Corsair 8GB Survivor GT Flash Drive

Author:  Jason Dumbaugh Date:  2007.07.25 Topic:  Storage Provider:  Corsair Manufacturer:  Corsair

Corsair's new Survivor GT 8GB flash drive is definitely a force to be reckoned with. It's CNC-milled 6061 type 2 aluminum shell is said to withstand being dropped, as well as being water resistant up to a ridiculous 200m! It's also said to be shock-proof, but that won't be tested for safety issues. The survivor also comes in a 4GB non-GT form:

Packaging:

Front of the Survivor	Back of the Survivor	Package Contents	Close-up shot

Features:

• Encased in extremely strong CNC-milled, anodized aircraft-grade aluminum.
• Water resistant to 200M through the use of a EPDM waterproof seal.
• Protected from vibration or impact damage through the use of a molded shock dampening collar.
• Plug-&-Play with any USB 2.0 certified peripheral computer port (backward compatible with USB 1.1).
• Includes the True Crypt security application (Windows Vista/XP/2000 compatible only) allowing for a virtual
  encrypted drive using AES-256 encryption
• USB extension cable and Dog Tags included
• Protected by a Limited 10-year Warranty.

Testing:

The first thing we decided to do was put the Survivor GTs water resistance to the test. While we don't have 200m to test in, we at Techwarelabs are fairly sure the only water your flash drive should see is a pool, sink, bathtub, washing machine, or toilet. We opted to filling up a bucket as high as it would go (approximately 13in. or 0.3302m). We left it under water for 2 minutes, and when we took it out, it was completely dry. While we understand that we tested 1/606 of the suggested depth, we feel content.

Speed test:

Corsair places these two charts on the back of the package:

We built folders of pictures of the same size and tested the speeds of the Flash Survivor GT against a 1GB PNY mini Attache, a 2GB Kingmax, and a 512MB no-name brand.

While we did not receive the same results they did (approximately doubled times), we still noticed that the Flash Survivor GT performed much quicker than the other three.

Price comparison:

We decided while we were comparing the speeds of the four flash drives above, we'd also compare the price per GB of them. There is also a 4GB Survivor GT, as well as the Survivor non-GT lines, so we compared the price of those as well.

While the cheapest per GB is the 2GB kingmax, it only operated at 20% the speed of the 8GB Corsair Survivor GT. The Survivor GT also has the water resistance, shock resistance, and durability. For the price, I still believe the Corsair Survivor is worth the money.

Conclusion:

After thorough testing and comparison, the 8GB Corsair Survivor GT towers over the standards for today's flash drives. It's durable, water resistant, and shock resistant as well, giving new meaning to a flash drive. The price per GB is fairly comparable to other flash drives on the market today, and it comes with a 10 year warranty, proving that Corsair still continues to make memory products they trust.