readyboost ready thumbdrives?

7

7718

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
May 4, 2001
Messages
1,070
So far my 2 thumbdrives aren't fast enough for readyboostin'. Any ideas on a thumbdrive that would work? I ordered an OCZ 2gb thumbdrive to add some memory to my wife's rig (its only running 1gb system memory) but I don't have it yet. The thumb drives I tried were a 512MB "cruzer mini" from Sandisk and a 128MB "Intelligent Stick" from GE. I think we really ought to collaborate to make a list of compatible thumbdrives and compare performance gains we achieve.

I know its a ghetto way to increase memory, but I figured its one of the few new features with Vista, so I'm gonna play with it!
 
I have a Corsair Flash Voyager 2 GB that's supposed to work, but I haven't tried it out yet. I have a laptop running VIsta Business with 1 GB of memory.
 
What kind of an effect will readyboost have on higher end rigs with 2-3GB of RAM?
 
djnes said:
Very little, if any, from what I've been reading.
Click to expand...

FWIW - On my machine (C2D 6600, "only" 2GB of RAM at the time), Windows refused to enable ReadyBoost when I put a USB key in...which was its way of saying "umm...thanks, but no thanks. You'll be fine."
 
The link above mentions the Apacer Handy Steno HT203.

From what I read this is currently the fastest available USB flash drive out there and it is (if you look at the company website) guaranteed Vista ReadyBoost compatible.

I have found the 4GB version through Froogle as low as $55. I plan on getting one (or maybe several, who knows) shortly.
 
I just went and got a 1gb generic thumbdrive from MicroCenter (for $10, no less) and put it on my laptop with a C2D 7200 & 2gigs of RAM ... I notice a difference in load times and access times for programs. It was worth the $10.
 
LhasaCM said:
FWIW - On my machine (C2D 6600, "only" 2GB of RAM at the time), Windows refused to enable ReadyBoost when I put a USB key in...which was its way of saying "umm...thanks, but no thanks. You'll be fine."
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that meant the drive wasn't fast enough for ReadyBoost. That's the whole gist of finding out what drives are compatible, and what aren't. Apparently, the Cruzer-Mini's aren't fast enough, going on the comments above. I have a 1 GB drive I could test with and compare it to my Flash Voyager.
 
dougp said:
I just went and got a 1gb generic thumbdrive from MicroCenter (for $10, no less) and put it on my laptop with a C2D 7200 & 2gigs of RAM ... I notice a difference in load times and access times for programs. It was worth the $10.
Click to expand...

This is why I was asking my laptop has a slow HD and I though ReadyBoost might help it load into maps faster. I'll experiment, I don't have a thumbdrive currently.
 
djnes said:
I was under the impression that meant the drive wasn't fast enough for ReadyBoost. That's the whole gist of finding out what drives are compatible, and what aren't. Apparently, the Cruzer-Mini's aren't fast enough, going on the comments above. I have a 1 GB drive I could test with and compare it to my Flash Voyager.
Click to expand...

Could be - but when I tried the same flash drive on a slower machine (that I purposefully crippled further by taking it down to 512MB of RAM) it was fast enough to be used. It's all relative. *shrug*
 
Apparently, many USB thumbdrives touted as "high speed" only have high speed RAM in the first 128 MB or so, which causes Vista to not accept it as ReadyBoost compatible.
 
Test 1: Cruzer Mini 1 GB - This device does not have the required performance characteristics.

Test 2: Flash Voyager 2 GB - The device is compatible. I noticed the windows open a bit snappier, and that's about it.

Test System: HP nc6000, Pentium M 1.7 Ghz, 1 GB of memory, 60 GB 5400 rpm drive.
 
Eventually I'll be getting an 8 or 16GB thumbdrive for readyboostin' , so I can have buttloads of memory available for my A64 system.
 
As mentioned above, the drive has to be fast enough to work...not just every USB 2.0 drive will work. Assuming you have one that does, you simply pop in the drive, and one of your autorun options is to enable ReadyBoost.
 
chinked|out said:
how would you go about accessing readyboost for your computer? does any usb thumb drive work?
Click to expand...

when you put in a thumb drive the autoplay will come up and readyboost is on the list...

vista does a test to see if your drive is fast enough... some are some are not

Ive seen a few drives that are now coming out that say on them "ready boost ready" or something like that and im sure a lot more will come out saying it on them too
 
I would check the manufacturer's site first to double check it's compatibility, but the price isn't bad at all.
 
In that case, go for it. I just don't trust very much that's stated in an Ebay auction. But, you verified it.
 
djnes said:
In that case, go for it. I just don't trust very much that's stated in an Ebay auction. But, you verified it.
Click to expand...

