Conclusion
Admittedly, consumers who are seriously considering a software-based hybrid storage solution are typically not going to be enthusiasts with cutting-edge computer systems. Rather, they’re are going to be on a tight budget and simply looking for a relatively painless way to boost the responsiveness of their aging systems. From this perspective, the Corsair Accelerator is a decent solution.
At first blush, there are many reasons against choosing this particular implementation of the SandForce/Dataplex combo. Unlike the competition, Corsair’s implementation uses SATA 2 rather than SATA 3and relies upon a lower-performance controller. Even the amount of much-needed overprovisioning has been greatly reduced, potentially reducing long term performance. However, while the situation may look grim, things are not quite as bad as they at first appear.
By and large, any computer purchased more than a year or two ago does not have SATA 3 ports, so SATA 2 is still the de-facto standard. This makes using a SATA 3-based SSD overkill at best and a waste of resources at worst. Instead of wasting limited resources on an SF-2281 controller, Corsair opted for the less costly—and slower performing—SF-2181 controller. This certainly limits the potential of the Accelerator cache drive, but such potential will not be realized in a typical older system. Unfortunately, OCZ offers a conceptually identical solution that performs better at more or less the same price.
These facts leave us with a major dilemma. On the one hand, the Accelerator should breathe life into an older system; but, on the other, there is simply no reason to choose the Corsair-branded cache SSD over the competition. You may never use the maximum performance an SF-2281-based hybrid solution can offer, but with price not being a major deciding factor in the Accelerator’s favor, why would anyone choose the slower, less capable option? That the Accelerator’s miserly over provisioning may in fact further reduce long-term performance is the bitter icing on a rather disappointing cake. Corsair needs to re-evaluate what they expect from the Accelerator line of drives and quickly adjust their pricing structure to be more inline with these new market realities.
Pros:
- Will work with your existing hard drive
- Only moderate CPU requirements
- Can help extend the life an older rig
- Increased capacity compared to the competition
Cons:
- Requires CPU cycles to work
- Relies on less than optimal ONFi 1 NAND
- Reduced Performance from SF-2181 controller
- Increased capacity comes at the cost of long-term performance
- Not exactly a plug-and-play solution
Conclusion
Admittedly, consumers who are seriously considering a software-based hybrid storage solution are typically not going to be enthusiasts with cutting-edge computer systems. Rather, they’re are going to be on a tight budget and simply looking for a relatively painless way to boost the responsiveness of their aging systems. From this perspective, the Corsair Accelerator is a decent solution.
At first blush, there are many reasons against choosing this particular implementation of the SandForce/Dataplex combo. Unlike the competition, Corsair’s implementation uses SATA 2 rather than SATA 3and relies upon a lower-performance controller. Even the amount of much-needed overprovisioning has been greatly reduced, potentially reducing long term performance. However, while the situation may look grim, things are not quite as bad as they at first appear.
By and large, any computer purchased more than a year or two ago does not have SATA 3 ports, so SATA 2 is still the de-facto standard. This makes using a SATA 3-based SSD overkill at best and a waste of resources at worst. Instead of wasting limited resources on an SF-2281 controller, Corsair opted for the less costly—and slower performing—SF-2181 controller. This certainly limits the potential of the Accelerator cache drive, but such potential will not be realized in a typical older system. Unfortunately, OCZ offers a conceptually identical solution that performs better at more or less the same price.
These facts leave us with a major dilemma. On the one hand, the Accelerator should breathe life into an older system; but, on the other, there is simply no reason to choose the Corsair-branded cache SSD over the competition. You may never use the maximum performance an SF-2281-based hybrid solution can offer, but with price not being a major deciding factor in the Accelerator’s favor, why would anyone choose the slower, less capable option? That the Accelerator’s miserly over provisioning may in fact further reduce long-term performance is the bitter icing on a rather disappointing cake. Corsair needs to re-evaluate what they expect from the Accelerator line of drives and quickly adjust their pricing structure to be more inline with these new market realities.
Pros:
- Will work with your existing hard drive
- Only moderate CPU requirements
- Can help extend the life an older rig
- Increased capacity compared to the competition
Cons:
- Requires CPU cycles to work
- Relies on less than optimal ONFi 1 NAND
- Reduced Performance from SF-2181 controller
- Increased capacity comes at the cost of long-term performance
- Not exactly a plug-and-play solution
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