Best 16GB Flash Drive Under $50

Soylent Joe · Mar 31, 2010, 11:25 PM

I'm looking for the 16GB USB flash drive that offers me the best mix of performance, durability, design, and warranty all for around $50 including shipping.

The contestants.

Interests (in no particular order)

Corsair Flash Voyager - Well-rounded drive with exceptional warranty
Corsair Flash Survivor - Slow but rugged, with same warranty
Patriot Xporter XT Boost - One of the fastest, crappy cap
Sony Micro Vault Click - Extremely slick design, no reviews on speed or quality

There are plenty of other competitors that look good but those four jumped out at me. I'm wanting to stay on the egg but I may go elsewhere if someone can point me to an outstanding deal. As always, thanks ahead of time.

BUCK NASTY · Mar 31, 2010, 11:35 PM

I have the Patriot and it is faster, but not noticeably in real world scenarios. The cap is a pain and I am shocked I have not lost it yet. Bulletproof body and a lanyard you could hang yourself by. Overall, a great flash drive choice.

Fourstaff · Apr 1, 2010, 12:21 AM

Go cheap for the Sandisk Cruzer Micro?

Soylent Joe · Apr 1, 2010, 12:46 AM

Additional info/question:

The reason I was wanting a 16GB was because I'm trying to find a method of carrying multiple 4.5GB+ VOB (converted MKV) HD videos over to my PS3. I have a few 4GB drives and obviously because the files I'm dealing with are so large, that drive is too small. The PS3 can only read from external hard drives if they have the FAT32 file system, and if they're FAT32 individual file sizes can't exceed 4GB (and the files I want are over 4GB each, can't be bothered splitting them due to the conversion thing and formats) therefore eliminating use of an external hard drive as a means of transporting and accessing the media.

So, my question is, does the PS3 FAT32-only problem and FAT32 filesize limit still apply when talking about flash drives? I know I've been able to play whatever format videos from a jump drive before with no problem, so I think it doesn't.

95Viper · Apr 1, 2010, 06:14 AM

Good review here: Test freaks blog

Go with the patriot, if you are looking for speed.

Mar 31, 2010, 11:25 PM	#1
Soylent Joe Join Date: May 2009 Location: Brunswick, GA Posts: 3,032 (2.08/day) Thanks: 2,777 Thanked 676 Times in 460 Posts System Specs	Best 16GB Flash Drive Under $50 I'm looking for the 16GB USB flash drive that offers me the best mix of performance, durability, design, and warranty all for around $50 including shipping. The contestants. Interests (in no particular order) Corsair Flash Voyager - Well-rounded drive with exceptional warranty Corsair Flash Survivor - Slow but rugged, with same warranty Patriot Xporter XT Boost - One of the fastest, crappy cap Sony Micro Vault Click - Extremely slick design, no reviews on speed or quality There are plenty of other competitors that look good but those four jumped out at me. I'm wanting to stay on the egg but I may go elsewhere if someone can point me to an outstanding deal. As always, thanks ahead of time. __________________ Heatware SteamID

System Name:	Timucua 2.1
Processor:	i7-2700K
Motherboard:	Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3
Cooling:	Corsair H100
Memory:	16GB G.Skill Ripshits X 1600MHz
Video Card:	Sapphire HD 5850 1GB
Hard Disk:	Kingston 128GB SSD + WD Black 640GB + 2x 1.5TB
Optical Drive:	LG DVD burner
CRT/LCD Model:	24" Acer G245HQ + 19" Lenovo L194
Case:	NZXT Switch 810 White
Sound Card:	Fox Magic
PSU:	Corsair TX750W
Software:	Windows 7: Electric Boogaloo

