Low-Profile flash drive

[BigJon901]

So i just recently purchased a 13 MBA with the 128gb ssd (got the good one too!). I have a ton of files various CAD stuff that i use for school. Most of the programs are windows based so i don't want to transfer these files to my main drive. What i want is a 16gb low profile (like the simple usb-wifi adapters) flash drive. I was wondering about the performance of these drives. Are the transfer speeds on par with the normal sized thumb drives, if so which do you recommend for the MBA.


EDIT: The reason why i want the low-profile one is because i want to leave it in all the time unless i need to transfer the files to another mac/pc. So basically this drive will act as semi-permanent docked storage.

 

[macdemon]

try this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/USB-Reader-...TE/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1315076591&sr=8-20



----------

found another one
http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/14366702/-/Product.htm

 

[BigJon901]

try this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/USB-Reader-...TE/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1315076591&sr=8-20



----------

found another one
http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/14366702/-/Product.htm

The MBA does have an SD card slot already. Can those be used to expand the amount of available space? Like how many times can they be read/write before it basically doesn't function anymore?

 

[rovitotv]

Here is what I use on my 11" MBA

http://www.amazon.com/Lexar-Echo-32GB-Backup-DriveLEHZE32GASBNA/dp/B0031RG2A6 works well for my purposes which is to hold music and movies. It is hardly even noticeable on the side of the MBA.

Lexar has another version here:
http://www.amazon.com/Lexar-Echo-Backup-Drive-LEHZX32GBSBNA/dp/B004X6AQZQ/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

This version might be faster.

 

[ZBoater]

Which one would be faster? That Lexar USB drive or a high speed (like class 10) SD card?

 

[alust2013]

Which one would be faster? That Lexar USB drive or a high speed (like class 10) SD card?

Both are going to be pretty slow, especially compared to the SSD in the computer.

 

[ZBoater]

Both are going to be pretty slow, especially compared to the SSD in the computer.

I know THAT. I'm wondering which one is the least slow? (did I say that right?)

 

[qwerf123]

I know this isn't an instant solution, but wait for thunderbolt flash drive.

Bet there will be some eventually out and I know seagate announced some sort of compatibility via a different adapter head with their go-flex HDs so you could use their USB version for now but I bet this is a little too big for you compared to the USBs you mentioned. If you want something fast, as some have sort of stated above, these will be!

From some of the low profile USB 2.0 I have, I honestly don't see much difference in performance when transferring data. This could probably be as I don't often transfer many large files so I don't really notice it take any longer.
What size are these CAD files? Surely they won't be that big as you want them on a 16GB USB, so I don't think you'll notice the poor performance with the low profile drive if there is any.

 

[ZBoater]

The Lexar claims High-speed performance-up to 28MB/s read, 15MB/s write, although one of the Amazon reviewers claims

FAT32 (16K blocks):
Writing speed: 10.4 MByte/s
Reading speed: 21.6 MByte/s

FAT32 (32K blocks):
Writing speed: 10.6 MByte/s
Reading speed: 21.8 MByte/s

exFAT (32K blocks):
Writing speed: 10.6 MByte/s
Reading speed: 21.9 MByte/s

NTFS (4K blocks):
Writing speed: 8.64 MByte/s
Reading speed: 20.5 MByte/s

NTFS (32K blocks):
Writing speed: 10.6 MByte/s
Reading speed: 21.6 MByte/s

The Lexar class 10 SD card claims High-speed performance-133x (20MB/s) minimum guaranteed speed. Sandisk Extreme claims 30MB/s. The Extreme pro claims 45MB/s but it's pricey. I guess for the price the Lexar USB drive sounds good as a secondary storage.

 

[geekygeek]

They're a little pricey and go up to 32 gb http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/thumb-drives-storage/a6d9/
plus its water and shock proof, and it is around 30mbps. It doesn't say whether its read or write. Or you can get this http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Super-T...ge_Internal&hash=item3f0af5309d#ht_3954wt_766 it is 16gb, water and shock proof.

 

[Entopia7]

http://www.amazon.com/Lexar-Echo-32GB-Backup-DriveLEHZE32GASBNA/dp/B0031RG2A6 works well for my purposes which is to hold music and movies. It is hardly even noticeable on the side of the MBA.

Am I the only one who feels old when I see this? I remember my 32mb flash drive was a big deal and it cost this much. It also wasn't UNREASONABLY tiny. This thumb drive is as close to witchcraft as I have ever seen.

 

[ZBoater]

Am I the only one who feels old when I see this? I remember my 32mb flash drive was a big deal and it cost this much. It also wasn't UNREASONABLY tiny. This thumb drive is as close to witchcraft as I have ever seen.

Yeah, I'm seeing 128GB SD cards and marveling at how they fit so much into that little package for under $200. I found an old 1000MB (had to think about that one) hard drive in my closet that still works. Remember paying $600-700 for it. It spun up and everything. Makes a sound like a jet engine. And the little SD card can hold 128 drives worth of data. Insane.

 

[Eninety2]

how about a secondhand 256gb ssd from another macbook? how much do you guys think they will run?

 

[Aboo]

how about a secondhand 256gb ssd from another macbook? how much do you guys think they will run?

Around 400-600 bucks based on prices on eBay; OWC also sells some larger capacity "blade" ssds, but those too are quite expensive.

A temporary solution would be the Lexar drives; they do come in smaller capacities. I remember picking up a 16GB one for about 15 or 20 bucks during Black Friday last year.