# Whats faster USB flash drive or SD card



## azgard (Mar 10, 2009)

i got a mini laptop with a sd and a usb slot. i am looking to get a large memory card 16gb+. i want it to store some large programs on like my GPS software thats almost 3gb with all the maps and everything and i need something that is very fast at starting up and loading. so which is fasests usb or flash. 

also would it be faster run windows xp off a usb drive my laptop will support booting from USB.


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## rb_daman (Mar 19, 2009)

aside from the obvious factors e.g. usb 2.0/1.1? turbo boost? etc and the size of the memory stick, i find that usb is still faster. for example, when i attempt to copy a 350MB onto a cheap 1GB freebie usb stick, it takes half the time as it does on my 1GB lexar micro sd. i don't know how much this helps, but i have noticed no one else has suggested anything. generally, i find usb sticks more useful as well, as opposed to SD cards, and if it were me, i would end up puttin 3GB worth of gps software data, and everything else would go on a memory stick. again, just my own experience, can't exactly back it up with proof.


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## kinbard (Jul 1, 2006)

I love the usb sticks. Have 3 in my pocket I carry everyday. One a gig, one a biometrics that is also a gig, and a 512. Can't see ever using anything else. I've not seen anything faster or more convient.


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## zerofire (Nov 4, 2008)

All programs and operating systems should be stored on the hard drive since that is the fastest storage medium but if you must then use USB 2.0 (480 Mb/s) to store them. If you don't have USB 2.0 ports then SD (45 Md/s) is faster than USB 1.1 (15 Mb/s). Storing a Operating system on USB is usually condemned by many mechanics and technicians due to high chances of failure to access the data at reasonable speeds.


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