Mar 31, 2010, 11:35 PM	#2
BUCK NASTY F@H Mod & 4P Enthusiust Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Tallahassee, FL. U.S.A. Posts: 4,047 (1.91/day) Thanks: 3,379 Thanked 2,907 Times in 1,474 Posts System Specs	I have the Patriot and it is faster, but not noticeably in real world scenarios. The cap is a pain and I am shocked I have not lost it yet. Bulletproof body and a lanyard you could hang yourself by. Overall, a great flash drive choice. __________________ “I'll finally be able to drool over 8 gpu in one rig... And get sued by my wallet for violent physical damage...” -Feanor

System Name:	Main Rig
Processor:	AMD Phenom II x4 B93 @ 3.82Ghz
Motherboard:	ASUS M5A99X Evo
Cooling:	Coolermaster Hyper 212+
Memory:	8GB GSkill DDR3 1600
Video Card:	ASUS GTX460 Top DirectCU
Hard Disk:	Corsair Force 90gb SSD
Optical Drive:	ASUS CD/DVD RW
CRT/LCD Model:	ASUS 24" LCD
Case:	Coolermaster Centurion 590
Sound Card:	Onboard
PSU:	Antec TP750 80+
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate 64

System Name:	Asus K50-X5DAB
Processor:	Athlon QL-65 2.2Ghz
Memory:	1x1GB + 1X2GB
Video Card:	Mobility Radeon HD4570 512mb
Hard Disk:	Samsung 840 250Gb
CRT/LCD Model:	15.6" 1366x768

Apr 1, 2010, 12:21 AM	#3
Fourstaff TPU Janitor Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Science Museum, Londinium Posts: 5,979 (4.70/day) Thanks: 261 Thanked 1,464 Times in 1,211 Posts System Specs	Go cheap for the Sandisk Cruzer Micro?

Apr 1, 2010, 12:46 AM	#4
Soylent Joe Join Date: May 2009 Location: Brunswick, GA Posts: 3,032 (2.08/day) Thanks: 2,777 Thanked 676 Times in 460 Posts System Specs	Additional info/question: The reason I was wanting a 16GB was because I'm trying to find a method of carrying multiple 4.5GB+ VOB (converted MKV) HD videos over to my PS3. I have a few 4GB drives and obviously because the files I'm dealing with are so large, that drive is too small. The PS3 can only read from external hard drives if they have the FAT32 file system, and if they're FAT32 individual file sizes can't exceed 4GB (and the files I want are over 4GB each, can't be bothered splitting them due to the conversion thing and formats) therefore eliminating use of an external hard drive as a means of transporting and accessing the media. So, my question is, does the PS3 FAT32-only problem and FAT32 filesize limit still apply when talking about flash drives? I know I've been able to play whatever format videos from a jump drive before with no problem, so I think it doesn't. __________________ Heatware SteamID

Apr 1, 2010, 06:14 AM	#5
95Viper Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: στο άλφα έως ωμέγα Posts: 3,841 (2.28/day) Thanks: 2,034 Thanked 1,417 Times in 1,116 Posts System Specs	Good review here: Test freaks blog Go with the patriot, if you are looking for speed.

System Name:	Ha/AhHa
Processor:	QX9650 SLAWN C1/i7-980x
Motherboard:	GA-X48_DS4 (F3B bios)/Gigabyte x58A-UDR3 v 2.0(Fh1 bios)
Cooling:	CNPS9900 LED/H60
Memory:	8 Gig of G.Skill F2-8800CL5D/24 Gig Corsair Vengence
Video Card:	Galaxy GTS 465/Gigabyte HD6950 unlocked w\ 1536 shaders
Hard Disk:	150 VRaptor,160 WD, 500 WD,2X 74 Gig VR(RAID0)/SanDisk Extreme 120, 2 WD VR(Raid 0),Seagate 1 TB
Optical Drive:	Asus/HP dvd1270 and Samsung
CRT/LCD Model:	ViewSonic VX2250wm-LED/Asus 266H
Case:	CM-690/CM-690 II adv
Sound Card:	On board (Realtek)/On board (Realtek)
PSU:	PC P&C 750/PC P&C Silencer 950
Software:	Windows 7 Build 7601 SP1 - 64 bit/Same

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