SSD by stefan @ 2012-03-12
The Vertex 3 2.5’’ SATA III 240GB SSD from OCZ is built around a SandForce SF-2200 series processor and succeeds to deliver very good transfer speeds, also dethroning all other products tested in the past. The only downside would be the price, considering that the 240GB variant can be found at online stores for about 400 Euros.
At first I would like to thank OCZ for offering a sample of their Vertex 3 240GB SATA III SSD for testing and reviewing.
"Founded in 2002, San Jose, California-based OCZ Technology Group, Inc. has built on its expertise in high-speed memory to become a dominant player in the manufacturing and distribution of solid state drives (SSDs), a disruptive, game-changing technology that is replacing traditional rotating magnetic hard disk drives (HDDs). SSDs are faster, more reliable, run cooler, and use significantly less power than the HDDs used in the majority of computers today. In addition to SSD technology, OCZ also offers high performance components for computing devices and systems, including enterprise class power management products and industrial power accessories."
SATA III / 6Gbps
Implements SandForce 2281 Client SSD Processor
Enhanced BCH ECC capability
Supports SATA-7 Security Erase
Efficient Write Amplification Factor of less than 1 (4K database transfer workload)
Significantly improved performance over previous generation
Delivers 20% faster IOPS, and 40% faster sequential read/write throughputs
Consumer solution that implements cost-effective2Xnm MLC NAND Flash to deliver an excellent balance of performance and price
The OCZ Vertex 3 SATA III SSD is shipped inside a small and slim cardboard box, with a photo of the product on the frontal side; the packaging also lets us know that we’ll find inside a 3.5’’ SSD adapter for desktops:
On the back, we can find a small product description, along with the list of specifications:
Inside, we can find the SSD surrounded by protective material, along with the supplied documentation:
The SSD is also wrapped inside an anti-static bag; a case sticker can be found with the “My SSD is faster than your HDD” statement :); of course, the retail product also comes with the metallic 3.5’’ SSD adapter, but the reviewed sample did not come with it:
The bag is sealed with a warning sticker, which tells us to be careful with the product, because it’s static discharge sensitive:
The necessary fixing screws also come with the product:
On the top of the SSD we can see a plastic black cover with a sticker on it, featuring the OCZ logo along with the name of the product:
On the back we get to see a larger white sticker, with information like power rating, capacity, serial number or product code name:
One of the chassis screws is covered by a warranty sticker, which, when damaged, the warranty will be void:
Right after opening the SSD, we can see that the PCB is properly fixed to the chassis with 4 extra screws, something we haven’t seen at the previously tested products:
On the frontal side of the PCB we will find the SandForce processor, along with eight MLC NAND Flash memory chips:
On the back there are eight additional NAND Flash chips:
Like on the SSDs we have reviewed before, the Vertex 3 also comes with the SandForce SF-2281VB1-SDC processor, which interacts directly with the modules (there is no need of additional RAM) and supports Flash capacities from 12GB to 512GB. It can work with both MLC and SLC Flash types:
The NAND Flash is composed from Intel MLC 25nm 29F64G08AAMEI chips:
The SF-2281VB1-SDC processors also have integrated enhanced DuraClass technology that is architected to leverage today's densest SLC and MLC NAND flash memory. The processor is built to deliver best-in-class performance, endurance, security and power efficiency in a “DRAM-less”, single chip solution.
The incorporated DuraWrite technology optimizes writes to the Flash memory over conventional controllers increasing the overall endurance and reliability of the complete SSD. Highly intelligent block management and wear leveling also extends the overall endurance.
SandForce SSD Processors deliver performance that maximizes the throughput of a 6Gb/s SATA interface with balanced read/write speeds.
DuraClass technology automatically stores data in a highly secure AES-256 & 128 hardware encrypted format that double encrypts the data.
The SF-2200/2100 SSD Processors provide data protection that surpasses the leading high performance enterprise HDDs used today. This comes from a combination of a superior higher-level BCH ECC algorithm with up to 55 bits/512 Byte sector protection and the unique RAISE (Redundant Array of Independent Silicon Elements) technology. RAISE provides the protection and reliability of RAID on a single drive without the 2x write overhead of parity.
SF-2200 Family Block Diagram
CPU : Intel I5 2500K Retail @ 4.8GHz , 1.3V
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12P
Motherboard : ASRock P67 Extreme6
RAM : G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL8D-4GBRM
Video : Sparkle X460 Calibre 1GB
Power Supply : Cooler Master 850W
HDD : Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200.10
Case: Cooler Master ATCS 840
The OCZ Vertex 3 240GB SSD comes unformatted out of the box:
After the SSD has been formated NTFS, here is the total free space reported by Windows 7:
With the help of AIDA64, we can extract more information regarding the drive:
HDTach Short Test
HDTach Long Test
CrystalMark HDD Test Suite
AIDA64 Disk Test Suite
PCMark05 HDD Test Suite
CrystalDisk Test Suite (Random)
HDTune Test Suite
PCMark Vantage HDD Test Suite
AS SSD Benchmark
AS SSD Benchmark (IOPS)
ATTO Disk Benchmark
HD Tune File Benchmark 64MB
HD Tune File Benchmark 512MB
PCMark 7
The Vertex 3 240GB SSD from OCZ is surely an impressive product, succeeding to beat all other previously tested SSDs, even if some featured the same SandForce SF-2281 processor.
In ATTO, we could obtain write transfer speeds of about 513MB/s and 554MB/s for writes, which is more than double that the values we could obtain with older SSD generations like Patriot Torqx 64GB, featuring an Indilinx processor.
The SSD comes with 256GB of 25nm NAND Flash but the RAISE feature takes up some space, so after formatting we end up with a total of 223GB free space for actual usage.
The drive MTBF is rated at 2 million hours which practically can translate to 228 years, 58 days and one hour and is backed up by a 3 year warranty. For added value, the manufacturer also includes inside the box the desktop 3.5’’ bracket adapter, along with the needed screws.
The 240GB drive is still pricy and can be found at online stores for about 400 Euros, which is a lot for most of us but those who are seeking always for the ultimate performance should not have any problems acquiring it. For those that do not have that much cash, OCZ has also prepared 60GB, 90GB and 120GB versions, to cover all necessary price ranges.
I would like to thank again to OCZ for making this review possible!