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    supertalent PICO-C review and benchmarks

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by Brian@EWIZ, May 15, 2008.

  1. Brian@EWIZ

    Brian@EWIZ Company Representative

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    Check it out, the World’s Smallest USB Drive. And yes, this really is 8GB of storage packed into a shiny little drive about the size of a quarter.
    [​IMG]


    +Design & Build:
    This thing gives new meaning to the fifth pocket. It’s extremely tiny and portable, and could definitely fit in anything, even the useless fifth pocket. The drive doesn’t feel cheap either. It feels pretty sturdy. I wouldn’t be too worried if I accidentally dropped or sat on it which would all be likely because of its size. The drive is shock resistant and waterproof and I definitely put it to the test. Check out the video below. I dropped it in water several times, dried it off, and it worked perfectly. An added benefit is that the USB’s case is reflective, so it’s like having a tiny little mirror in your pocket. Overall, I’m highly impressed by the sturdiness of this super tiny drive.

    <object width='425' height='355'><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4r6OxmXhGWY&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4r6OxmXhGWY&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width='425' height='355'></embed></object>

    +User-Friendliness: It basically works just like your typical USB drive—plug and play. Super fast when it comes to accessing and transferring files, but other than that, nothing too remarkable here. No hardware to install, no frills, no problems.

    BENCHMARK:
    These are rated at 30MB/S - 29.3 is right on
    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    From top to bottom: Super Talent's PICO-A, PICO-B, and PICO-C

    PROS: Pretty cheap for 8GB, super small, highly portable, shock resistant, waterproof, accesses/transfers files relatively quickly, feels sturdy, reflective surface looks nice. Not to mention, acts as a tiny mirror in your pocket.

    CONS: The size is mentioned as a pro, but depending on who you are, it can also be a con. The small size makes it easy to lose this drive. Another pro that can also be a con is its reflective surface. It’s nice but it can also be dull. It really depends on your preference at this point. To be honest, the drive delivers in all the areas it claims. It you want the most GBs for your buck when it comes to USB drives, this is probably your best bet.
    [​IMG]
    A typical sized USB vs. the PICO-C

    Conclusion: For people who need a USB drive with a lot of storage space, this is a great solution. I have a 2GB USB and that pretty much takes care of my needs. But if you want the newest, coolest, smallest USB out there, the PICO-C is probably what you want. An added benefit is that this thing is not only extremely portable, but it’s also really durable so that, if you’re accident prone like I am, you don’t have to worry about accidentally leaving this in your pocket and throwing this into the washing machine.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 6, 2015
  2. popextra

    popextra Notebook Consultant

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    WOW.
    Is it fast enough for readyboost?
     
  3. K-TRON

    K-TRON Hi, I'm Jimmy Diesel ^_^

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    Wow, pretty cool.
    I bet that thing heats up a bit over extended use. My 8gb flash voyager Gt from Corsair gets pretty hot after I copy 8gb of data to it. But that could be enhanced by the fact that it is covered in insulative rubber.
    Its a nice little toy, supertalent makes great stuff.
    I wish they had a better name, cause it just sounds fake and cheap.
    After I stumbled across a few of their desktop memory cards, I was impressed by their build, and the fact that most of their products are assembly in the USA. :D

    Keep up thee great reviews, its nice to have an etailer show product reviews.

    For those who do not know, ewiz, is like newegg, except they usually have better bargains.

    K-TRON
     
  4. Brian@EWIZ

    Brian@EWIZ Company Representative

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    thanks guys, these units run pretty cool, if its ever hot, just toss it in water. lol as for readyboost, it really doesnt show much improvment really. from all the testing ive done, if youve got at least 2gb, readyboost is useless.
     
  5. jmke

    jmke Notebook Enthusiast

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    it write speeds are lower though, not 30mb/s, half of that, which is still quite respectful of course; only dual channel high performance USB sticks which are physically much better perform noticeably better.
     
  6. K-TRON

    K-TRON Hi, I'm Jimmy Diesel ^_^

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    dual channel memory offers little to no performance increase. The speed of a usb drive will vary from one system to the next. For example, my voodoo u709 has a VIA usb controller, and my corsair flash voyager GT averages 60.2mb/sec.
    On my dell e1505 I have a ricoh usb controller and the same corsair usb card gets 23mb/sec. My Lenovo has a IBM usb controller and it gets 25mb/sec.
    I have supertalent memory card reader in my desktop and the card gets 43mb/sec, so the speed of the usb card really depends on teh usb hub in the system. Obviously Brian's laptop has a different USB hub than the system that madshrimps used for testing.

    K-TRON
     
  7. jmke

    jmke Notebook Enthusiast

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    check the read speeds ;) same result. Brian didn't test write speeds; I compared them between different type of USB sticks, the only USB sticks capable of passing the 20mb/s write speed were dual channel high performance sticks :)

    I agree that read speed max is very dependent on the USB chip in your machine, that is for sure!