discussion OCZ ATV 2GB Flash Drive Review

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OCZ ATV 2GB Flash Drive Review​

Manufacturer’s Part Number: OCZUSBATV2G
Manufacturer Product Page: OCZ Technology | Products | Flash Media | OCZ ATV USB 2.0 Flash Drive
Price: $39.99 at NCIX
Warranty: Lifetime
Availability: Now



For many, many years the Floppy Disk had been the de facto standard for removable storage. In its day it was fast enough, durable enough and most importantly cheap enough for nearly everyone's needs. While in some aspects CDs & DVDs have replaced the floppy disk, neither optical disk format was durable enough to completely replace it. Even today most computers come standard with a Floppy Disk Drive and it really wasn’t until the advent of flash based re-recordable media that a true floppy disk alternative came into the limelight. Since then, flash drive or “thumb drives” have steadily increased in speed, have become cheaper and most importantly their storage capacity has also increased in leaps and bounds.

As little as seven years ago I paid well over $150 for a 64 megabyte flash drive. By today’s standards it was slow, clunky and had an extremely small amount of storage space. Today’s market is extremely competitive with every company trying to stand out from the crowd and while bigger capacity is a plus it is no longer the most important aspect of these drives. Once their sizes surpassed what could conceivably be “big enough” for most people, the flash drive manufacturers had to look for even more varied ways of distinguishing their products from those released by their competition. While they all differ in colour, the main trends seem to be towards either “micro drives” which can be as thin as a credit card and as small as your thumb, or extremely durable “ruggedized” drives.

This latter market niche calls for a body that is bigger than the rest and must be capable of protecting your data under the most extreme circumstances. One of the more popular choices is marketed by OCZ. OCZ is well known in the enthusiast community as they consistently produce some of the most elegant and well recognized products available to the general public. Today we will be looking at their latest “ruggedized” mainstream flash drive offering, the “ATV”.

The ATV was introduced a few months ago as a product that you could take anywhere with you while feeling safe that it would no loose your data if you dropped it in a lake or it took a tumble out of your third floor window. It comes with OCZ's Lifetime Warranty and promises high speed with a price that is pretty easy to swallow.

 

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Packaging & Accessories

Packaging and Accessories

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As you can see OCZ uses the much maligned plastic clamshell package for its flash drives. While the clamshell is the de facto standard for all flash drives why did OCZ have use it? This was a great missed opportunity by OCZ to help distinguish themselves as true leaders of the industry. Security and protection of the device must be the major considerations when designing a cheap throwaway package; BUT shouldn't the end-users "ease of opening" also be taken into account? Doesn't the protective packaging of a product give the customer their first impression of a product? Someone really needs to take this to the next level and come out with an improved package container that is as shoplifter-proof as the traditional clamshell. However, since this is the industry standard OCZ can’t really be faulted for following industry as a whole.

As with most other flash drives, the accessories that came with the ATV are very sparse. However, a very nice touch was the inclusion of not only a key ring but a cap holder. This is an unusual way of ensuring that the cap is not misplaced but the only concern with this setup is in regards to the way the cap holder is attached to the drive. At the back end of the drive is a hole making the whole back end one big lanyard ring through which the key chain goes. This is not the problem, in fact this is a very secure and durable mounting point. The problem is everything else about this back-end. The keychain that comes with this drive is of fairly light weight, some would even say “flimsy” construction but even this is not as bad as the small non-reinforced lanyad ring built into the back of the cap holder. This amounts to little more than a thin circle of rubber that easily deforms when trying to remove the cap by pulling on the chain. Without being very careful in how one removes the cap this small rubber ring will probably break fairly quickly.

The other thing that is missing from this flash drive is inclusion of any encryption software. While this is not a big deal and there are many good and free encryption programs on the market. It is just puzzling why OCZ did not see fit to include one.

 

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First Impressions / Features & Specs

First Impressions

The ATV is styled after its namesake’s tire and clad in a rubberized cladding. The blue and black color scheme is not as flashy as the enthusiast grade ATV “turbo” (which is black and bright yellow) and while it doesn’t scream out “I’m a lean, mean all terrain machine” it does seems to be more elegant, refined and almost subtle. Everyone who saw it complemented on how nice it looked and how great it felt in your hand. It really is a drive that you want to touch and hold since its rubber provides enough grip that it felt secure even if you are wearing mittens. And trust me, over the last few weeks, there has been ALOT of mitten-wearing around here.

The second thing you will notice is the fact that the ATV is slightly bigger than it looks. Its not chunky, it is just long and the rubber does add quite a bit of heft to it. OCZ's latest drive may not be as big as some others on the market but it does take up a deceptively large amount of room in your hand. It really is a handful and that can be reassuring, as nobody likes misplacing their flash drive. Unfortunately, people who like a more compact flash drive should look elsewhere.

