6. Ridata & Patriot 4 GB Flash Drives

by Ed Tittel

Where the previous two USB drives are aimed at travelers of various kinds, these two aim squarely at those in need of fast, capable Flash storage. Like the Corsair Survivor mentioned in the previous entry, both of these Flash drives are ReadyBoost capable for those seeking to add a little dash to their Windows Vista cache.

With its bright red-and-black packaging, the Patriot Xporter XT makes a strong visual statement.

The Ridata module comes in black and red (black shown) and uses an integrated flip cap.

The Ridata module clocked the same copy rate for the Vista ISO image as the Corsair (193 seconds). The Patriot module was 18 seconds faster. All three of them are respectably speedy. Their suitability for ReadyBoost, which requires a 4453 kBps or 4.34 MBps read speed and 1304 kBps or 1.27 MBps write speed, is at the overkill level. In general, both of these 4 GB Flash drives are plenty fast, and plenty capacious, for whatever you might need them do to. Because the size of the ReadyBoost cache is limited to 4090 kB (just under 4 GB), they're pretty much ideal for a max-sized Vista ReadyBoost cache for those who might want or appreciate one.

How to decide which one to give your grad or dad? Appearance might be one telling attribute: the Patriot module is more visually forward and bit rougher and tougher in its look and feel, while the Ridata module comes across a bit more buttoned down and staid. That said, we give Ridata extra points for integrating the cap with the unit housing (which also explains its Twister cognomen). The Patriot potentially falls prey to a lost cap, though they do include a chain with a parking widget for same that you can attach to the body of the drive housing. At over $100 for the Patriot module, and $50 for the Ridata module, price may help you make your choice as well.