Imation Odyssey Removable Storage

We used Lavalys Everest Ultimate Edition 2006 2.80, to be more exact is disk test.

As Odyssey is actually a USB-HDD based on a 2.5" SATA hard drive (with a nonstandard design), we decided to compare it with previously reviewed similar models:

• Prestigio Data Safe II (OTi controller; Fujitsu MHV2060AH hard drive)
• RaidSonic Icy Box IB-270
• Floston 2.5" HDD enclosure (the last two models are based on a CY7C68300 EZ-USB AT2+ chip from Cypress Semiconductor, they were tested with Seagate Momentus 5400.2 100 GB)

Interface Throughput

We can see that Odyssey cannot become a leader in performance - the USB-SATA bridge throughput is limited. However, we should take into account that many USB hosts are even slower, so there may be no difference at all. But in "good" conditions we can see that it's outperformed by some other models by 15%. On the other hand, some models are slower by 10% (we have seen even slower bridges).

Data transfer rates

First of all, User Manual promises the reading rate of up to 36 MB/s, writing rate - up to 28 MB/s. Unfortunately, we don't know conditions in which these results were obtained. It would be interesting to see how they squeeze such speed from USB :) Let's see what we've really got here.

It's an expectable result, considering the limited interface throughput. Thus, this device is outperformed by the fastest external hard drives(at least for now), but it still outperforms many models.

The same concerns the write rates. But unlike reading, we managed to obtain the promised maximum rate. Note that the average rate might have been higher, if we had a different kit - hard drives in 40 GB cartridges certainly belong to old series, so they cannot boast of high performance (we can see it well in the low minimal transfer rate in the end of the disk).

Performance is not the strong point of this device so far, but it fares on a par with its competitors. And its performance may grow, if engineers change the docking interface ;) Performance may also grow, when cartridges use newer HDD series.

Access time

There is nothing interesting again - these parameters are determined by the installed hard drive, and they have been similar in models from all manufacturers of late. If we had tested a different cartridge (not the 40 GB model with an evidently old hard drive), the results would have been better.