable for some reason, the hard proof doesn't seem to be out there. I only hear complaints from individuals.
Backing up with several different thumb drives seems like something that all data might be worth. But really, what I'm after here are FACTS about drive reliability. The criticisms of flash drives that I hear are largely off-the-cuff and evidence-free. Not to say those criticisms are wrong, but...
https://www.amazon.com/USB-Flash-Drive-Portable-Drives/dp/B0BNDG2MQN/ref=sr_1_2_sspa
1 TB thumb drive for $20. You should get out more. USB hubs are a few bucks each. So I could get three flash backups for the price of one SATA.
Good point, but I already automate my backups.So yes, speed is not an issue. The real issue is reliability and lifetime. Of course, I could get a few USB flash drives and a cheap USB hub for half the cost of an SSD drive, so I could just make a few backups, thereby being assured that at least...
Well, the main opinion here is that flash drives are unreliable. That's not my experience, but I don't use them a lot. So what makes them unreliable? Is the memory architecture actually different from SSD drives? Are they unreliable becuase of design, or because being small and portable, they...
OK, that's interesting. I actually haven't had any flash drives fail on me, but I take these criticisms seriously. Surely there is some design-based explanation for this? Hard to believe they're just all crappily manufactured. That is, what is it about the DESIGN of these things that make them...
Pardon what might come across as a stupid question. I have a number of backup disks on my system, and I'm transitioning to SSDs. Now, it is pretty clear that per unit storage, USB flash drives are a lot cheaper than SSD drives. But I've been (sort of casually) warned against using USB flash...