OCZ 2GB Rally 2 Flash Drive

Features of the OCZ Rally 2 Flash Drive

OCZ put some nice features into the Rally 2 making it a full speed USB 2.0 drive and integrating dual-channel technology. The Rally2 is optimized for transfer of files 5MB and up in size. One of the coolest features of the Rally 2 is the small size. Measuring in at 2 5/8" x 5/8" the Rally 2 is well sized for portability. It's hard to envision the size of the Rally 2, a normal five stick pack of chewing gum would cover it completely. While it isn't as svelte as its little brother, the OCZ Mini-Kart USB Flash Drive, the Rally 2 is still small enough that even on a crowded USB hub, you shouldn't have to unplug other USB devices for it to fit.

OCZ also housed the drive in an aluminium case that not only looks good, but should be very durable as well. On the end of the drive an orange LED lets you see at a glance when the Rally 2 is plugged in and ready to use and when data is being transferred to and from the flash drive. Also included is a three foot USB extension cable and a lanyard. OCZ quotes the read speed at up to 28MB/s read and 15MB/s write for the 512MB drive. No drivers are required for the Rally 2 on Windows XP, 2000 and Mac OS X. OCZ also includes a lifetime warranty on the Rally 2.

OCZ Rally 2 Flash Drive in Use

My testing of the Rally 2 2GB drive was conducted with some synthetic tests and some real world usage transferring files. For the synthetic tests I used the SiSoft Sandra 2007 removable storage benchmark suite. For the real world portion of testing I transferred a larger folder of files from my test system to the Rally 2 that was 1.57GB in size and comprised of several different file types form Jpeg photos to Word documents. Before I get too far into the test results, the test system I used for the Rally 2 review is listed below:

• CPU: AMD X2 5000+
• Mainboard: Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe
• RAM: OCZ PC5300 2GB (2 x 1GB)
• PSU: PC Power & Cooling 1KW
• Hard Drive: Seagate 750GB
• Graphics Card: XFX 7950 GX2 XXX
• Display: Eizo CE240W
• OS: Windows XP Pro SP2

The first test I ran on the Rally 2 was with Sandra 2007. I let the removable storage test run at default settings and the results were as follow:

• Repeated Sector Rewrite speed: 123Kbps
• Sequential Sector Write Speed: 104Kbps
• Random Sector Write Speed: 13Kbps

The next test I ran on the Rally 2 was to copy a large folder containing 1.57GB of data comprised of different file types from Jpeg images to Word documents. Writing the test folder to the OCZ Rally 2 took 5:29. Copying the same file from the OCZ Rally 2 to the internal hard drive took 1:28 and deleting the same file from the Rally 2 took 1:11. As you can see the Rally 2 is a fast flash drive.

Final Thoughts on the OCZ Rally 2 Flash Drive

Connecting and using the Rally 2 to my computer was as simple as finding a vacant USB port and plugging it in. If you find yourself at a computer that does not have vacant USB 2.0 ports, the Rally will also work with USB 1.1 ports with no problems, other than lower speed. Thanks to the aluminium case of the Rally 2, the drive feels and looks very high quality. I much prefer the aluminum to cheap looking plastic. Durability should also be improved thanks to OCZ's choice of material.

If you are looking for the smallest drive around, the Rally 2 might not be your first choice. However, if what you are after is speed, the Rally 2 is an excellent choice. Overall, much like the other products that OCZ makes, the Rally 2 is an excellent flash based USB drive.