Fastest USB 2 Flash Drive-Lexar Jumpdrive Lightning
The Lexar Jumpdrive Lightning is the fastest USB 2 flash drive out there right now.
Numerous reviews and flash drive comparisons consistently give it top marks, often by a wide margin.
It may not be the cheapest or smallest unit out there but if you are looking for the Ferrari of usb drives this baby is it.
Available in 1gb, 2gb and 4gb sizes.
Lexar USB 2 Flash Drive Specs:
* 1GB
- 22MB per second Read (140X)
- 15MB per second Write (100X)
* 2GB
- 24MB per second Read (160X)
- 18MB per second Write (120X)
* Dimensions: 76.5 X 22 X 11
Some Lexar Flash Drive Product Highlights
* Lightning-fast file transfer speed
* Distinctive stainless steel design
* Includes PowerToGo virtual applications platform
* Includes advanced security software for complete data protection
* Limited lifetime warranty
Lightning-Fast Speed. The sleek style of JumpDrive Lightning is more than just good looks. Beneath its attractive stainless steel exterior lies massive memory capacity and the power of blazing-fast read/write speeds—4GB capable of minimum sustained speeds of 140X * (18MB/sec) write and 160X (24MB/sec) read—ideal for quickly transferring vast amounts of data.
Includes PowerToGo Virtual Applications Platform. If speed and capacity weren’t enough, JumpDrive Lightning also includes PowerToGo software, a portable working environment that lets you install and run most standard Windows applications from your JumpDrive, so you can carry personalized settings and bookmarks with you wherever you go.
Advanced Security to Protect Your Data. JumpDrive Lightning comes pre-loaded with advanced security software that lets you protect your data quickly, securely, and easily. You can create multiple password protected areas called Encrypted Vaults that automatically encrypt your data with on-the-fly 256-bit AES encryption, while the File Shredder feature securely and thoroughly deletes files so that they can’t be recovered, giving you peace of mind that your data is secure.
Here’s what Ars Technica has to say.
“The drive with the fastest read speed is the Lexar JumpDrive Lightning which peaks out at a blazing 22MB/sec!”
USB 2 Flash Drives Speed Comparison
USB 2 flash drive speeds are all over the map. Sure, you can find yourself a 512mb or 1gb drive practically anywhere except 7/11 but do you know how it compare against all the other ones out there?
USB 2 flash drive prices keep dropping, storage sizes keep climbing and capacities are similar but performance?
This extensive USB 2 flash drive performance comparison from Ars Technica gives you an idea how much these drives vary in read and write speeds.
Some notable excerpts from their article.
“Flash memory prices have dropped and memory densities have risen making the average drive size much larger. Many manufacturers have included special software to make Flash drives easier and more useful. With all these factors, it can be awfully difficult to decide which is best for you just by looking at the drive and the packaging. It would be easy to make an assumption that all drives are pretty much the same and that shopping for the best price is the smartest way of deciding. Even if the manufacturer publishes performance specifications on their product, how can you be sure that it actually performs up to their numbers?”
Read Speed
“all drives start off rather slow at the rather small file size of 512 bytes. Not including the Transcend DSC and the SimpleTech Bonzai, all eight remaining drives have a minimum read speed of around 400KB/sec (+/- 100KB/sec). Of these Elite 8, most quickly rocket their read speeds to 10MB/sec or faster at the 32KB file size. By the 256KB file size, virtually all drives have hit their maximum read speed.
The drive with the fastest read speed is the Lexar JumpDrive Lightning which peaks out at a blazing 22MB/sec! Nipping closely at Lexar’s heels are the Verbatim Store ‘n’ Go Pro and the Kingston DataTraveler Elite which both fall just shy of the 21MB/sec mark. The rest of the bunch also fared very well with the remaining having top speeds between 16MB/sec and 19MB/sec.”
Write Speed
In a nutshell, they all tend to write much slower than they read. Most drives also tend to ramp up much more slowly than they do in the read tests. Some drives did not hit their maximum write speed until writing 64MB files while others had even higher average speeds at over 350MB!
If speed is no object the Lexar Jumpdrive Lightning usb flash drive beat all comers by a significant margin plus it’s so shiiiiiny.
Sandisk USB Flash Drive Speed Comparison
Sometimes there is such a thing as too much choice. USB flash drives certainly fall into that category.
With dozens of manufacturers all touting the same memory sizes what separates one drive from another?
Packaging is one thing. Every manufacturer or subcontractor have their own vision of how to wrap plastic around the USB connector. Caps, no caps, foldable ones, extra rugged drives, slim ones even flash drive SD cards with a foldable USB connector.
The other less obvious difference is drive speed. Not all usb flash drives are the same speed. Speeds can vary by two to three times from manufacturer to manufacturer. This is why flash drive companies tend to be cagey about the speed of their usb drives.
You are lucky to find any sort of file transfer specification on the packaging from even name brand manufacturers. Often the purchaser is given no data on the file transfer speeds of the drive they buy.
This may be fine if you do do occasional backups or deal with relatively usb flash memory transfers but a 1 gig to 4 gig transfer can on average take anywhere from one to five minutes.
That is why we need more speed tests like this from the slashgear guys to see exactly what you are buying.
They do a write and read speed run on a couple of Sandisk usb flash drives but it looks like the Lexar USB Jumpdrive beats them both by a wide margin.