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OCZ Vertex 4 128GB SSD Review

SKYMTL

HardwareCanuck Review Editor
Staff member
Joined
Feb 26, 2007
Messages
12,840
Location
Montreal
Non-TRIM Environment Testing

Non-TRIM Environment Testing


Many controllers can be severely handicapped in an environment that doesn’t support TRIM. To re-create this, we first modified our test-bed so that it would not pass the necessary cleaning commands to the drive. Meanwhile, to artificially induce a degraded state, we run eight hours of Iometer (100% random, 100% write, 4K chunks of data, QD=64) across the entire array’s capacity. At the end of this test, the Iometer file is deleted and the drive is then tested. This method, the results of which are indicated below as “Dirty,” will replicate drive performance after extended heavy writing before any self-maintenance routines kick in.

In order to activate each drive’s garbage collection routines, we then let the system idle for 30 minutes and rerun the tests.


For a real world application we have opted for our standard Vista load time test.

no_trim.jpg

These numbers are respectable, but it seems that reducing the RAM capacity does have a noticeable impact on overall degraded-state performance. It is unfortunate that OCZ still has not addressed this long term issue with a “wiper.exe” type program. While the results are adequate, this drive would not be our first choice for non-TRIM environments.
 

SKYMTL

HardwareCanuck Review Editor
Staff member
Joined
Feb 26, 2007
Messages
12,840
Location
Montreal
SATA 2 Performance

SATA 2 Performance


In a perfect world everyone investing in a new solid state drive would have access to a SATA 6GB/s controller which could pass on the TRIM command. In reality not everyone has this and for many the decision comes down either giving up TRIM – never a good idea with most controllers – and running it off a secondary controller; or taking a performance hit and running in SATA 2.0 mode.

These tests will consist of some of our real world and synthetic benchmarks run on our standard 1155 test-bed; but the drive will be attached to an SATA 2 port.

For synthetic we have opted for the newcomer to our charts: Anvil Storage Utilities Pro. For real world we have opted for our Adobe test. These two tests should give you a very good idea of the level of performance impact you can expect from running a modern SATA 6 drive in compatibility mode.


s2_adobe.jpg

s2_anvil_r.jpg

s2_anvil_w.jpg

These results really do highlight the difference between the Everest 2 controller and the SandForce SF2281 controller. While the Vertex 4 128GB does lose a moderate amount of performance from running in SATA 2 mode, it does a much better job than what stock firmware equipped SF2281 drives can accomplish. The end result is that it trades blows with large 240GB models and actually surpass them in some limited regards.
 

SKYMTL

HardwareCanuck Review Editor
Staff member
Joined
Feb 26, 2007
Messages
12,840
Location
Montreal
Conclusion

Conclusion


Thanks to quick and effective firmware updates, the Vertex 4 128GB has rapidly matured into an excellent drive that continues the legacy first started by OCZ’s original Vertex 120GB. Even though the Vertex 4 128GB SSD may not be able to match the sheer performance of its 512GB brother, it is very fast in its own right and has one of the best price-to-performance ratios we have seen to date.

The difference between this inexpensive drive and much more costly options is usually so small that most people wouldn’t consider the disparity large enough to justify the increased expense. This balance of price-to-performance means that all but the most budget-constrained consumers will be able to purchase one without having to sell first-born children or body parts. We wish we could say the same of the Vertex 4 512GB.

While 128GB may not be much capacity in the huge application size world we live in, the Vertex 4 128GB actually hits sweet spot in the price per GB area. With a ratio that comes in just under the magic $1 / GB it opens up a whole new realm of possibilities for budget conscious buyers. Instead of only being able to afford a 64GB drive model, consumers without a lot of spare cash can now get double the capacity without having to step down a performance level. When the ultra-long five year warranty is factored into the equation, the Vertex 4 128GB redefines the word “value” in the SSD marketplace.

With the Vertex 4 128GB model, OCZ have succeeded in creating a downright affordable high performance drive that will help change public perception of SSDs from bleeding-edge novelty to valid (and desirable) mainstream option. As such, this drive is one Dam Good Value. The firmware may still be slightly rough around the edges and it may not be the fastest, cheapest, or largest drive on the market. However, the Vertex 4 it is fast enough, large enough, and inexpensive enough to make it one of the better options available today. If you are in the market for your first solid state drive and can’t afford anything as extravagant as a 512GB model, then this drive deserves your careful consideration.


Pros:

- Good synthetic and real-world performance
- Quick firmware updates
- Price
- 5 year warranty


Cons:

- Less-than-optimal non-TRIM environment performance
- Semi-plastic case


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