OCZ Rally2 - First Generation Flashdrive Review
This review focuses on a 4GB OCZ Rally2 (first generation) USB flashdrive. This portable USB device utilizes a curved, smooth and rugged black housing with removable cap. It features a yellowish orange LED that remains lit once the flash drive is plugged in, and flickers with read/write access activity. In addition the OCZ Rally2 is a dual channel USB flash drive, which should make it faster than a standard single channel device.
OCZ Rally2 First Generation Screenshot:
OCZ Rally2 Speed Benchmarking:
The following read/write file benchmark and low level read/write benchmark tests were established using the flash memory toolkit and a 4GB OCZ Rally2 (Gen 1) USB flashdrive.
Compatible with USB Bootable Linux?:
With this first generation OCZ Rally2 USB stick, we were able to setup the drive for multiple partitions in Linux and then proceed to successfully install and natively boot Ubuntu from this device. Other Linux versions should prove bootable as well.
Conclusion: The first generation OCZ Rally2 is a great looking, solid dual channel drive. The drive is impressive with 20.3MB/s average read speeds, 11.1MB/s write speeds, ability to be partitioned, and use a MBR for USB boot.
Much like it’s gen two sister this flash drive also makes for a great candidate to store portable applications and bootable Live Linux releases. We personally prefer the smooth rounded look and feel of the first generation device over the squared look and rougher feel of the generation two.
How does the OCZ Rally 2 Rank?:
We honor this OCZ Rally2 with our Editors Choice Top 4 Star Rating based on the following:
- One Star For Construction/Durablility
- One Star for Performance/Speed
- One Star for Compatibility
- One Star for Features
Side Notes: Keep in mind that larger capacity USB flash devices are generally slower than their lower capacity counterparts. So a 1GB flash drive of the same make/model should perform better than a 4GB device.
