OWC’s aluminium Atlas USB4 CFexpress 4.0 Type B Card Reader: faster and better than others?

OWC’s marketing department has it that the new Atlas USB4 CFexpress 4.0 Type B Card Reader features a highly effective heat sink and heat-resistant internal components, as well as automatic computer connection speed detection. That should make it the fastest and most reliable solution available for ingesting CFexpress 4.0 Type B media cards, but is it?

The Atlas USB4 CFexpress 4.0 Type B Card Reader certainly looks good. It’s an 8 x 8 x 2.4 cm box with aluminium sides and a matte black plastic top with the OWC logo etched in dark grey. The USB4 connector as well as its Innergize switch are located at the back. Innergize mode is unique to OWC’s latest card readers. It’s a software/hardware solution developed by OWC to ensure their own memory cards are always ready to deliver the highest level of workflow performance and reliability. The closest competitor is ProGrade’s Refresh software.

The inclusion of Innergize puts OWC card readers firmly into the category of professional tools. It helps professional photographers, videographers, and film makers to prevent the slow degradation of a card’s ability to write at maximum speeds — a process which normally occurs with using flash memory. With Innergize verifying and reporting the percentage of memory card life remaining, you can be saved from dropped frames, missing a picture because the camera buffer was maxed out, or your camera automatically stopping recording, if you run regularly run the software. Innergize also cleans and restores flash memory performance of OWC memory cards and allows quick upgrades of firmware in the field for full compatibility and reliability.

My tests

I first ran stress tests on a ProGrade CFexpress Type B Card dating back to 2019 using the company’s (no longer available for buying) combo CFexpress/SD card reader with an AJA System Test for 40 minutes. At the end of the test, the reader was very warm to the touch, the performance under AJA’s test became somewhat erratical, and the card itself was so hot I couldn’t keep it in my hand. Although the ProGrade card reader didn’t seem to throttle much, it’s probably quite unhealthy for the electronics inside a memory card to get hot to the point of burning one’s skin when you touch it.

After letting the card cool off for 30 minutes, I took OWC’s Atlas USB4 CFexpress 4.0 Type B Card Reader and ran the ProGrade card through the same stress test. The Atlas managed to squeeze out a higher speed and did so for the full 40 minutes of the test.

I was on guard for the temperature when the test had ran its course, but I shouldn’t have worried. The reader itself didn’t become warm at all. The card only got lukewarm, so OWC’s heat-dissipating sink was doing a hell of a job.

I ran another test with OWC’s own Atlas Pro CFexpress 4 Type B 256GB card that should be capable of higher sustained speeds. And so it did; it maxed out at the top speed I can squeeze out of anything on my mid-2017 iMac. Again, the Atlas card reader maintained its speed throughout at a temperature that wasn’t much higher than my hand’s. As with the ProGrade card, the Atlas card came out lukewarm.

I also tested Innergize. Upon install, Innergize asked to activate a login component to my Ventura system. Then, the first thing I did was to put the switch at he back of the unit in Innergize mode. Then I inserted the Atlas card and launched the app. The card appears in the Innergize window alongside other cards it recognises from other connected Innergize capable OWC card readers. You can then check their health or sanitise them without further ado. It’s as easy as pie.

Afterwards, when you’re done ejecting the card, you must not forget to turn the switch on the Atlas USB4 CFexpress 4.0 Type B Card Reader back to USB4 mode.

Verdict

OWC has done a brilliant job with the Atlas USB4 CFexpress 4.0 Type B Card Reader. It reads any card at its highest possible speed without becoming more than lukewarm to the touch. However, OWC’s own Atlas cards and card readers come with an added benefit, which is the embedded Innergize capability. The combination positions these products as professional grade at a hard to match price point.

The Atlas USB4 CFexpress 4.0 Type B Card Reader is available directly from OWC’s eShop for 99.99 USD. For EU buyers it’s important to know OWC products are shipped from within the EU. Innergize is entirely free — no need to subscribe with a yearly recurring fee or buy a licence.