Best and fastest usb flash stick and portable ssd drive?

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Best and fastest usb flash stick and portable ssd drive???

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Sandisk Extreme Pro. Samsung External SSD T5 etc.

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Speed and compatibility are not always friends. So before you set out the find the fastest thing out there, be sure that a) it is supported by the gear you want to use it with (something as simple as getting a lighting fast USB 3.x stick will perform horribly in a device with only 2.0 support for example) and figure out what your main reason is for needing that speed.

The differences between this kind of equipment are rarely in the 10s of percentages. So, is the speed boost worth the extra investment and the potential of it not working with all the gear you might encounter? When do you need the speed? Most USB reading gear (for audio) will be plenty fast enough even with USB 2.0 ports. So (for DJ-ing) I’d say the place you win the most would be when you load tracks onto your stick/SSD from your computer. Here both the speed of the software and the amount of music (data) are relevant. Some software takes forever to transfer playlists, crates and tracks, in which case your shiny speedster stick will just sit idle part of the time. Or, if the software is not the bottle neck, if you have so much stuff to transfer that it would take hours on a regular stick, you might shave 15-20 minutes of that hours long time. But then it’s not like you are gonna be sitting there watching the transfer progress bar crawl forward is it? And if you only do small bits that take 10-15 minutes average it might now take 8-13 minutes. Again, a minimal gain.

If I were asked for advice, which I am not but I like to butt in with my two cents as usual anyway :stuck_out_tongue:, I’d go for physical sturdiness (handy for stuff on the road), dependability and compatibility over speed.

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For me it indeed has nothing to do with the speed on the player side.

I need it to be fast on the computer side. Database corruption can occur with Engine Prime 1.0.0 more than we’d like to see. If I haven’t got a recent backup of the engine folder, I want to analyze the files very very fast again.

The two options I gave are the fastest and even more best compatible to do this job. You just need to experience these drives. USB3 bus being put to the limit.

But hey, my 2cents also… :wink:

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Well said as and being very honest! Thanks DJ Also i did get the MCX 8000- So with all TRUE honesty with computer should i use besides a MAC?

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I’m using this one since a few months. Fast usb 3 and working very well:

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Not touching that one. Just some things to note:

  1. Fast enough CPU of course. Intel preferably (some DJ software does NOT like AMD CPU’s), i5 or higher.
  2. Plenty of RAM. 6GB would be my minimum, but 8GB recommended.
  3. Depending on the amount of tracks, go for an SSD (256GB is a good size for all you need plus a rather decent collection). If you have a REALLY big collection and 256GB won’t do it for you, see if you can get a laptop which can hold two drives (1 SSD and 1 big HDD). Some laptops have SSD’s which look like a big memory module and those take up a lot less space, leaving room for that extra drive. Another option some brands offer is to swap out an optical drive (who needs a DVD these days anyway) and replace it with an extra HDD.
  4. Back lit keys are handy to have in the often dark(ish) DJ booths
  5. Metal casing. Sh*t happens to DJ laptops unfortunately. Anything that can help keep it in shape is worth it.

Those are the most important ones that come to mind. Don’t think that you can get a 350 euro laptop and be done with it. Actually the better the Windows laptop for DJ-ing, the closer in price it will get to an Apple (not saying you should switch, just saying you should compare the same kind of fruit when it comes to pricing). Another thing Apple has going for it, is that it holds value FAR better than any Windows laptop. I am a big Windows guy and have been since MS-Dos. I have a few machines and all run Windows, with one exception, my (now second) MacBook Pro 15". Bought second hand (3 years old) for 1.000 euro and never regretted the move. It was an upgrade from my first MBP which I purchased (4 years old) for 750 euro and sold 3 years later for 450!

Again, use what you feel works best for you. For me that is an Apple, for all the reasons I mentioned and the relatively trouble-free experience when it comes to audio work (next to DJ-ing I do the occasional sound-engineering with it).

Hope that helps some with the decision-making process.