discussion OCZ Summit 120GB SSD Review

[AkG]

IOMETER

IOMETER

IOMeter is heavily weighted towards the server end of things, and since we here at HWC are more End User centric we will be setting and judging the results of IOMeter a little bit differently than most. To test each drive we ran 5 test runs per HDD (1,4,16,64,128 que depth) each test having 8 parts, each part lasting 10 min w/ an additional 20 second ramp up. The 8 subparts were set to run 100% random, 80% read 20% write; testing 512b, 1k, 2k,4k,8k,16k,32k,64k size chunks of data. When each test is finished IOMeter spits out a report, in that report each of the 8 subtests are given a score in I/Os per second. We then take these 8 numbers add them together and divide by 8. This gives us an average score for that particular que depth that is heavily weighted for single user environments.

<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Storage/Summit/OCZ_Summit_IOM.jpg" border="0" alt="" />​

Talk about a funky looking happy-faced graph result. The reason it is so different from all the rest is that the firmware is slightly out dated and less refined yet its double load of NAND at low levels give the Summit that performance boost or spike seen at 1 que depth when compared to the P64. As with the Corsair, the middle levels do not fully take advantage of the large cache and only at extremely deep ends do we see a slow but steady increase in performance.

With a firmware revision or three we could conceivably see results which, while still not as good as the Indlinx, would be better than they are now.

IOMeter Stutter Test

In our usual IOMeter test we are trying to replicate real world use where reads severly outnumber writes. However, to get a good handle on how well a Solid State Disk Drive will handle a worse case scenario (and thus how likely the dreaded stutter issue will happen) we have also run an additional test. This test is made of 1 section at que depth of 1. In this test we ran 100% random. 100%writes of 4k size chunks of information. In the .csv file we then found the Maximum Write Response Time. This in ms is worst example of how long a given operation took to complete. We consider anything higher than 333ms (one third of a second) to be a good indicator that stuttering may happen, with the higher the number the worse the duration of the stutter will most likely be.

<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Storage/Summit/OCZ_Summit_stutter.jpg" border="0" alt="" />​

We are not surprised that this drive acts just like the P64 did. As we said earlier, the Summit has the same NAND and same controller, there just happens to be more chips than the smaller P64. While the firmware maybe outdated it still NOT that old and as such stuttering is not an issue. The other possibility is the amount of transaction time has more to do with the RAM used rather than the controller itself as the controller relies heavily upon its ram to get the performance numbers it boasts.

Please don’t get us wrong, this drive does not stutter and these transaction speeds will NOT be noticeable in the real world.

 

[AkG]

XP Start Up / Adobe CS3 Load Time

XP Start Up

When it comes to hard drive performance there is one area that even the most oblivious user notices: how long it takes to load the Operating System. For our tests the clock starts as soon as the system “beeps!” and stops when our Anti-Virus splash screen disappears. While all the other tests were run with a streamlined XP image this particular image is the test bed's “day to day” OS and it has accumulated a lot of crud over the months from installs and removals. We chose the Anti-Virus splash screen as our finish line as it is the last program to be loaded on start up.

<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Storage/Summit/OCZ_Summit_boot.jpg" border="0" alt="" />​

Just as the synthetics did not tell the whole story with the Corsair P64 it seems that the same is the case with this drive. It may be “faster” in the E-Peen measuring synthetics but that does not translate to faster load times. To be fair, these numbers are still VERY good but after the improvement we saw in the earlier tests we were really hoping it would catch up with the Indilinx. Is the difference due to old firmware? Maybe, but we doubt it.

ADOBE CS3 Load Time

Photoshop is a notoriously slow loading program under the best of circumstances, but when you add in a bunch of extra brushes and the such you get a really great torture test which can bring even the best of the best to their knees. Let’s see how our review unit faired in the Adobe crucible!

<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Storage/Summit/OCZ_Summit_adobe.jpg" border="0" alt="" />​

As with boot times, the Summit posts impressive numbers, not best in class but not “hang your head in shame” either. This really is shaping up to be a good old fashioned horse race.

 

[AkG]

Real World Data Transfers / Stutter Test

Real World Data Transfers

No matter how good a synthetic benchmark like IOMeter or PCMark is, it can not really tell you how your hard drive will perform in “real world” situations. All of us here at Hardware Canucks strive to give you the best, most complete picture of a review item’s true capabilities and to this end we will be running timed data transfers to give you a general idea of how its performance relates to real life use. To help replicate worse case scenarios we will transfer a 4.00GB contiguous RAR file and a folder containg 49 subfolders with a total 2108 files varying in length from 20mb to 1kb (1.00 GB total).

Testing will include transfer to and transferring from the devices, timing each process individually to provide an approximate Read and Write performance. To then stress the dive even more we will then make a copy of the large file to another portion of the same drive and then repeat the process with the small one. This will test the drive to its limits as it will be reading and writing simultaneously. Here is what we found.

The Summit “Large file” and “Copy to Self” test results ARE really impressive. We have to wonder if the small file copy to and from results are more due to old firmware getting in the way rather than anything else. That being said, these are damn impressive numbers though no matter which way you cut it.

Real World Stutters

Over a three day period we used the SSD as our main OS drive. During this period we did everything in our power to make the drive stutter. This is what we found out.

