Question SSD disks versus USB flash drives

[DLes]

So this is probably a stupid question, but per unit byte, USB flash drives are much cheaper than full fledged SSD drives. So why can't I use the former for a backup disk? I've been told that the reliability of the latter is far higher than the former, but they're the same electronic architecture, aren't they? Specifically, in what way aren't flash drives appropriate for this purpose?

 

[Lafong]

To me....USB drives are too flimsy to be used for anything very serious. They are glued together and I've literally had them come apart in my hands.

All drives are commodities to some extent, but USB flash drives are an extreme example. Quality control minimal.

That alone disqualifies them for any long term usage.

Additional reasons:

Speed; there is a wide variation and some are extremely slow.

Prone to being lost or misplaced.

Cost if you need fairly high capacity.

I do use them for frivolous stuff where it wouldn't be a big deal if they failed. They are very handy in that way.

You can get SSDs of 1 TB capacity for around 50 bucks.

 

[DLes]

Well, I've never had a flash drive come apart in my hands. The retractable ones can be flimsy, but the fixed ones don't really appear to be. A flash drive mounted as a backup drive won't ever be lost or misplaced. It won't ever get moved. I can get a couple TB flash drive for $20. That size SSD drive is more like $80-100. Now, speed could be an issue, but again, if the electronic architecture is the same, why would speeds be different? This site suggests that flash drives are actually faster. https://www.minitool.com/backup-tips/flash-storage-vs-ssd.html. This second site is mildly interesting, but in many respects seems to have dated info. https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/...instead-of-an-ssd-to-boost-my-laptops-storage.

So, I've been TOLD that flash drives are inappropriate for backup disks, but I have yet to see any really compelling rationale for that. Does kinda make one wonder why anyone would buy an SSD disk drive for that purpose.

 

[Lafong]

There's no reason in the world for you to do anything different than you are now doing if you are currently satisfied.

 

[TerryLaze]

So, I've been TOLD that flash drives are inappropriate for backup disks, but I have yet to see any really compelling rationale for that. Does kinda make one wonder why anyone would buy an SSD disk drive for that purpose.

Flash drives aren't inappropriate but that doesn't mean that ssd aren't still better.
The controllers of the flash drives are much weaker and slower and they miss the cache that the ssd drives have, an extremely crappy ssd might be close to a flash drive.
I agree with lafong, if you are ok with it then it's ok for you.

 

[DLes]

Flash drives aren't inappropriate but that doesn't mean that ssd aren't still better.
The controllers of the flash drives are much weaker and slower and they miss the cache that the ssd drives have, an extremely crappy ssd might be close to a flash drive.
I agree with lafong, if you are ok with it then it's ok for you.

Well, that's a better answer. Is there some documentation on "weaker and slower" and cache missing? How does one assess the crappiness of an SSD? They don't seem to be advertised with a crappiness rating.

Given the large difference in price, you would think that there are some very strong and well documented arguments for using an SSD over a flash drive.

As to it being OK for me, I'd rather not wait until it fails dramatically to decide that. That's why I'm asking. A backup disk is about protection. When choosing protection, you never choose whether you're just OK with it. The issue is how well it's going to protect you.

 

[DLes]

After a little research, I see it written that both flash drives and SSD drives are good EXCEPT most USB flash drives have a single channel controller, while most SSD drives have multiple channel controllers. Also, SSDs often have DRAM caches to receive data quicker (since writing to a DRAM is a faster then writing to a flash drive) and generally have SLC caches. All that makes the latter generally faster. On top of all that, SSD drives have wear leveling. Wear leveling is where a drive distributes read/writes around all blocks to prevent some blocks from wearing out faster than others. That is, flash drives wear out faster.

I'm a little surprised that SSD drive manufacturers aren't working overdrive to convince people that their products are better than USB flash drives for reliable, extended, storage!