We have reviewed most of Corsairs flash drives in the past and they have performed very well and been able to take a beating in our tests. Today we have a 32 GB version, yes a 32 GB version of their popular Flash Voyager drive family that we are going to take a look at. Will the bigger memory slow the drive down, and is it more sensitive to beating than the older 8 GB versions we have looked at?
About Corsair:
Corsair has been a leader in the design and manufacture of high-speed modules since 1994. Our focus has always been on supporting the special demands of mission-critical servers and high-end workstations, as well as the performance demands of extreme gamers.
As a pioneer in high-speed module design, Corsair is a trusted supplier to many computer manufacturers. In high-density memory solutions, Corsair has always been one of the first suppliers to achieve advanced qualifications on Intel, Tyan and SuperMicro server platforms. We also work closely with other major server platform manufacturers to release product that is 100% compatible with their latest server products.
Features:
Plug & Play functionality in Windows� Vista, XP, 2000, ME, Linux 2.4 and later, Mac OS 9, X and later
Includes the True Crypt security application (Windows Vista/XP/2000 compatible only) allowing for a virtual encrypted drive using AES-256 encryption (not preloaded on 2GB models)
Lanyard, USB cable
Limited 10-year warranty
The product:
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The package looks the same as the older versions that I have got, the product is mounted in the middle of the plastic cover and on the back you can read about the features of the device.
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With the flash drive you get a neckstrap and also an USB extension cable so you don't have to get back behind the computer everytime.
The drive itself comes in a rubber cover that protects it from breaking if you happen to drop it. The flash Voyager has been in red and black also but this one is back to the traditional blue and black colors to match the Corsair color scheme.
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The drive is actually the exact same size as the previous versions, the only difference is the thicker padding on the drive to prevent damage. By removing the cap you unveil the USB connector built in to the drive so you can connect it straight to the computer without any cables.
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Here we got a size comparison between the older 1 gb drive and the new 32 gb drive that is on the right.
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If we look at the results from Sisoft Sandra XI, we can see that the drive is a bit slower at smaller file sizes but speeds up and catches up with the others at the 245kb mark. This is the same issue as we saw in the older Voyager GT review we did, the same thing happened there that is speeded up when the file size rised.
On the right picture we got some more performance stats in different sized files.
Conclusion:
The main issue with this drive is still the price, you have to pay out 205$USD at Newegg. Now it performs well and all our stress tests, beating tests have ended up well. We froze it, we let it sit in water and we have thrown it around and it still works like a charm. It performs quite well I have to say. I had a look at the previous Voyager versions which were slow at the start but the bigger the files are the faster it gets. I love this drive but I don't know if I can justify paying over 200$ for it, the prices are coming down slowly so within a few months you will have this cheaper which makes it very tempting to buy. Overall though I am VERY satisified with the drives performance and durability.
Pros:
+ Durable
+ Well packed
+ Plug and play
+ Cap wont fall off
