Kingston DataTraveler HyperX 4GB USB Stick Review

Storage/Other by jmke @ 2008-05-27

We take a closer look at the Kingston DataTraveler HyperX USB stick, testing performance and durability in this article which is first in a series. Can this supercharged USB stick serve as a portable HDD, available in sizes up to 8Gb there definitely is potential.

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Looks, Usage and Wear

Looks

The DT HyperX features Kingston company colors black and blue, inside the retail packaging you’ll find the USB stick and a small carrying cord. A closer look at the USB stick reveals that the black part is made of hard rubber, the blue is brushed aluminium where Kingston logo is painted on.

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The other side of the drive reveals a small LED which flashes when you have it plugged in a free USB port and there is read/write activity. The USB connector is hidden inside the drive which is a nice feature as it protects the connector from damage during transport.

Madshrimps (c) Madshrimps (c) Madshrimps (c)


A size comparison next to a set of keys, the Kingston DT is larger than your average USB stick as the USB connector is hidden inside the drive and you get a nice rubber padding for protection:

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Once hooked up to your system, depending on the file system you will get up total free size close to 4Gb, but not quite. Under Windows XP SP2 and formatted FAT32 the size was 3813Mb.

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Wear

We left the Kingston DT HyperX hooked up the key ring for a good week and travelled around the country; the previous USB stick who was hooked on the key ring was an old 512Mb Sandisk Cruzer Mini 512Mb; the original came with three different colored caps:

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The drive still works but surely has a battered look, and all three caps got lost, they didn't stick all that well to the USB connector.

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While the Kingston drive did not went through several years of usage, after a good week there were a few signs of wear:

Madshrimps (c) Madshrimps (c) Madshrimps (c)


The Kingston logo and blue color paint on the aluminium cover is coming off; the small button used to slide the USB connector in/out shows minimal wear. Overall the drive is sturdy and will not break easily.

Let’s take a look at the performance ->
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Comment from Rutar @ 2009/04/24
I got one today because Corsair RMA is too slow replacing my flash Voyager that died.


The speed and the feel of it is very good, Corsair just lost a customer and a promoter due to their RMA.
Comment from jmke @ 2009/04/24
and it's quite durable too!

 

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