Introduction

Remember Corsair? That memory manufacturer with all the high-end toys? Well, it is back with another one, and this time it is 8GB of goodness that you can slip into your pocket. Yes, you guessed it, it is a USB flash drive, but not just any old USB drive, as this is the Flash Voyager GT, one of the fastest on the market, at least if you are to believe the hype. But let us start with a quick recap about USB drives and the development of the market.

When USB drives arrived some years ago, we doubt anyone ever thought they would become such a commodity item. Considering that even an 8MB drive in the early days would set you back upwards of US$100 if not more, it is quite amazing how cheap they are these days. You can easily pick up an 8GB drive for around the US$100 mark, so if you are still sitting on a 32MB drive, it is time you upgraded.

Not only have the devices themselves got a lot smaller and faster, but these days there is a lot of extra functionality - such as encryption or the ability to run applications from your memory key - and you can even get ruggedized drives for those of us that have a habit of dropping things.

With Windows Vista a new use for USB flash drives was introduced - ReadyBoost - and we are going to put the Flash Voyager GT to the test in that to see if it makes a difference. We will also be measuring the drive's performance in real world file copy tests and using HD Tech and comparing it against two other drives, the previous-generation Flash Voyager, and the SanDisk Cruzer Micro. So let us move on to the results and see if the Corsair Flash Voyager GT lives up to expectations.