Question Can I use a large capacity usb as a storage device?

[Chezzybunz]

Ive been wondering if using a 1tb or what have you usb flash stick is a legitimate or possible alternative to internal/external ssd or hdd. If it is a possible alternative would the download speeds be much slower?

My purpose would be to store files but also games as well. Also I have looked in m.2 storage but my computer is incompatible with it (older computer) and I dont want to buy a pcie adapter to use m.2 at least not for now. Thank you in advance for your response.

 

[Darkbreeze]

No, it's not. And no, the speeds will not even be remotely comparable. ESPECIALLY on an "older computer", but even on a brand new one for that matter.

 

[Lafong]

"possible"? Sure.

"legitimate? not sure what that might mean in this context.

The disadvantages are well known......speed, cost if you need relatively high capacity, reliability/durability, etc.

What are the advantages in your case?

USB sticks speed vary considerably....from tolerable to terrible. Don't know where you would draw the line.

You get to compare them and it's purely a personal decision.

 

[Chezzybunz]

"possible"? Sure.

"legitimate? not sure what that might mean in this context.

The disadvantages are well known......speed, cost if you need relatively high capacity, reliability/durability, etc.

What are the advantages in your case?

USB sticks speed vary considerably....from tolerable to terrible. Don't know where you would draw the line.

You get to compare them and it's purely a personal decision.

Legitimate as in its a good solution or alternative to ssd/hdd. But judging from the responses it makes more sense just to ssd. If you dont mind me asking an extra question whats the benefits between internal and external ssd?

 

[Darkbreeze]

The benefits are internal storage devices are WAY, WAY faster, and like I said, ESPECIALLY on older machines where very fast USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt did not exist. But even with those standards, internal SATA and NVME are far, far faster. Now if your machine was so old it had IDE drives, well, nah, even then it would because you'd have external USB 1.0 ports and those would still be miles slower. Plus, many versions of Windows won't even recognize external drives as being fit for some uses that are standard for internally connected devices. Plus the access times would be so slow in most cases that it would ruin any cost savings you might enjoy anyhow.

Get an internal SSD and go one with life. They are very inexpensive these days, all things considered. The only things external flash drives or external storage drives are really useful for is backing up files or data that you need to have secondary copies of so that it isn't lost if something happens to the system, or portability so you can easily transfer data between different machines, or as a temporary medium for files that do not need to continue to exist but temporarily and you lack sufficient room to use them on your internal drives but there is no need for them to remain long on the external drive like like program installation files, very large Windows updates, etc.

What Windows version are you even running and what are your FULL hardware specifications including motherboard model?

 

[Lafong]

Legitimate as in its a good solution or alternative to ssd/hdd. But judging from the responses it makes more sense just to ssd. If you dont mind me asking an extra question whats the benefits between internal and external ssd?

Internal would not have to navigate the USB connection required by the external, but speeds may not vary much.

In my experience: internal SSD to external SSD speeds are not much different than internal SSD to internal SSD, when using a M.2 NVMe drive in an external enclosure connected by a USB type C port.

I use both. Don't know exactly what your intended use is. Your call on that. If highly critical, maybe you use BOTH internal and external so you'd have 2 copies of whatever.

Of course, the particular USB port used and the particular external drive come into play and can make a considerable difference.

I paid 50 bucks about 3 years ago for an NVMe 500 GB drive that I put in an external enclosure and connect by a USB-C port. It's plenty fast for my purposes. Speed roughly 1000 gb per hour from an internal SSD.

In my experience, thumb drives connected to a USB port are typically well under 50 gb per hour, often near 10 or 15. Might not matter to you?

So, I'd say it makes a lot of difference to avoid flash drives and go with SSD if at all possible. The variations amongst types of SSD are less important.

If you use the drive only occasionally, I suppose the slower speed of any type of external drive would be only a minor aggravation. Would you be delayed by 5 minutes once a month? Or by 5 minutes once a day? Or by 20 minutes every day?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Internal would not have to navigate the USB connection required by the external, but speeds may not vary much.

Sure. That's quite funny. Especially for a flash drive, not even a standard drive with an external enclosure. I absolutely disagree as will almost any knowledge storage expert around here.

 

[Chezzybunz]

The benefits are internal storage devices are WAY, WAY faster, and like I said, ESPECIALLY on older machines where very fast USB 3.2 or Thunderbolt did not exist. But even with those standards, internal SATA and NVME are far, far faster. Now if your machine was so old it had IDE drives, well, nah, even then it would because you'd have external USB 1.0 ports and those would still be miles slower. Plus, many versions of Windows won't even recognize external drives as being fit for some uses that are standard for internally connected devices. Plus the access times would be so slow in most cases that it would ruin any cost savings you might enjoy anyhow.

Get an internal SSD and go one with life. They are very inexpensive these days, all things considered. The only things external flash drives or external storage drives are really useful for is backing up files or data that you need to have secondary copies of so that it isn't lost if something happens to the system, or portability so you can easily transfer data between different machines, or as a temporary medium for files that do not need to continue to exist but temporarily and you lack sufficient room to use them on your internal drives but there is no need for them to remain long on the external drive like like program installation files, very large Windows updates, etc.

What Windows version are you even running and what are your FULL hardware specifications including motherboard model?

Running Windows 10 on a hp elitedesk 800g1 sff. Its an older computer but not grandmas pc old. It uses the Q87 chipset

 

[Lafong]

Sure. That's quite funny. Especially for a flash drive, not even a standard drive with an external enclosure. I absolutely disagree as will almost any knowledge storage expert around here.

The question asked in post 4 was "whats the benefits between internal and external ssd?"

In my experience speed varies from circa 900 to circa 1300 gb per hour when transferring my own files from an internal SSD to an external M.2 in an enclosure via a USB type C port. Variables would include number of files, average file size, specific drives involved, etc.

From internal SSD to internal SSD, I get speeds ranging from circa 500 Gb per hour to circa 1350 gb per hour, again depending on the details.

None of my drives are speed demons of the latest generation....nothing newer than 2020 era.

 

[DSzymborski]

Flash drives are meant to be very portable and simple. They're not meant to replace actual drives that are part of a regular PC build; they're not meant to run things off of in typical situations or be archival, long-term storage.

A golf cart is great when you're playing golf. Not so much when you decide to get one to replace your commute car to get to and from work every morning. You get the most use out of technology when you use it for things the technology is designed for and good at.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Running Windows 10 on a hp elitedesk 800g1 sff. Its an older computer but not grandmas pc old. It uses the Q87 chipset

4th Gen Intel, is pretty much "grandmas PC old" now. I mean, you're talking a ten year old system where USB 3.0 was out but it was still not all THAT widely adopted especially on lower end chipsets. But yes, not like it's some Pentium 4 system. Still, I promise, this is not the solution you are looking for in ANY way, shape or form. Get an SSD and don't look back.