Looking for the smallest 32GB USB 3.0 drive available

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SandEagle

SandEagle

Lifer
Aug 4, 2007
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need a thumb drive, but want it in small form factor. anything that protrudes out, i tend to break. what's a good usb 3.0 drive?
 
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groberts101

Golden Member
Mar 17, 2011
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probably easist to buy a 1.8 inch USB 3.0 enclosure.. and get a 1.8 inch form factor SSD to insert into the enclosure. Not sure if anyone makes a complete package like that or not. Maybe google "1.8 inch USB 3.0"?

Here's one a bit older.. so there must be some more out by now.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/15/iomega-serves-up-adorable-1-8-inch-external-usb-3-0-ssd-pocket-d/

PS.. just an fyi here.. but you'll have not only the USB plug sticking out like any USB stick would.. but now you'll have a wire attached with an external enclosure dangling from it too. Not sure how that's really much of an improvement over a stick hanging off the port.
 
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sm625

sm625

Diamond Member
May 6, 2011
8,172
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106
Best recommendation is simply not to break it. Take it out when not in use.
 
Coup27

Coup27

Platinum Member
Jul 17, 2010
2,140
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81
You will not find a USB 3 stick with 32GB of flash thats the size of a micro bluetooth receiver, which is what you're asking.

Theres plenty of USB3 32GB drives out there but they will all be normal size.
 
Coup27

Coup27

Platinum Member
Jul 17, 2010
2,140
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lol yeah, quite well off the mark with that one weren't you :p
 
Coup27

Coup27

Platinum Member
Jul 17, 2010
2,140
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Back on point, would it even be physically possible to have one that small? The USB3 controller on my motherboard isn't actually small and I believe my Patriot supersonic is "quad channel" so I presume it needs more than one NAND to do that?
 
SandEagle

SandEagle

Lifer
Aug 4, 2007
16,809
13
0
just got back from Microcenter. they had a few that were the size of a fingernail, but only usb 2.0...definitely smallest ive seen

may just get regular size....saw a store brand 32gb for $38
 
Jeff7

Jeff7

Lifer
Jan 4, 2001
41,596
20
81
Getting warmer?
Manufacturer's page.
It's a MicroSD -> USB adapter, and it looks pretty darned tiny. Looks like it's only USB 2.0 though, and it looks like MicroSDHC isn't terribly quick. Some upcoming things look like fun though.

Something else to look into though, maybe there are others out there with USB 3.0 support.
 
SandEagle

SandEagle

Lifer
Aug 4, 2007
16,809
13
0
Jeff7 said:
Getting warmer?
Manufacturer's page.
It's a MicroSD -> USB adapter, and it looks pretty darned tiny. Looks like it's only USB 2.0 though, and it looks like MicroSDHC isn't terribly quick. Some upcoming things look like fun though.

Something else to look into though, maybe there are others out there with USB 3.0 support.
Click to expand...

thanks! something like this would definitely work too
 
Coup27

Coup27

Platinum Member
Jul 17, 2010
2,140
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Something like that is that small because even a class 10 SD card maxes out a whopping 10MB/sec. This is miles off what a decent USB3 drive can deliver.
 
Jeff7

Jeff7

Lifer
Jan 4, 2001
41,596
20
81
Coup27 said:
Something like that is that small because even a class 10 SD card maxes out a whopping 10MB/sec. This is miles off what a decent USB3 drive can deliver.
Click to expand...
Yes, it's definitely the old performance-vs-size thing.

Apparently there are some things coming up that'll be faster - Google turned up some new thing from Toshiba that might deliver 90MB/sec in MicroSD. Eventually. And for some quantity of dollars. ;)
 
exdeath

exdeath

Lifer
Jan 29, 2004
13,679
10
81
Coup27 said:
Back on point, would it even be physically possible to have one that small? The USB3 controller on my motherboard isn't actually small and I believe my Patriot supersonic is "quad channel" so I presume it needs more than one NAND to do that?
Click to expand...

Physically only enough room for two TSOP chips one on each side, so I assume it uses two x two die NAND modules to achieve quad channel.

So yeah, no point in trying to find a USB 3.0 drive that tiny, as there won't be enough NAND channels at that size scale to saturate USB 2.0 let alone take advantage of USB 3.0. Even if a BT receiver size USB thumb drive was USB 3.0, you still wouldn't get more than 10-20 MB/sec from it due the single tiny flash chip it would have to be using.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820235063

Reviews indicate it's a) slow and b) prone to thermal failure due to the size, and seems to be a consistent theme with microscopic size USB flash media in general.

My Supersonic with it's large aluminum shell gets HOT after a few minutes of sustained 80 MB/s writes. If there was something the size of that Store n Stay that fast, it would no doubt melt itself.
 
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Coup27

Coup27

Platinum Member
Jul 17, 2010
2,140
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81
Good post. The above also explains why my Sony Walkman MP3 player is dog slow at transferring music.
 
Obsoleet

Obsoleet

Platinum Member
Oct 2, 2007
2,181
1
0
I think I have what you're looking for.

For a keychain sized drive I use this http://www.amazon.com/Super-Talent-Pico-C-STU32GPCS-Silver/dp/B002MCB54Y It's the most durable drive you'll find. No moving parts, just strong. I've been using my 8GB model of this for years now, it's been through the wash multiple times and still kicking.

I also want a USB 3.0 drive that's small and durable but it's not going to be here anytime soon. If you don't want a monstrosity of a flash drive, then you should stick with USB 2.0.
 
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SpeedDemon3

Junior Member
Feb 3, 2013
7
0
0
Here's the one I recently bought, it's about an inch long and is USB 3.0. The review is for the 16GB version (the one I have) so the speeds in the review are approx 1/2 the speeds you will get on the 32GB version which has claimed 90MB/s read 19MB/s write. Good luck!

Review link:
http://www.whoratesit.com/PQI-Intelligent-Drive-Micro-USB-30-16GB/Rating/1451

Comparison to other usb 3.0 flash drives (actually came bottom at 27/27) but that's the price you pay for getting a tiny drive:
http://www.whoratesit.com/Best-Flash-Drive/Comparison/1#rank27
 
Coup27

Coup27

Platinum Member
Jul 17, 2010
2,140
3
81
OP - as indicated above by SpeedDemon3, if you want something that small, you may as well stay with USB 2.0
 
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SpeedDemon3

Junior Member
Feb 3, 2013
7
0
0
JJ24 said:
This one is only 1.25 inch long... assume that about 1/2 of that is the connector that will slide into the USB port leaving less then 1 inch sticking out...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220750
Click to expand...

Here is a review of that one:
http://www.whoratesit.com/Patriot-Element-USB-30-16GB/Rating/1460

Unfortunately this and the other micro USB posted above are both pretty lame in terms of performance, lol they came last and second last in this value comparison:
http://www.whoratesit.com/Best-Flash-Drive/Comparison/1
 
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