X-bit labs

Roundup of USB Flash Drives with 4GB+ Storage Capacity (page 6)

Category: Memory

by Andrey Kuznetcov

[ 02/16/2007 | 02:10 PM ]

OCZ Rally2 OCZUSBR2DC-4GB 4GB

The black-colored case is metallic with translucent plastic pieces on the butt ends. Thus, this device is robust despite its compactness and elegance of appearance. Thanks to its design, the drive looks the same from either end, but the translucent piece is actually only necessary on the case itself as it covers a bright-orange LED indicator of operation mode. The case tells you all the necessary identifying information like the name of the manufacturer and the name and capacity of the model.

The OCZ Rally2 flash drive series consists of 512MB, 1GB, 2GB and 4GB models that support USB 2.0. The manufacturer declares a max read speed of 28MB/s and a max write speed of 15MB/s. The drive features a dual-channel design and is optimized for processing large files (5MB and larger).

The drive is shipped with a USB cable and a string for carrying it. You can also download the Format program from the manufacturer’s website if necessary. This program can partition and format the drive. One partition can be protected with a password. The Format utility can also make the drive bootable.

OCZ Mega-Kart OCZUSBMGK-16GB 16GB

The other flash drive from OCZ boasts the largest storage capacity in this review and has a most original appearance. It doesn’t even look like a regular flash drive. It rather resembles a credit card, but thicker. The name of Mega-Kart, the OCZ logo and the capacity are indicated on the case, confirming that this is indeed a PC storage device. The unusual appearance is due to the necessity of accommodating so many flash memory chips that would provide 16 gigabytes of storage. Another interesting feature of this device is that its USB connector is on a thin cable. The connector is pressed into the case when the drive is not in use and pulled out with a finger when you need to connect it to your PC. It was the cable itself that aroused our apprehensions – it looked just too thin to us. There’s a LED indicator at the edge of the case. The plastic of the drive’s case has a rough surface for better contact with your fingers.

The OCZ Mega-Kart series consists of two models. Besides the 16GB model, there exists an 8GB one. Both support USB 2.0. The dimensions of the device are 84 x 53 x 4mm. We couldn’t find its speed characteristics on the manufacturer’s website.

The drive comes without accessories since it doesn’t need them, actually. But our attempt to use the Format utility from the previous model was a success.