Flash drive: what it is and what it is for (explanation for newbies)

Of the many external devices related to our computers with which we interact every day, few are as massive as USB Flash Drives. They are one of the most everyday storage systems in the world and for this reason we have wanted to give them a space from the Professional Review, to talk about what USB memory is and what it is for.

Index of contents

What exactly is a USB Flash Drive

When we talk about a USB Flash Drive (daily, USB memory), we are referring to a device based on flash memory used to store information.

Flash memory is based on the EEPROM format, which may be familiar to you because it is the format used to store system BIOS data. Derived from this read-only memory, NOR-type memories and NAND-type memories are born, the latter being the usual one in the creation of solid-state storage that we see so much in the USB memory sticks that we focus on in this article, like storage SSDs.

Thus, we could define USB flash drives as an external mass storage device, based on flash memory and that communicates with our equipment through the Universal Serial Bus (USB).

USB memory vs. SSD storage

Knowing that both devices are articulated by the same type of memory, many users might wonder why SSDs perform so unevenly compared to USB memory, the latter being the most disadvantaged.

The answer is found in two fundamental parts of each device: the memory controller and the connection interface.

• The memory controller. The controller is a chip integrated in the storage devices whose objective is to manage all the operations between the data stored in the system and the storage device. In the case of USB sticks, this controller is much more humble both in terms of features and capabilities compared to what we can find in a modern SSD. The connection interface. The other great difference compared to these two devices is found in the interfaces. The current USB (3.1) have a higher transfer rate than the current SATA III, but the data management by the controller in the latter is more stable and reliable.

The Components of a USB Flash Drive

Going a little deeper into its characteristics, we can stop to observe the insides of these memories, which do not differ from that of other storage devices:

The quality of these internal components often largely determines the price of these devices, as well as the difference in performance between two same-size USB sticks.

A little history of USB memory

The absolute dominance that USB flash drives currently hold begins in the 2000s, with its development by the technology giant IBM. The intention of the North American company was to replace the floppy disk, something that would eventually happen, but for which we would still have to wait.

Much of its expansion has to do with the standardization and evolution of the USB interface. The first USB storage devices ranged from 8 to 64 Mb in capacity, but until the arrival of USB 2.0 and its best transfer rates we would not begin to approach the current numbers.

For the arrival of USB 3.0, and its compatible memories in 2009, we would already talk about capabilities very similar to those of today. After this iteration, it began its imposition as the most widespread portable storage method, continuing its use even today.

What size do you need in your Flash Drive?

It must be understood that a USB memory should not, under any circumstances, replace the main storage of the system. For this reason, its use is auxiliary and has taken over from old floppy disks, CD / DVDs and the like.

Most USB flash drives today range between 8 and 64 GB, but we can easily find models with greater space and speed. The one with the largest space currently is 2 full TB. With the files that we handle today and their weight, the most advisable thing is to acquire USB sticks of 16 or 32 GB as a minimum, although it always depends on the needs of the user.

WE RECOMMEND USB 3.2 will arrive this year and will double the speed of USB 3.1 Gen2

Closely related to this article on what USB memory is and what it is for, we find our text on cheap SSDs, which we invite you to read if you want to know more about it.