Kingston Releases 256GB DataTraveler 310 Flash Drive

Rob Williams · 02-18-2010, 04:12 PM

The digital age and lifestyle is a great thing, but now more than ever, storage space is of utmost importance. We mostly have our media to thank, with HD movies taking upwards of 10GB each, or more, our music, and even our images. If you're a photographer using a D-SLR, each image can take 10MB or more on your PC and SD card. Then there's games, which today can take up to 15GB with ease.

You can read the rest of our news post here.

Psi* · 02-19-2010, 11:56 AM

$1108 ... how much is an ounce of gold?

You do wonder who the buyers are ... or are expected to be?

Rob Williams · 02-19-2010, 01:08 PM

That's a great question. To be honest, I don't think it's designed for anyone, but rather is used as proof that the company delivered something to market that no other has. To me, $1,100 for a thumb drive is just foolish. Suck it up with a 2.5" enclosure, and you could double the capacity, and also the overall speed.

Or, pick up 4 or more 128GB thumb drives for the same price, and still have twice the amount space to juggle.

killem2 · 02-19-2010, 02:03 PM

I wonder if it really even costs them near that 1100 to make.

Psi* · 02-19-2010, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Williams

Or, pick up 4 or more 128GB thumb drives for the same price, and still have twice the amount space to juggle.

How about a device that lets you stripe thumb drives?

killem2 · 02-19-2010, 05:24 PM

I am wondering though, what are the pros / cons to doing a thumb drive over a small enclosure and using a 2.5 drive? I know one is smaller of course but the size of an exclosure is maybe the size of a wallet? maybe a small paper back book? A reader's digest?

Psi* · 02-19-2010, 08:03 PM

What is a reader's digest ... kidding.

But your thought is a workable idea with docking bays. It is pretty easy to find docking bays that handle 2.5" HDDs.

Rob Williams · 02-19-2010, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by killem2

I wonder if it really even costs them near that 1100 to make.

I have no doubt it would come close. The yield of those memory chips must be low, and because their densities are so huge, the cost would likewise be high. Look at 4GB DRAM modules compared to 2GB. The prices exponentially go up as you cram more storage into the same space. I am giving a simple explanation of it, but that's the basics.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psi*

How about a device that lets you stripe thumb drives?

If I have stripped in front of a thumb drive before, is that the same thing?

Quote:

Originally Posted by killem2

I am wondering though, what are the pros / cons to doing a thumb drive over a small enclosure and using a 2.5 drive? I know one is smaller of course but the size of an exclosure is maybe the size of a wallet? maybe a small paper back book? A reader's digest?

Given the price, getting an external enclosure or dock like Psi* said makes far, far more sense. For $1,100, you could pick up a nice 256GB SSD for around $500 and chuck it in an external enclosure. The bonus is that it would be a lot faster, even through USB (those chips in the 256GB thumb drive have got to be a lot slower than chips in smaller drives).

Personally, I'd just get 2.5" mechanical drive, at around $500 for $150 or whatever they are, get an external enclosure, and lug that around. Sure, you have to be more careful with mechanical drives, but I can't begin to recall how many times I've broken a thumb drive by bending it while it's plugged into the PC. Imagine accidentally doing that with a thumb drive that costs $1,100!

Kougar · 02-20-2010, 05:20 AM

Guys, quit knocking the price! When I see articles like this it just means in a few years it will be $30 at the local Best Buy.

Wasn't it in 2001 that a 256MB CF card was $130? A 1GB Microdrive was $360 and had just been developed by IBM... Tech has to be developed before prices can begin to come down!

crowTrobot · 02-20-2010, 08:34 AM

^hopefully we don't have 300GB games/software by then. lol.

Tharic-Nar · 02-20-2010, 11:57 AM

Nah, we'll have 70GB games over unstable Wi-Fi connections with no resume option and a 10GB monthly download limit before then..... oh wait, thats now....

Rob Williams · 02-20-2010, 03:11 PM

Yup, games take up more than ever. Installed Alien vs. Predator the other day, and it takes up 16GB! But, I think when you take scaling into consideration, even a 16GB game isn't that bad, given our 1TB and higher hard drives. I remember purchasing Duke Nukem 3D upon release, and at 30MB, I could install it to my 500MB drive 16 times. With AvP, I can install it to my 500GB 31 times.

Kougar · 02-20-2010, 09:01 PM

Rob, that's insane! 16GB is just a fraction more space than Windows 7 64bit takes!

killem2 · 02-21-2010, 09:29 AM

I am just glad hard drives have came down in price severely over the years.

