Thoughts on these USB "ssds" for booting?

[Vertigo 7]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B095YFSYB4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I know USB flash drives are usually bad for well, in generally just bad. But... I got a couple of these and I'm hoping these provide some longevity. All appearances point to these being actual SSDs on a USB attached jmicron controller. If this is true, aside from typical hardware failure of any storage device, anyone see any reason these can't be viable for long term use for redundant boot drives?

 

[elvisimprsntr]

The link you provided is for a cheap bargin basement USB flash drive. No mention of the flash technology, which likely means it's the least expensive to manufacture and worst write cycle durability.

You will want to look for devices with flash technology with better write cycle durability, SLC being the best.

Difference Between SLC, MLC, TLC & QLC NAND SSDs: Which One is Better? | Hardware Times

If you want a top-of-the-line system, especially for gaming or content creation, then an SSD is absolutely necessary. However, before you go hunting for one, you should know what to look for. There are multiple different types of SSDs. As far as the basic SSD storage cells are concerned, you’ve...

www.hardwaretimes.com

 

[Patrick M. Hausen]

I would use something like this:

Amazon.com: Transcend 32GB SATA III 6GB/S MTS400S 42 mm M.2 SSD 400S Solid State Drive TS32GMTS400S: Computers & Accessories

Amazon.com: Transcend 32GB SATA III 6GB/S MTS400S 42 mm M.2 SSD 400S Solid State Drive TS32GMTS400S: Computers & Accessories

www.amazon.com

combined with something like this:

Amazon.com

 

[Vertigo 7]

for all I know, that's exactly what I have in here. I should crack one of these open and take a look at the guts.

 

[Patrick M. Hausen]

Unless they publish TBW numbers I don't trust them. You do you.

 

[Vertigo 7]

meh, only 16 bucks per drive. not all that concerned. They are, at least, performing as advertised. I did look at some specs on JMicron's site and for all of the controllers that this could be, they do all report to support pcie upstream from the USB header. But if it turns out they're using typical USB flash storage, i'll grab a couple of those USB M.2 jobbies. That's more what I was looking for initially anyway, but my search results did not yield those for me, sadly. Oh well.

 

[chruk]

As a rule of thumb faster writes usually mean better quality nand as well, also the bigger the flash the less cycles you consume.

I noticed its extremely hard to find published write speeds now, but a recent USB stick I purchased which didn't cost an arm and a leg with decent write speeds was a Samsung champagne silver 128 gig stick.

Also rage 2 sticks are high quality.

I would be more inclined though to just stick 2 ssds connected via sata to USB cables if you worried about longevity, even some cheap Kingston ssd's would be better than USB sticks probably.