Gauging a USB memory key's value is a fairly simple procedure, right? They plug into any available USB 2.0 port and off you go, however it isn't as clear-cut as that. USB keys come not just in many shapes and sizes, but also with many added features and functions, and even the pricing varies widely.

However at the end of the day, you're buying a USB key because you want to store things on it: and therefore performance is important.

Performance
We tested the keys on a fast USB 2.0 enabled PC and recorded the time it took to copy a full 128MB of data to the drives and to read it back off again. Not all USB drives are created equal, and there is a surprising amount of performance differences between disks. The graph on page ^^ shows just how much difference there is, from an incredibly zippy 18.7 seconds to a glacial 190.9 seconds. Reading data off the disk is a different matter, with most drives happy to give up their data in under five seconds.
The scores for these are a weighted raking, where 100 is the average.

Features
Performance is only part of the picture. We also rated the key's feature-set, including capacity, bundled extras like lanyards, carry-cases, software and their functionality (write protection, encryption, compression etc.) We also took into account the key's warranty. While most offer only one year, there's a five-year warranty with the SanDisk Cruzer Titanium and the Pretec I-Disk Tiny 2.0.
We gave points for each factor, and the scores for these are a weighted raking, where 100 is the average.

Value for money
This is an important rating, as it often tells you where we think this product sits. It's not just a pricing rating as the Value for Money score is derived from the product's price and the values assigned to its performance and features. In this regard, the cheapest product does not always come out on top.

Overall
The overall score is our most important rating, and is more than an average of Performance, Features and Value for Money. Here we've weighted the previous scores to provide emphasis on the key's performance and value, as they're much more important than a good feature-set. A high Overall score is a thumbs-up from the PC Authority Labs team.