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Corsair 16gb Survivor painfully slow followed this forums instuctions.


spotts

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My product is http://corsair.com/products/survivor.aspx and it has been painfully slow since I puchased on 27/02/2008. I paid $220 Australian dollars for it after reading a review that had an average write time of around 14-17mbs. I got so frustated with its slowness I purchased a 2gb drive for $12 which is much faster and when using HDBENCH was the case. I mailed tech support and said the below speeds were on par with what they should be. So I turn to the moderators to make some sense of this. Here is my original email I send to the warranty dept who replied that only the GT models should have those sort of speeds? But the toms hardware reviews a non gt model and has speeds which were similar to the review I read and made my purchase decision on. Link to Tom's hardware results is at the bottom.

 

I am from Australia so I am uncertain how to get an RMA and return the item to you. My drive was purchased on the 27/02/2008. I build computers for friends about 12 a year and have done so for 20 years now. For the past few years I have always used Corsair. Thankyou for being honest about the problem. Attached is a copy of my purchase receipt.

I stopped using my 16 gb usb key which I paid premium for due to it being painfully slow and went back to using my older 2gb sandisk model.

I decided to do some research and found out that there were faulty chips with early models. See http://www.houseofhelp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=350585 and your usa site recommends it is replaced.

The advertised read speed is 20mb a second or there abouts depending on file size etc. But as you can see my results are as the person in the post. I tested on a three machines all were new.

I used HDBENCH 3.40 Beta 6 as suggested by your site and formatted using Format F: /FS:FAT32 /U as suggested.

Windows XP SP3 - AMD based

Read – 29,915 Write-8,242 Random Read-29,646 Random Write-1497

Windows XP SP3 – Intel based

Read – 33,941 Write-8,130 Random Read-33,952 Random Write-1491

Vista SP1

Read – 24,951 Write-7433 Random Read-23,863 Random Write-1475

This post from Corsair explains that inferior ram was used from what I read of it in early revisions of this usb key and offers a full refund. http://www.asktheramguy.com/v3/showthread.php?t=67674

To quote the summary of this post it says “Our intent was to build the fastest 16GB flash drive possible, and offer it to our customers who were very eager for exactly that. We apologize that we did not communicate this clearly enough. If you feel you were misled, and are unhappy with your 16GB GT drive, please contact our customer service department to return the device, and we will refund you the amount that you paid.

This offer applies only to those who purchased 16GB Voyager GT or Survivor GT drives before March 31st, 2008.”

 

I don't know if mine is a GT drive or not.

 

I am perplexed that I effectively have a had a paper weight in the draw since I purchased it due to its painfully slow speed.

 

After the reply from tech support my reply to them was as follows. The non GT model reviewed at Tom's hardware has speeds again much higher than what mine is performing at. Below is my reply to there asking for more infomation.

 

The Drive cost me $220 australian dollars. It is a Corsair Survivor 16gb Serial Number ACC802009534. It does not say GT but I purchased it due to a review in Atomic magazine http://www.atomicmpc.com which had the claim of read speeds of 16-17mbs a second write speed. The drive I purchased for $220 has a write speed of 8 and a random write of 1.5 on average. I purchased a 2 gb drive for $12 with a write speed of 10 and random write of 4.5. Even if it is not a GT which I am unsure of it is a very disappointing product from a company who prides itself on supplying performance products. I paid a premium price for what I though I was getting a premium product. It has hardly been used as it takes hours to copy files too. The model number on the reciept is CMFUSBSRVR. Here is a link to the product I possess http://corsair.com/products/survivor.aspx Email Part 2. I send a previous email. Here is a link showing the average write time for the survivor drive I have or similar is 20mbs. It isn't a GT and isn't on par with what was advertised at the time of purchase. Under Australian law the ACCC says regardless if a product does not do what it was porported to do a refund is due or a replacement which fulfills what the product was advertised to do in the first place. I will try and track down the origianal review in atomic magazine which I made my purchase decision on. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/security-flash-storage,1804-6.html

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  • Corsair Employee
Is the drive label Blue and Black or Red and black? If it is Blue and Black it would be the Non GT Version and the performance number are with in spec the GT Version should write at about 14-17 MBps. But if you want to try replacing the drive ny all means, please use the On Line RMA Request Form and we will be happy to replace it.
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Hi,

Thanks for the quick reply. It is the blue and back so it looks like its the non GT version.

This is where I made my purchased the drive from http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/index.php?redir=http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/show_product_info.php?input[product_code]=AL-CMFUSBSRVR-16GB&input[category_id]=1543

 

Note I made my decision in purchasing the drive based on the advertised read and write speeds displayed.

I quite the specs of the drive from the link.

 

Supports sustained read spead of 19MB/sec

 

Supports sustained write speed of 13MB/sec

 

My write speeds are half that of the advertised specifications? Could you comment on that if possible. In Australia the law is if a product does not perform to that which it was advertised as doing you are entitled to a full refund or a replacement with a product that does fullfill the advertised obligations according to the ACCC. I know this is different to USA law.

 

Here is a link to the ACCC web site http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/815335#h2_20 Under false claims it says - It is a breach of the law to make a false claim about the product. I don't know where auspcmarket who is listed as one of your official outlets received this information, nevertheless that is what was promised at purchase. I presume they got this infomation from corsair material supplied with the product. Here is a link to a pdf document that explains about getting a refund if the item does not perform to the advertised infomation. http://www.accc.gov.au/content/item.phtml?itemId=792149&nodeId=d95cca31e65abbd498cf96806b0f839f&fn=Refunds.pdf In this document it says you are entitled to a refund if "are unfit for their purpose (they don’t do what they are supposed to do)" and "do not match the description or sample you were shown." The drive does not have a sustained write speed of 13mps. Strangely the GT versions advertises a sustained 21mbs which from what I have read it is not capable of.

 

I realise it is not your fault Ramguy and I am extremely grateful at the prompt service you give in your reply. If a replacement of this drive would meet the above specifications then I would like to do so. If it doesn't I am entitled to a full refund or I suppose supply of a GT drive that meets those advertised speeds. I would really just like a drive that performs as advertised 13mb sustained write speed. I don't really want to pursue a refund even though I am entitled to under Australian consumer law.

 

btw- I have purchased goods from auspcmarket for over 14 years and have been happy with every purchase except this one.

 

Yours Thankfully

spotts

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I'd assume you'd have to contact the seller about where they got the specs from as well as a refund request under the laws in your country. If the store advertised the product under different specs from the manufacturer, it's solely the store's fault.
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  • Corsair Employee

Agreed you would need to take that up with the reseller sorry.

The spec for the non GT Flash Voyager 16 Gig would be:

Read at about 23-30 MBps and Write at 8-14 MBps

 

However your drive does seem to be performing a bit on the low side for read and I would have no problem replacing it if you like, please use the On Line RMA Request Form and we will be happy to replace it.

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Thanks guys for your help and prompt and excellent help. I have thought about it some more and I think I will just cut my losses. The company I purchased from is a great seller I have been buying from for over a decade and I think I will just email them and ask they change the advertised speeds to that of what tech support and these forums speak of. The read speeds are fine for me its the write speed and especially the write speed of lots of small files.

 

I want to say though that both tech support and this forum's support standard is excellent and way beyond what most companies do. I think I will use this for files that I want to mainly read from to update machines and purchase another one in the future for better write speeds.

 

Thanks

Spotts

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