SSD by stefan @ 2013-10-03
The Vertex 450 SSD was built with an optimal price/performance ratio in mind and features a derivative of the Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller (M10), with a lower clock speed and an optimized clock generator; the 450 also features 20nm process NAND flash which is purchased and packaged by OCZ itself in order to bring the prices further down.
At first we would like to thank OCZ for offering a sample of their Vertex 450 256GB 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."
Cutting-edge controller technology delivers maximum performance and superior endurance without compression or loss of usable capacity
Advanced suite of NAND flash management keeps your drive at higher sustained performance over the long term
Designed for ultimate reliability with in-house technology and high quality components
Excels in both incompressible and compressible data types such as multimedia, encrypted data,. ZIP files and software
Bundled with a 3.5-inch desktop adapter bracket and Acronis® True Image™ cloning software with Windows® 8 support to easily transfer data from your old hard drive
Sleek alloy housing offers slimmer 7mm z-height for compatibility with the latest thinner form factor notebooks
OCZ fights continuously in order to establish itself a very good position on the market, by designing a lot of SSD models which cover a lot of price ranges. The company also comes with its own built SSD controller, which gives it extra flexibility compared to the time when it was buying processors from other corporations. In order to decrease the costs even further, OCZ have also began to purchase NAND wafers and started packaging NAND by itself.
The Vertex 450 SSD is shipped inside a fully sealed cardboard packaging, as we have been used in the past:
Here we will get to see a photo of the actual product, along with some of the main product highlights:
On the opposite side we have a more in-depth product description, in different languages:
Besides the usual manual which was present with the other series too, we will get an Acronis software cloning free license, which should be considered as a big plus. The software from Acronis is quite good and we have used it for cloning SSDs and HDDs without issues so far:
Besides the SSD inside the protective foam mold, we will also get a handy desktop adapter and screws:
The product is further wrapped inside an anti-static bag:
OCZ have their SSD casings built from aluminum, which sometimes acts as a heatsink for the processor:
In the back we have the regular SATA Data/Power connectors:
On the bottom side of the SSD we have a white sticker with the product code name and serial number:
The OCZ warranty sticker can be also found here:
As we have told you before, a part of the casing acts as a heatsink, for example the thin bottom aluminum cover. Between the controller and the aluminum we will find a white thermal pad:
Inside the Vertex 450 we also find a slightly modified Indilinx Barefoot controller, with the BF3-M10, which comes with a lower clock speed and an optimized clock generator (we can also call it as being a more economical version of the BF3-M00 controller, featured inside the Vector):
On this side of the board we will also find eight 20nm MLC NAND flash chips from Micron:
As buffer near the processor we will find one D9PFJ 256MB DDR3 memory chip, also from Micron:
On the back side we have a similar arrangement with the remaining 8 MLC NAND Flash chips and one extra 256MB DDR3 for a total of 512MB:
In the surrounding area we will also find a small TPS652510 power management IC from Texas Instruments:
CPU : Intel I5 3750K Retail @ 4.7GHz
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
Motherboard : ASRock Z77 Extreme6
RAM :GeIL PC3-17000 2133MHz 8GB EVO Leggera
Video : Sparkle X560 Calibre
Power Supply : Cooler Master 850W
HDD : Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200.10
Case: Cooler Master ATCS 840
The OCZ Vertex 450 256GB 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
Blank SSD
Filled SSD
HDTach Long Test
Blank SSD
Filled SSD
CrystalMark HDD Test Suite
AIDA64 Disk Test Suite
PCMark05 HDD Test Suite
CrystalDisk Test Suite (Random)
HDTune Test Suite
Blank SSD
Filled SSD
PCMark Vantage HDD Test Suite
PCMark 7
Anvil Reads
Anvil Writes
AS SSD Benchmark
Blank SSD
Filled SSD
AS SSD Benchmark (IOPS)
Blank SSD
Filled SSD
ATTO Disk Benchmark
Blank SSD
Filled SSD
The evolution of the Vertex series has come a long way beginning with the original which featured an Indilinx controller along with SATA 2 interface, next we had the Vertex 2, also on the SATA 2 but with a SandForce controller; the Vertex 3 SSD made the switch to the SATA 3 interface while still sporting an SandForce controller and at the Vertex 4 we have seen another controller switch to Marvell, but with an OCZ customized firmware. Lastly, in 2013 we have the Vertex 450 with OCZ proprietary silicon and a SATA 3 interface. Speaking of the controller used, we are dealing with the Indilinx Barefoot BF3-M10, which is a derivative of the v3 controller, sporting a lower clock speed and an optimized clock generator. The BF3 M10 also supports 20nm NAND lithography, which was included with the Vertex 450 and adds AES-256 encryption. The 20nm process geometry is set to deliver superior and cost-effective solid state storage and features; OCZ is also in charge of purchasing NAND flash wafers and passes the cost savings to the customer, in order to deliver performance at competitive prices.
The Vertex 450 comes in a 2.5’’ 7mm form factor in order have its compatibility extended to slim devices like Ultrabooks and can be purchased in capacities of 128GB, 256GB and 512GB. The Acronis cloning software is added value and has been proven so far as one of the best.
Vertex 450 delivers good performance at a competitive price and does not fall short regarding supported technologies compared to the award-winning Vector. We have seen other 7mm SSDs too with PHISON controllers which fall behind the Vertex 450 in many tests so we really welcome the new Vertex 4 replacement.
The Vertex 450 SSD can be found online for about 211 Euros while the Vector is available for a noticeable higher 240 Euros.
We would like to thank again to OCZ for making this review possible!