Simply put, the Summit is a joy to use. I honestly don’t think anyone under normal circumstances will notice slow down or stutters from these drives. Sure, you CAN make any drive stutter, after all it still is only a single drive and not an array of them backed up by HUGE amounts of cache on the raid controller; but the beefy 128MB of onboard ram does come in handy.

 

[AkG]

Value

Value

The term “Value” is such an amorphous term that it truly has different meanings for different people. For some a hard drive is only as good as its performance potential, for others it is how quiet or durable it is; for others still it’s how effective it is for its cost. We here at HWC try to provide as many answers as possible for the term “Value”. Hopefully by this point in the review people looking at performance potential will have a fairly good idea of what its Value is. For the “best bang for the buck” crowd we have included a chart below showing how much a give drive costs per GB . No consideration has been made for performance, “durability” or any other extraneous factors; this is just raw performance vs. monetary cost. All prices are based on the lowest price found in our Price Comparison engine at the time of their initial review.

<img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Storage/Summit/OCZ_Summit_value.jpg" border="0" alt="" />​

OK lets be honest, you don’t buy a Bentley because it is a great bang for your buck car.
Much like when you buy OCZ branded drives you are buying into proven customer service in the SSD arena and the best support money can buy. This is why this drive is more expensive on per gigabyte basis than Corsair, though to be fair this is also an apples to oranges comparison as the P64 is by very definition a 64GB drive and the Summit is in a different class with 120GB. You are also paying for the convenience of not needing to RAID 0 two 64GB SSDs to get this Summit’s size. In addition, as we saw the Summit is able to outperform the smaller sized Corsair drive as well.

 

[AkG]

Conclusion

Conclusion

If anything, the Summit 120GB really is an intriguing SSD drive. In many ways it exhibits a bit of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde mentality since on one hand we have an outdated firmware yet on the other hand we have test results which put many other drives to shame. While older Firmware isn't usually an issue, it becomes a serious problem in this case since it doesn't even have Idle Time Garbage Collection let alone TRIM. This means that over time your drive IS going to get slower and slower unless OCZ and Samsung release a customer-based firmware update utility. To be honest with you, this review has been sitting on the back burner for more than a month while we waited with crossed fingers for a firmware updater that is available to the public. We would still be waiting if it was up to Samsung.

This lack of additional firmware support can't be blamed on OCZ but in the end, it is a drive with their name on it that will suffer. As we mentioned in the review, we place the blame firmly on Samsung's shoulders since they seem to be letting their OEM customers like OCZ and Corsair fend for themselves. This isn't acceptable. We believe OCZ when they say that they are going to take care of the firmware issue and they have shown us the light at the end of the tunnel by offering free firmware flashes to anyone who sends in their drive. New drives are also shipping with the revised firmware but this also raises another point: there is absolutely no way for a customer to know which firmware revision they are getting until their drive is unpackaged. Unfortunately, SSDs live and die by their firmware and what OCZ is doing is nothing more than a band-aid solution. We will add our voices to all the others who are experiencing slowdowns on their Samsung-based drives by saying: Samsung, get off your asses and release a firmware flasher that is available to end users!

The Summit is certainly a very good introductory drive and unless the price difference was massive we would chose this drive over the Agility line any day of the week and twice on Sunday. This drive really does have top notch NAND flash and doesn’t cut any corners in that area. However, when it comes to the Summit vs. Vertex things are not so clear cut. On the one hand, The Vertex's OEM Indilinx is being much more proactive on the firmware front and because of this, their drives to kick butt and take names. On the other hand, the larger cache of the Samsung unit does make for a very compelling argument in real world usage scenarios.

Indeed, it seems that Samsung drives do not slow down as fast as others, so the whole wiper.exe and ITGC issues are less important than it would be on an Indilinx drive. However, as it stands right now the Summit has older firmware, no ITGC and no TRIM; whereas the Vertex (via 1.4x firmware) has IMPROVED and refined ITGC (or Indilinx’s version “Nand Launderer”) AND native OS TRIM functionality. Granted, the Vertex is an altogether higher-end drive but we would gladly pay the price premium when it comes to questions over sustaining long-term performance.

When you add it all up the Summit makes a good mid tier solution but it is priced like an enthusiast class one. In the enthusiast class arena you have Indilinx and Intel slugging it out and the Summit is left on the sidelines. In the mid tier arena, OCZ has some stiff competition with Corsair as they have this exact drive with newer firmware backed by their own kick ass warranty and support. In the end, only you can decide what combination of price, performance and upgradeability is right for you; however to us the Summit is best summed up right now as: “neither fish, nor fowl nor good red meat.” OCZ needs to get on top of the Samsung firmware issue ASAP and then maybe it would be truly award winning drive. The potential is definitely there in spades.



Pros:
- Very good synthetic performance
- Extremely good real world performance
- Massive 128MB of cache
- Backed by OCZ’s amazing customer support


Cons:
- Price
- Outdated firmware
- No firmware upgrade program at this time
- WILL slow down without a firmware update
- Sending SSD for a firmware update = less than optimal solution

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/storage/23150-ocz-summit-120gb-ssd-review-comment-thread.html​