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Damian83

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 20, 2011
500
274
Hi! I use a thunderbolt SSD as primary drive (OSX on it) with my imac, and when i want, i can attach it to my mb air, having all same configurations, files, and everything else, like on imac. problem is that i cant use this solution easily in all situations. attaching an external hd while in plane, or in the car its not the best. im thinking to get an usb 3.0 pen drive ssd. my question if usb is stable and reliable like tb. speed isnt a problem, 5gbps is enough anyway. please dont tell me to find other solutions like cloud or apps for synchronizing files. this is best solution for me and maybe the main reason osx its better than other os's!
 

matreya

macrumors 65816
Nov 14, 2009
1,286
127
Hi! I use a thunderbolt SSD as primary drive (OSX on it) with my imac, and when i want, i can attach it to my mb air, having all same configurations, files, and everything else, like on imac. problem is that i cant use this solution easily in all situations. attaching an external hd while in plane, or in the car its not the best. im thinking to get an usb 3.0 pen drive ssd. my question if usb is stable and reliable like tb. speed isnt a problem, 5gbps is enough anyway. please dont tell me to find other solutions like cloud or apps for synchronizing files. this is best solution for me and maybe the main reason osx its better than other os's!

USB 3.0 is nowhere near as stable and reliable as TB... in my experience.

The flash memory used in USB 3.0 pen drives is also nowhere near as reliable as your SSD...
 
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thedeske

macrumors 6502a
Feb 17, 2013
963
58
Perhaps an mSata from Crucial (M500) or Samsung (840EVO series)
Price/GB is close to 2.5 SSD and the enclosures are 3 X 1.5 X .5, so very small.
Still using a cable, but it's a big step up from a common flash drive.

The Mushkin AT-ENCKIT and ZTC enclosures get the best reviews. I'd stay away from Mydigital.
 
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Damian83

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 20, 2011
500
274
Perhaps an mSata from Crucial (M500) or Samsung (840EVO series)
Price/GB is close to 2.5 SSD and the enclosures are 3 X 1.5 X .5, so very small.
Still using a cable, but it's a big step up from a common flash drive.

The Mushkin AT-ENCKIT and ZTC enclosures get the best reviews. I'd stay away from Mydigital.

never talked of "common flash drives"....
 

Ray2

macrumors 65816
Jul 8, 2014
1,126
451
USB 3.0 is nowhere near as stable and reliable as TB... in my experience.

The flash memory used in USB 3.0 pen drives is also nowhere near as your SSD...

In my experience, its worse than that. Its nowhere near as stable as USB 2. I would not rely on USB 3 for any I/O I depend on.
 

ColdCase

macrumors 68040
Feb 10, 2008
3,360
276
NH
Many IT guys use pen drives for a boot device but for emergencies or short time use only. None as far as I know would rely on them for more than occasional use. Many carry two pen drives just in case.

Perhaps over the recent six months or so their durability has improved. Just set up a couple and see how it goes. You may get lucky.
 

megalaser

macrumors 6502
Nov 17, 2009
345
66
Don't run your OS from a USB drive, the USB bus is not reliable enough. I ran my OS from a Thunderbolt SSD for over a year and never once had a disconnect or glitch. My USB drives are nowhere near as reliable, too many other things on the USB bus that can throw a spanner in the works and cause them to unmount.
 
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