X-bit labs

1GB Compact Flash Media Roundup. Part II (page 6)

Category: Storage

by Andrey Kuznetcov

[ 11/27/2003 | 09:14 AM ]

Now come the FC-Test results for USB 2.0 interface:

Let’s start with the global comparison of the results shown by the memory cards for different interfaces. None of them can boast a definite advantage here. During files reading and copying to the hard disk drive FireWire interface seems to be more advantageous. However as it comes to creating files and copying them from the hard disk drive onto the memory card, USB 2.0 wins a little advantage. Of course, this is the integral evaluation only, and the situation is slightly different for each of the selected products.

Now let’s pass over to each of the testing participants. With FireWire interface the indisputable leadership belongs to Transcend 45x transfer rate. It is definitely faster in all cases when one big file is involved and boasts almost the fastest performance when working with a set of 500 files, where it is just a little slower than the rivals during file creation and copy to the card, which might be connected with the different access time of the two. The second prize undoubtedly belongs to the second Transcend solution with the 30x transfer rate. The third position is occupied by TwinMOS card. And the last ones in this race appeared the cards from PQI and Digitex, which performed almost equally slow.

When we tested the flash cards with USB 2.0 interface, the picture got a little bit different, but in the quantitative way, rather than in the qualitative one. Only Transcend solutions not only got slower than in case of FireWire interface, but also achieved slightly different performance indexes. Both Flash cards are again notably better than the other three testing participants, but this time the 45x model is not an indisputable leader any more. It does boast a certain advantage in read speed and file copy speed to the HDD, but loses quite tangibly as it comes to creating files and copying them from the HDD to the card. The third one in this race is TwinMOS solution, which is faster than the cards from PQI and Digitex in most cases. The latter two again perform very similarly.