USB sticks questions

[koilada]

I m about to buy a usb stick for first time, and there are some questions

- Is it a good idea to watch HD movies via stick?
- Is it a good idea to download torrents in the stick? (the other option is in ssd)
- Often save/delete could reduce the performance of the stick?
- The difference in usb2/3 is only the speed?

Btw I just got a mobo with usb3, do I earn something if I connect there my usb mouse?

 

[abbadon_34]

1) No problems watching movies on sticks, only problem is if you pull it out in the middle for some reason, if anything it save wear and tear and the mechanically disc drive (like DVD or Blu-ray standalone).
2) Download to a USB drive is fine, but again you have to leave it there and it will usually be slower. While downloading or copying a couple files is not problem, there is alot of "behind the scenes" processing going on with torrents and similar downloads. Better to download then transfer in this case.
3) Theoretically a lot of disk read/writes would reduce performance like an SSD, but in reality this will probably never happen.
4) For most people and purposes, the different is speed.
5) You mouse won't notice a difference, though it's still good to keep a USB-PS/2 adapter around for your keyboard/mouse just in case.

 

[koilada]

1) No problems watching movies on sticks, only problem is if you pull it out in the middle for some reason, if anything it save wear and tear and the mechanically disc drive (like DVD or Blu-ray standalone).

So, in a usb2.0 stick I can run/watch ANY hd movie without problems, right?

I didnt understand what you said about pull it out in the middle.
Will I ll lose something? What has the dvd/blu-ray to do with?
(my htpc has no dvd/blu-ray drive)
But if movie is over I can pull it? Or I need the "safely remove" in tray, in all cases?

2) Download to a USB drive is fine, but again you have to leave it there and it will usually be slower. While downloading or copying a couple files is not problem, there is alot of "behind the scenes" processing going on with torrents and similar downloads. Better to download then transfer in this case.

Slower how? in what? I want to download the torrent files in the stick instead of the disk. Could this be a problem?
What "behind scenes"?

5) You mouse won't notice a difference, though it's still good to keep a USB-PS/2 adapter around for your keyboard/mouse just in case.

In which case?
Point is, wherever I connect the mouse (ps/2 or usb2 or usb3) is the same for its performance?

 

[abbadon_34]

So, in a usb2.0 stick I can run/watch ANY hd movie without problems, right?

Well I'm sure you find or create a files that won't, but in general you are correct.

I didnt understand what you said about pull it out in the middle.
Will I ll lose something? What has the dvd/blu-ray to do with?
(my htpc has no dvd/blu-ray drive)
But if movie is over I can pull it? Or I need the "safely remove" in tray, in all cases?

If the drive is currently being accessed it is a bad idea to remove it. If the movie is stopped completely you can remove it, the "safely remove" option is a good idea, but in reality not always necesarry.

By DVD/Blu-Ray I was referring to those players that have a USB port for playing movies and files, in addition to the normal Disc tray. You can either put in a disc and or plug a USB drive. Some say the USB saves were and tear vs. the spinning disc and laser mechanism. Since you have htpc with no optical drives, this doesn't apply to you.

Slower how? in what? I want to download the torrent files in the stick instead of the disk. Could this be a problem?
What "behind scenes"?

Torrents get downloaded in pieces, sometimes pieces of pieces, and these are stored temporarily before being reassmbled, verify, and writen to the complete file. Depending on the program it may be better to download to a local drive first and then copy it over. There is no inherent reason you can't have torrent files on the stick, but some programs may not like the destination drive to dissapear suddenly, and are you SURE all the torrents are done...

In which case?

In case your USB devices are not detected correctly. Troubleshooting. It happens.

Point is, wherever I connect the mouse (ps/2 or usb2 or usb3) is the same for its performance?

Yes.

 

[koilada]

Well I'm sure you find or create a files that won't, but in general you are correct.

Hehe I dont know if I m correct, I make the questions.
I dont create (movie)files, I only download them.
The route is--> Download a movie/watch it/delete it. So far this job was in the ssd. Now I d like to do it in the stick, so that ssd wont get any more wear. Do you like my idea?

Torrents get downloaded in pieces, sometimes pieces of pieces, and these are stored temporarily before being reassmbled, verify, and writen to the complete file. Depending on the program it may be better to download to a local drive first and then copy it over. There is no inherent reason you can't have torrent files on the stick, but some programs may not like the destination drive to dissapear suddenly, and are you SURE all the torrents are done...