Overall this drive gives a very good first impression. You can tell that a lot of time and engineering went into it and it is nice to see a company take pride in its product.


Features and Specifications

- High Speed USB 2.0 Certified
- True Plug and Play (Compatible with MAC OS X)
- Dual Channel Technology
- Available in 2GB, 4GB,and 8GB capacities
- Waterproof Rubber Housing
- Orange LED Status Light
- Lifetime Warranty

One really nice feature of the drive was the inclusion of a big bright orange LED that lights up when the drive is plugged in. This led also blinks when it is in use. This is not a new or unique feature but the execution of it is flawless. It is big and bright enough to be noticeable yet is not so bright as to be annoying

 

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Performance Tests

Performance Tests

Testing Methodology

Testing flash drives is not as simple as putting together a bunch of files, dragging them into the flash drive folder in Windows and using a stopwatch to time how long the transfer takes. Rather, there are factors such as read / write speed and data burst speed to take into account.

For these tests I used a combination of the ATTI Disk Benchmark, HDTach and the SIS Sandra Removable Storage benchmark. I plugged the ATV into the same USB 2.0 port directly on the back plate of a ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard.


Read Bandwidth

For this benchmark, HDTach was used. It shows the potential read speed that you are likely to experience with this drive.

As you can see the ATV holds its own against some of the fastest (and not so fast) drives on the market. While it is not as fast as the ATV Turbo line, it is very close.


Random Access Time

Once again, HDTach was used for the benchmark. This benchmark tests how quickly different areas of the drive’s memory can be accessed. A low number means that the drive space can be accessed quickly while a high number means that more time is taken trying to access different parts of the drive.

Surprisingly the ATV was actually faster than the Turbo line, but this may be due to the fact that the ATV Turbo that was tested was a 4GB model.


ATTO Disk Benchmark

The Atto disk benchmark tests the drives’ read and write speeds using gradually larger size files. For these tests, the ATTO program was kept at its default values and each test was run 4 times. The test program then spits out an extrapolated performance figure in megabytes per second.

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As you can see, the ATV is very fast in reading but only above average when it comes to write speeds. While these write speeds are not as good as advertised they are still much better than most other consumer level drives. What is very disappointing is that the ATV was not even able to equal the performance of the older OCZ Rally 2GB flash drive.


Sandra Removable Storage Benchmark

This test was run with the removable storage benchmark in Sandra IX Standard. All of the scores are calculated in operations per second and have been averaged out from the scores of 4 test runs.

This is where the drives limitation really begin to show. As far as SiSoftware Sandra scores are concerned the ATV performs very similarly to the older OCZ Rally 2. <?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o>These number are still very good but both Corsair GT and OCZ ATV Turbo are in a league all their own. The performance difference between the standard and Turbo versions of the ATV really becomes apparent in this test.
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Price Comparisons

Price Comparisons

Cost per Gigabyte

When compared to normal hard drives, flash drives are just not competitive in the pirce per gigabyte area. However, your flash drive can take abuses that would leave in the sturdiest platter based hard drive dead. Fortunately, the ATV line is very reasonably priced especially when compared to its faster sibling the ATV Turbo.

As you can see the ATV is actually a better deal than the 4GB ATV Turbo, but when you consider that the Corsair GT is the same price it is difficult to recommend it instead of the faster Corsair GT. Of course, as with everything in life, there is more than simply economics to be considered when choosing a flash drive.


Cost to Performance Ratio

This ATV has a fast read speed of 29.6 MB/sec which is very close to the Turbo’s 32.9 MB/sec. With a retail cost of only $39.99 this drive has a very good cost to performance ratio when it comes to read speed.

Please note:Since the OCZ ATV Turbo was the only 4GB model its price was halved to be more in line with the 2GB models.

Once again the Corsair GT is a better value than the ATV but as the chart shows, the OCZ ATV still represents pretty good value for your money.

 

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Subjective Tests

Subjective Tests

Size

One question that many people ask themselves before buying their first drive is “will this block my other USB ports when plugged in?”

The answer to that question is: No, it will not block any adjacent ports. While many motherboards now come with numerous USB ports on the back most computer cases usually only have 2 on the front. Knowing that you will be able to use both ports on the front is a definitely a good thing to know before buying.

Here is a picture of it installed in the front of a Cooler Master Stacker 830 alongside an Canon Scanner USB plug

Here it is installed in the back plate of a Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe. Along side it is a RJ45 LAN plug and the USB plug for a Logitech Trackball. Below it is the USB plug for a Logitech G7 and Logitech MX 500. As you can see it doesn’t even block any ports below it.