Rob Williams · 02-25-2010, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kougar

Rob, that's insane! 16GB is just a fraction more space than Windows 7 64bit takes!

That's true. It is kind of ridiculous as I mentioned, but at least our hard drives are bigger than ever. On a 1TB drive, 16GB is still just a drop in a bucket.

02-18-2010, 04:12 PM	#1
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,231	Kingston Releases 256GB DataTraveler 310 Flash Drive The digital age and lifestyle is a great thing, but now more than ever, storage space is of utmost importance. We mostly have our media to thank, with HD movies taking upwards of 10GB each, or more, our music, and even our images. If you're a photographer using a D-SLR, each image can take 10MB or more on your PC and SD card. Then there's games, which today can take up to 15GB with ease. You can read the rest of our news post here. __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

02-19-2010, 11:56 AM	#2
Psi* Tech Monkey Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Westport, CT Posts: 766	$1108 ... how much is an ounce of gold? You do wonder who the buyers are ... or are expected to be? __________________ Win 7 64 bit, ASUS P6X58D Premium i7-990 @ 4.5 GHz 24 GB CORSAIR DOMINATOR NVIDIA Tesla M2090 + NVS 290, Seasonic X750 Swiftech Apogee XT block, Indigo Extreme TIM Swiftech MCR220-QP Radiator, Eheim 1040 pump, 1/2" ID Tubing

02-19-2010, 01:08 PM	#3
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,231	That's a great question. To be honest, I don't think it's designed for anyone, but rather is used as proof that the company delivered something to market that no other has. To me, $1,100 for a thumb drive is just foolish. Suck it up with a 2.5" enclosure, and you could double the capacity, and also the overall speed. Or, pick up 4 or more 128GB thumb drives for the same price, and still have twice the amount space to juggle. __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

02-19-2010, 08:03 PM	#7
Psi* Tech Monkey Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Westport, CT Posts: 766	What is a reader's digest ... kidding. But your thought is a workable idea with docking bays. It is pretty easy to find docking bays that handle 2.5" HDDs. __________________ Win 7 64 bit, ASUS P6X58D Premium i7-990 @ 4.5 GHz 24 GB CORSAIR DOMINATOR NVIDIA Tesla M2090 + NVS 290, Seasonic X750 Swiftech Apogee XT block, Indigo Extreme TIM Swiftech MCR220-QP Radiator, Eheim 1040 pump, 1/2" ID Tubing

02-20-2010, 03:11 PM	#12
Rob Williams Editor-in-Chief Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Atlantic Canada Posts: 13,231	Yup, games take up more than ever. Installed Alien vs. Predator the other day, and it takes up 16GB! But, I think when you take scaling into consideration, even a 16GB game isn't that bad, given our 1TB and higher hard drives. I remember purchasing Duke Nukem 3D upon release, and at 30MB, I could install it to my 500MB drive 16 times. With AvP, I can install it to my 500GB 31 times. __________________ Intel Core i7-990X EE @ 3.43GHz, GIGABYTE X58A-UD5, Kingston 12GB DDR3-1333, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD, WD VR 1TB, WD 2TB, Seagate 2TB, LG BD-ROM, ASUS DVD-RW, Corsair 1000HX, Corsair H60 Cooler Corsair 800D, Dell 2408WFP 24", ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Gentoo (KDE 4.10, 3.7 Kernel) "Take care to get what you like, or you will be forced to like what you get!" - H.P. Baxxter <Toad772> I don't always drink alcohol, but when I do, I take it too far.

02-19-2010, 02:03 PM	#4
killem2 Coastermaker Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 216	I wonder if it really even costs them near that 1100 to make.

02-19-2010, 05:24 PM	#6
killem2 Coastermaker Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 216	I am wondering though, what are the pros / cons to doing a thumb drive over a small enclosure and using a 2.5 drive? I know one is smaller of course but the size of an exclosure is maybe the size of a wallet? maybe a small paper back book? A reader's digest?

02-20-2010, 08:34 AM	#10
crowTrobot E.M.I. Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Toronto, ON, Canada Posts: 99	^hopefully we don't have 300GB games/software by then. lol.

02-20-2010, 11:57 AM	#11
Tharic-Nar Techgage Staff Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: UK Posts: 1,151	Nah, we'll have 70GB games over unstable Wi-Fi connections with no resume option and a 10GB monthly download limit before then..... oh wait, thats now....

02-21-2010, 09:29 AM	#14
killem2 Coastermaker Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 216	I am just glad hard drives have came down in price severely over the years.

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