I use μΤοrrent. Does it like the stick destination? Can we set in its options, ALL temporary torrent files go to stick instead of disk?

 

[abbadon_34]

The route is--> Download a movie/watch it/delete it. So far this job was in the ssd. Now I d like to do it in the stick, so that ssd wont get any more wear. Do you like my idea?

My preference would be to use a traditional hard drive, but if you only a SSD your could use a flash drive as temp and destination, though the wear reduction would only relevent to an older SSD or rather large daily read/writes.

I use μΤοrrent. Does it like the stick destination? Can we set in its options, ALL temporary torrent files go to stick instead of disk?

You can configure most of the temp files to go the USB drive. You should make sure to have 2-3x the space as the file(s) you are downloading. You may notice speed issues with the multiple simultaneous reads and writes, depending on your torrents. Try it out, worst case is a lost torrent and some lost time.

 

[tomsofi]

Consider the capacity before you purchase the USB.

Movies, torrents videos may take too much storage.

 

[koilada]

My preference would be to use a traditional hard drive, but if you only a SSD your could use a flash drive as temp and destination, though the wear reduction would only relevent to an older SSD or rather large daily read/writes.

I do not use traditional hard drives anymore, because of their noise.

Newer SSDs can accept more easily torrent downloading than the older ones?

You can configure most of the temp files to go the USB drive. You should make sure to have 2-3x the space as the file(s) you are downloading. You may notice speed issues with the multiple simultaneous reads and writes, depending on your torrents. Try it out, worst case is a lost torrent and some lost time.

Why 2-3x the space??

When u say "speed issues" what do u mean?
Write is write, I can't imagine what "slow writing" means (u dont mean transfer, right?)
When u say "read" u mean the play of movie?

What about the wireless play?
If I watch a video which is in a stick of another pc, will this be problem?

Consider the capacity before you purchase the USB.

Movies, torrents videos may take too much storage.

I guess 64Gb is enough. I dont use to keep files forever. Or I transfer them to a storage external disk.
My point is to handle the files in the stick(download/run/delete/wireless access).

 

[abbadon_34]

Newer SSDs can accept more easily torrent downloading than the older ones?

Original SSD's were very sensitive to large program/erase cycles, as well as recovery from any spot usage above 80%. Modern SSD have much greater read/write as well recovery, due to better chips as well as firmware. Of course individual drives will vary.

Why 2-3x the space??

Because if you are using the USB drive for all temporary files as well as the destination, you often end up with temporary usage of 2-3x the size of the final file. It may only be for a second, but if you run out of space, you get an error.

When u say "speed issues" what do u mean?

I'm refering the speed of the drive during the download process, for example if your were download 10 different files at the same time, or you were watching, uploading, and downloading at the same time.

What about the wireless play?

Not as far as the drive is concerned, only if there are issues with your wireless setup (range, interferance, etc.)

People usage USB drives in many ways, from a simple file transfer to running an entire OS. If I'm being too general it is because I'm trying to answer your general question without assuming specific usage (which can be problematic).

 

[koilada]

Original SSD's were very sensitive to large program/erase cycles, as well as recovery from any spot usage above 80%. Modern SSD have much greater read/write as well recovery, due to better chips as well as firmware. Of course individual drives will vary.

I have an Intel X-25M 160GB which I bought in 2009, and a Intel 330 120GB which I bought recently.
What do u think about these?

Because if you are using the USB drive for all temporary files as well as the destination, you often end up with temporary usage of 2-3x the size of the final file. It may only be for a second, but if you run out of space, you get an error.

When I use the hard disk drive for all temporary files as well as the distination, are you sure that the temporary usage is 2-3x size of the final file? I d like to check that myself, where exactly are located those extra temporary files(which are 2-3x)?

I'm refering the speed of the drive during the download process, for example if your were download 10 different files at the same time...

That sounds not important. You mean that instead of 20 minutes, maybe a file will need 30 minutes to be downloaded?

...or you were watching, uploading, and downloading at the same time

You re talking for multitasking? [that sounds to be work of cpu. Many cores, many tasks at the same time. I have a 4-core cpu].
Is it possible to have problem/delay in a movie play in the stick, if at the same time μΤοrrent works(download/upload files) in the stick too?

Not as far as the drive is concerned, only if there are issues with your wireless setup (range, interferance, etc.)

The transfer wireless speed from stick to hard disk, is the same as the transfer wireless speed from hard disk to hard disk?