Pocket Travel

Another factor people take into consideration is how portable is it really? Will it break if I sit on it? Will it become uncomfortable if I leave it in my pants pocket all day?

When you have the ATV in your pocket, you know that its there and this was actually a pro and a con. On the positive side it will be hard to lose, but it is noticeable and does have to be repositioned from time to time for comfort. In other words this is not the kind of drive that will go on your keychain and be forgotten about. It is long and it can dig into your leg, especially if you are wearing small pocketed dress pants.

Overall if it had been just a little shorter it would probably would have been much more comfortable as a “pocket drive”. If you plan on storing the ATV in your purse or glove compartment then its length shouldn’t be an issue.


Lint Collection

No one likes a “dirt collector” and when buying a flash drive many people pause and wonder how clean it will stay after constant use and storage in their pants pocket. This test tries to replicate the long term effects of having it left in your pocket.

By placing the drive & a large quantity of dryer lint in ziplock bag and shaking it, I was quickly able to determine how much pocket lint it would attract. While this is a completely unscientific test it will give you a rough idea of what it will look like after months of day to day storage in a pocket. (Let's all hope you wash your pants more than once every few months. Ed.)

Here is what it looked like after shaking:

As you can see this drives rubber exterior housing is a real lint magnet. Even when photographing the drive one has to be careful to keep everything “lint free” or it will end up on the drive.

 

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Extreme Condition Tests

Extreme Condition Tests

Please note: I strongly discourage you from trying any of these tests as damage to either your drive or computer may happen and we here at Hardware Canucks take no responsibility if you DO try them. They are simply included for illustrative purposes only.


Sub Zero Temperatures

As OCZ does claim this is a rugged drive and this test shows exactly how thermal resistant it really is. By placing it in a freezer turned to its coldest setting and leaving the ATV there for a 4 days you can get a good idea of how it will react to cold conditions. This is a good test of how it will react when being left in your glove compartment overnight during our cold Canadian winters.

After it thawed out a bit, it worked just as well as it did before this test. While it probably is not recommended, forgetting about it in your car overnight shouldn’t kill it.


Water

While OCZ claims this drive is water resistant, would it be still usable after it dropped out of your pocket and into a puddle? The simple answer is yes. The drive was completely submerged in water for 5 minutes and then immediately plugged into the computer. It worked just as good as before.

Unfortunately, the drive does not float; rather, it sinks like a rock. So if you do take it fishing, be careful or it will become a very expensive fishing lure.


Snow

To test the ATV to the limit, it was left outside in the snow for 3 days. During that time, the temperature actually got up above 0 and then plunged to -12c and over 25cms of wet snow fell. Luckily, a shovel was placed nearby so it was not too hard to find. The black and red colour combination, while not as visible as the turbo line, did make fairly easy to find.

After digging it out, no moisture of any kind was visible in the port end of the ATV. Simply drying the exterior of case was all that was needed before it was plugged in. It worked just as well as it did before this test.


Drop Test

To test exactly how rugged this drive was it was dropped from a height of approximately eleven feet. It hit front on and bounced once (while doing what appeared to be a 540 spin) before coming to a skidding halt. No major damage was visible on the case and the cap was still firmly attached. The drive worked just as well as it did before the test.

 

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Conclusion

Conclusion

OCZ's ATV was a real pleasure to test since it held up very well when pitted against our battery of extreme tests. In many cases its performance was spot-on with what OCZ promises and its price is quite fair compared to some other flash drives on the market. Even after being frozen, drowned, buried, dropped, and even lost the drive performed as good as new. This is astonishing as it was tested way beyond what anyone would consider “normal” abuse and therein lies the market segment this drive is targeted at: people who are hard on their flash drives. No matter what I threw at it, the ATV continued to work without any issues. Indeed, the exterior of the drive does a very impressive job of keeping the internal protected from just about any situation you could put it into.

No matter which way you cut it, this drive caters to a particular market segment. While it is able to deliver performance under any circumstance, it does so while sacrificing size and some ergonomics. There is absolutely no way that you will want one of these drives on your keychain and if you actually enjoy you pocket bulging out, be prepared for lint sticking to the ATV like no tomorrow. I also had some issues with the performance when it came to write speeds and random access time even though read speeds were extremely good. It should also be mentioned that the keychain is flimsy to say the least and it is the one thing that needs some serious revision on the ATV.

Overall, the ATV is a slightly above average performing drive wrapped in an exceptionally durable case. If you cannot justify the price of OCZ’s ATV Turbo line then this may be a very good alternative if you need a rugged drive.


Pros:

- Fast read times
- Rugged & Durable
- Lifetime Warranty


Cons:

- Size
- Weak Cap holder & chain
- No included encryption software
- Slightly disappointing write times

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Thanks to OCZ for providing us with this drive​