150 buy it now for 8gb. kinda not worth it. i dont' think anyone would need 8gb flash to use as subsidy
 
I;m using a 1gb Sandisk Cruzer that I got for $20 at Officemax on sale. Works great.
 
I just picked up a 2GB Sandisk Cruzer @ Best Buy for $28.82 after tax-- it's working pretty well
 
While I was searching around for Readyboost info, I stumbled upon a blog by some microsoft dude that talked about ReadyBoost. He mentioned it would work for flash drives 256mb -> 4 gb...

Was a blog from Vista beta so maybe it changed..
 
if you think you can speed up your machine through a USB port you're insane.

it's a marketing ploy.
 
feld said:
if you think you can speed up your machine through a USB port you're insane.

it's a marketing ploy.
Click to expand...

That's two threads in a row where you said stuff that simply isn't true and prove you're basically being a troll for whatever reason that squeaks your sneakers.

Methinks your time here at the [H]ardForum will come to swift and surprisingly satisfying end...
 
Uhh people....it doesnt matter how fast the flash drive is....its how fast your computer is.

A drive that gets rejected got rejected because it offers NO IMPROVEMENT on your machine. That SAME DRIVE can be accepted on a slower machine, as long as it offers improvements to the computer.

A computer with 4Gb of overclocked OCZ will probably be rejecting all of flash drives. :p
 
Ariez said:
Uhh people....it doesnt matter how fast the flash drive is....its how fast your computer is.

A drive that gets rejected got rejected because it offers NO IMPROVEMENT on your machine. That SAME DRIVE can be accepted on a slower machine, as long as it offers improvements to the computer.

A computer with 4Gb of overclocked OCZ will probably be rejecting all of flash drives. :p
Click to expand...


What happened, did someone open the "Oh I don't believe it so I'll bash it" door tonight? Geez...

When you insert a USB Flash-RAM based stick/thumbdrive/etc or any Flash-RAM based device (SD card, MemoryStick, etc), Vista will test it for possible use with ReadyBoost - if it meets the criteria for ReadyBoost duties, it'll offer to use the device (there'll be a ReadyBoost item on the AutoPlay popup if you haven't disabled AutoPlay for those devices).

You click that entry on the AutoPlay list, typically choose the defaults that Vista suggests, click Apply, click OK, and move on.

Has nothing to do with the how much or how fast your system chip RAM is, or your CPU, none of that plays into the testing and usage of a ReadyBoost device.

Also, I just posted in another thread how if you're using a media card reader for SD/MemoryStick/etc devices, the device drivers themselves can have a major effect on whether ReadyBoost will be an option for such devices when Vista tests them.

"What we have here... is a failure... to communicate..."
 
bbz_Ghost said:
What happened, did someone open the "Oh I don't believe it so I'll bash it" door tonight? Geez...

When you insert a USB Flash-RAM based stick/thumbdrive/etc or any Flash-RAM based device (SD card, MemoryStick, etc), Vista will test it for possible use with ReadyBoost - if it meets the criteria for ReadyBoost duties, it'll offer to use the device (there'll be a ReadyBoost item on the AutoPlay popup if you haven't disabled AutoPlay for those devices).

You click that entry on the AutoPlay list, typically choose the defaults that Vista suggests, click Apply, click OK, and move on.

Has nothing to do with the how much or how fast your system chip RAM is, or your CPU, none of that plays into the testing and usage of a ReadyBoost device.

Also, I just posted in another thread how if you're using a media card reader for SD/MemoryStick/etc devices, the device drivers themselves can have a major effect on whether ReadyBoost will be an option for such devices when Vista tests them.

"What we have here... is a failure... to communicate..."
Click to expand...

Then why some cards dont work for some system but works for others?
 
If it's not working on one machine but on another, I would suspect the media card drivers, but we're jumping back and forth from two different threads now, talk about the drivers in the other thread please. This is giving me a headache.


(just kidding, I don't get headaches...)
 
If your system isn't fast enough to run the OS, why would you need it in the first place? XP runs all of your apps and that is why you're using MS in the first place.
 
don't really know if it helps or not yet as I have 2gb ram

but I do know that the Sandisk Cruzer $5 Staples 1gb special from last week work fine with my system :)
 
Ezekial said:
don't really know if it helps or not yet as I have 2gb ram

but I do know that the Sandisk Cruzer $5 Staples 1gb special from last week work fine with my system :)
Click to expand...

Yep ~$5 out the door!

This is actually a great drive for readyboost. ~14MB/sec read ~9MB/sec write (with large files - 500MB+)

Small random files transfer even faster - which is how readyboost will use it. As soon as you install a high speed flash drive, you will notice significantly less hard drive thrashing/optimizing.
 
i used it for 10 days and didn't notice any difference whatsoever with my machine. i'll probably end up using it with my laptop, since i'm going to install vista on it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top