On HD Tach we could measure two parameters: the average read speed, listed in megabytes per second (the higher, the better), and access time, listed in milliseconds (the lower, the better).

As expected, OCZ Rally, Geil David 100, Patriot Xporter XT and ATP ToughDrive achieved the best results in this test, as they use dual channel technology. ATP ToughDrive was the fastest USB flash drive in our new roundup, kicking previous kings out of the throne. It was 16.55% fastest than Patriot Xporter XT 2 GB, 17.36% faster than Geil David 100 256 MB, 26.59% faster than OCZ Rally 512 MB and 43.83% faster than OCZ Rally 2 GB. Really impressive, especially if we remember that ATP is not as famous as the other companies in the USB flash drive retail market. Patriot Xporter XT 2 GB achieved an outstanding result, on the same level as Geil David 100 256 MB.

Access time measures the time the time the computer spends accessing the device before starting transferring data. The lower this value, the better, i.e. the fastest the device is.

Kingston DataTraveller U3 Smart 1 GB and Geil David 100 256 MB achieved the best results here, only 0.4 ms. Kingston DataTraveller 2.0 512 MB and Kingston DataTraveller Elite 2 GB had also achieved a terrific result, with 0.5 ms, and OCZ Rally 512 MB was also great with 0.6 ms. ATP ToughDrive has also achieved a good result, with 0.9 ms access time. Patriot Xporter XT achieved a 4.5 ms access time, which isn’t the best but also it isn’t that bad. The problem here was Corsair Flash Readout, with a lousy 45.3 ms access time, and OCZ Roadster, with second worst result at 59.7 ms.