Determining the Appropriate Size of Your Flash Drive Part 2

October 14, 2017

32GB Flash Drive

Audio and video clips are very large files and will require larger storage capacities. If you are working with videos, art files, or complex graphics technology, it will be worth investing in a 32 GB or higher flash drive.

Before making a purchase, check the average size of the files you will be storing or transporting. The method for doing this varies by operating system, though if you are able to find an option to show you the information on a specific file, it will list its size in the most appropriate format: KB, MB, GB, or other.

File Transfer Speeds

Transfer speeds are most commonly designated in MB/sec (megabyte per second). Variations of this are written as Mbyte/sec or other, though most flash drives will list their transfer rate in megabytes. This refers to how quickly the unit can retrieve and write data. Many flash drives will have two separate speeds listed, one for its reading speed and one for writing. This refers to how fast the unit can access documents stored on it and how fast it can save new content, respectively.

Generations of USB Flash Drives

The technology of USB flash drives has developed significantly since their inception at the beginning of the 21st century, and many new versions have been created in order to expand storage capacity, increase transfer speeds, and keep up with newer forms of USB ports. Flash drives can be categorized according to the "generation" of USB port with which they correspond. The following table lists the USB generations along with a description of each.