When file grows beyond the cluster boundary, another cluster is allocated. On NTFS if file is small enough, it can be stored in MFT record itself without using additional clusters. If you create file lets say 1 byte in size, at least one cluster should be allocated on FAT file system. so do the tests!!!Ĭluster is an allocation unit. Class 12 on Internet (i did not have any of Class 12 nor 16 in my hands, but some microSDHC i have ar Class8 and with cluster fitting test i can write on some of them at 20MB/s).

Normally you will see that 16KB cluster and 1MB write blocks will get the best speed for pendrives >4GB and 6MB/s, etc. and lucky if you find it on same block size written than cluster size (i did not yet find any pendrive so fine). Now you will have a table with two axis, one the Cluster size you formatted it, the other de block size for write operations.

The speed tests for each clusters size must be the next ones (all on each cluster size): Format it as NTFS (no compression) with block size 16KB and do speed tests Format it as NTFS (no compression) with block size 32KB and do speed tests Format it as NTFS (no compression) with block size 64KB and do speed tests So the best to do is apply a trick like this (it takes a lot of time, but just once): i am still searching drivers for Linux that can mount UDF-HDD parttitions (i have one SetTopBox Media Player that records live tdt on such parttition type). would need UDF-HDD type one, and that is not a Standard for Windows nor for Linux. in that case the best for performance would be to format with a 1megabyte block, but since i know no actual FAT32 / NTFS can do that. so any time the operating system writes a 512 bytes block, the pendrive is overwritting a whole megabyte. it will read 1megabyte to on a small internal ram, then will overwrite that 512 bytes, then the whole megabyte will be written to solid memory. i found some pendrives that each write they do is a 1MB (yes 1 megabyte). The best is to make the OS to use the same block size for formatting than the real physical block size that will use the hardware.

That is just because the SolidState memories do writes by blocks, but such block size is not the same than the one used by the Operating system when formatting a parttition, etc. If Operating System writes a block of 512Bytes and the pendrive really writes blocks of 4096 bytes, it will make that 8 blocks of 512 bytes each that are written by the operating system will overwrite the same 4096 bytes 8 times because each time the pendrive hardware will overwrite 4096 bytes on each write operation is not just as simple as use the less size allowed.Ī lot of SSD, Pendrives and memory cards has a physical block size when writting to them, so the best choice is to figure out what that value is (no way to consult it thill what i know). The question for Cluster size on SolidState Disks and Memory Cards, pendrives, etc.

Best filesystem for 16gb flash drive