32GB or 64GB USB 3.0 Flash Stick recommendations? $30 range

[hemla]

I'd like to know which one should I get for general use. Not planning to spend much over $30 unless it's worth of it. Wondering is there any reason of getting MLC stick instead of TLC one and are there any "3D" TLC sticks out there yet. Don't need super fast read, instead something with more balanced read/write ratio and a bit of reliability and durability. And I don't want it to overheat.

Currently Samsung MUF sticks look good to me, except they are all apparently TLC and have real write speeds of around 30MB/s(with synthetics of around 100MB/s). But maybe there are better choices?

 

[Elixer]

Good luck finding out what kind of NAND they are using for the flash drive.
They usually don't say anything.
I used to like Lexar, but, they aren't making them anymore.

If you don't want them to overheat, then don't get the micro/nano sized ones.

 

[hemla]

Well, I am reading some reviews and reviewers somehow know. They either check it with software or physically open drive. For Samsung, obviously I am almost sure it's TLC but I wonder is it this new 3D version of it.

Also, did anyone try Mach Xtreme brand? Their LX line could be MLC and pretty cheap.

 

[Glaring_Mistake]

Also, did anyone try Mach Xtreme brand? Their LX line could be MLC and pretty cheap.

It performs pretty good during sequential reads and fair during sequential writes but like for many USB-drives speeds for random writes are pretty bad.
I think like the SanDisk Extreme tend to be better in that regard than usual but if sequential speeds is the only thing important to you the Mach Xtreme LX is not a bad choice.

 

[hemla]

So according to what they write in those reviews Mach Xtreme LX is MLC and Samsung MUF is TLC(and it's nowhere stated that it's 3D TLC, hence probably not). I've found some CrystalDiskMark screenshots and it seems that in sequential writes Mach Xtreme LX is twice as fast but in random 4K writes it's tanking badly behind Samsung MUF. Would such values matter in real life daily use?

As of note, some people do report that when there's much of smaller files to be copied over USB 3.0 many cheaper flash sticks get really warm and could overheat. When it happens they will either tank copying speeds to really low values for brief periods of time(better ones) or completely shut down themselves for few second(worst case) effectively interrupting transfer. And such heat could be damaging not only to drive itself but also to USB port. Really don't want to end in this area and it's said even some med-range SanDisk drives could be affected.

Mach Xtreme LX 128GB:

Samsung MUF 128GB:

 

[hemla]

I have got few more questions related to flash drive heat. Would using USB stick through cable extender reduce heat? Would it be fine to glue old copper heat sink to aluminium flash stick body, would it reduce heat?

 

[Glaring_Mistake]

So according to what they write in those reviews Mach Xtreme LX is MLC and Samsung MUF is TLC(and it's nowhere stated that it's 3D TLC, hence probably not). I've found some CrystalDiskMark screenshots and it seems that in sequential writes Mach Xtreme LX is twice as fast but in random 4K writes it's tanking badly behind Samsung MUF. Would such values matter in real life daily use?

That kind of depends on the type of use they will see (which in turn depends on you) so that is a bit difficult to say.

As of note, some people do report that when there's much of smaller files to be copied over USB 3.0 many cheaper flash sticks get really warm and could overheat. When it happens they will either tank copying speeds to really low values for brief periods of time(better ones) or completely shut down themselves for few second(worst case) effectively interrupting transfer. And such heat could be damaging not only to drive itself but also to USB port. Really don't want to end in this area and it's said even some med-range SanDisk drives could be affected.

It's not just with a lot of smaller files.
Just some sequential writes can make several compact USB-drives to get really hot and disconnect.
In that regard, I've found the Samsung MUF FIT to be pretty good - it still gets pretty hot but not as hot as some other drives.
And even more importantly that they maintain pretty stable write speeds and do not disconnect every now and then (don't remember that happening with a Samsung MUF FIT actually).
Sequential write speeds may be a bit low however at around 30-40MB/s (for the 128GB).

Picture of the drive in question so that you know which drive I'm talking about.

 

[hemla]

I guess that random writes can be turned into sequential writes by just compressing directories with huge amount of small files, even at 0% compression levels?