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ReadyBoost Flash Drives Lack Significant Boost

Kingston, Lexar, and Ridata devices provide USB flash storage but don't consistently speed up Vista applications.

Lincoln Spector, PC World

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Ridata Twister EZdrive

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Lexar Lexar 4GB JumpDrive Lightning USB Drive

Kingston Technology 2GB DataTraveler USB Flash Drive

Software and Style

You pay for the Lexar's speed. If you price drives of the same capacity, Lexar charges substantially more for its JumpDrive Lightning series. However, it comes with PowerToGo, Lexar's branded version of the Ceedo operating environment for running applications from the drive, plus Lexar's own Ceedo-based encryption program. And the Lexar's shiny, stainless-steel exterior looks, well, flashy.

True to its name, the Ridata Twister opens like a pocketknife (with no cap to lose) and bears the classiest design. The Kingston, meanwhile, is your basic light, thin flash drive.

If launching a program in Vista feels lethargic, one of these drives may help--a bit. But installing more RAM inside your PC would help a lot more.

ReadyBoost Drives Won't Speed Vista Perceptibly

Lexar's drive was the fastest of the three, but none of the devices significantly improved PC performance using ReadyBoost. Click the chart icon below for details.

Lincoln Spector

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