Introduction

Always looking to push SSDs to the next level of performance, OCZ has rolled out their newest Vector line of SSDs. This is OCZ’s first major release that is completely captive, except for the NAND flash. According to OCZ; quality, reliability, and stability were the number one goal in mind when the Vector series was designed.

Armed with OCZ’s own in-house Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller and the promise of groundbreaking performance, we’ll run it through our suite of tests and find out first hand if it lives up to its advanced billing! I’m sure our readers are very familiar with the OCZ brand, so we won’t go into great detail here. Below is a small snippet about OCZ and what they are about.

About OCZ

“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.”

Features and Specifications

Below are the technical specifications as provided by OCZ’s web site. You’ll notice that today’s 128GB sample has a slightly lower Random Read IOPS rating, and 130MB slower Sequential Write, when compared to the 256MB and 512MB versions of the Vector. Click on the image below for a larger view, or alternatively you can download the PDF file by clicking HERE.

The Vector series is OCZ’s new flagship SSD offering, and as such it brings us the new Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller, and 25nm MLC Flash. The drive also boasts a MTBF of 1.3 million hours, which is 148 years. I think that will suffice!. For those of you who might have ideas of installing a Vector SSD into the newer notebook PC’s that only accept 7mm thick drives, you’ll be happy to know the Vector meets this height restriction. Included with the Vector SSDs is a copy of Acronis True Image that you can download for free from OCZ’s website. I’ve used Acronis True Image for many years, so I can tell you first hand this is a great value added feature.

The OCZ marketing folks would like you to know about additional features that make the Vector SSD stand out from the crowd. To emphasize what the Vector SSD has to offer the consumer, OCZ has used the word “Groundbreaker” as it’s motto. Below are the major features, again provided by OCZ. Click on any image for a larger view.

It’s not hard to tell the Vector line of SSDs are aimed squarely at both the computer enthusiast and those looking for a stable, long lasting, work station solution. Couple that with a 5 year warranty, and I’d say the Vector is off to a good start!.

As we take a closer look at the Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller (pictured below), we see an ARM Cortex processor with OCZ’s own Aragon co-processor helping data move efficiently. Eight DDR3L parallel channels are used to communicate with the NAND Array.

Packaging/Closer Look

Not much has changed over the recent past with the way OCZ packages their SSD products. We still see a black and blue color theme with a picture of the unit gracing the front of the box. The box front makes mention of several of the key features, the drive’s capacity, and that it’s Indilinx Infused. The back of the box has a few marketing blurbs and a multilingual description as to why SSDs are much better than standard platter type HDDs.

With the box opened, we find the Vector SSD sitting in a firm foam bed with the 3.5″ to 2.5″ adapter tray sitting on the out side. Documentation includes an installation guide, and a pamphlet containing the Acronis True Image product code. You’ll need this code to use the imaging software, so don’t lose it! Also included in the box is drive mounting screws and a sticker.

Having a closer look at the PCB inside, we see the Indilinx controller surrounded by mostly NAND flash wafers. Because OCZ purchases and packs it’s own NAND flash wafers, you’re going to see almost all of the ICs branded with the OCZ logo. The NAND flash wafers are 25nm IMFT design.

Testing and Benchmarks

Test Bench

ASUS Maximus V Formula Motherboard
i7 3770K CPU
G.Skill Trident 2X8GB DDR3-2400 Memory
Sapphire HD 7770 Video Card
Corsair HX1050 PSU

Comparison Samples

OCZ Vertex 2 120GB
Kingston SSDNow V220 128GB
Vertex 4 128GB
OCZ Vector 128GB

Obviously, the stiffest competition will be from the Vertex 4. The Vertex 4 sequential write specifications show a 30MB/s advantage over the Vector, and 4K random writes boast a 30,000 IOPS advantage. From all appearances, the Vertex 4 should score slightly better on most write tests. However, as you’ll see later, there is more to the story.

Each test was performed using the latest AHCI drivers from Intel, and the drive being secure erased after each test run. We’ll be using AS SSD, CrystalDiskMark, ATTO, and IOMeter to perform our testing.

Beginning with AS SSD, we see that the Vector and Vertex 4 lead the way in all the tests. The Vertex 4 manages to beat out the Vector in the 4K-Thrd by a slim margin in the read test. The write test show a reversal of that pattern with the Vector winning out on the 4K-Thrd test. Access times show the Vector better at read, but slightly slower than the Vertex 4′s write access time. The total score AS SSD assigns was a slight victory for the Vertex 4.

CrystalDiskMark read/write testing shows the same pattern we saw with AS SSD. The Vector continues to dominate in all the read tests, but as expected falls just short of the Vetex 4 in most write tests.

Not much changes in the ATTO Disk Benchmark either. It’s a complete sweep for the Vector in the read testing, but again it falls just slightly behind the  Vertex 4 in the write testing.

The IOMeter 4K and 2MB read/write tests have the Vector coming out ahead on a write speed test for the first time (2MB Test).

Other than the excellent write speeds and dramatic read speeds we see in the above testing, there is another thing that separates the Vector SSDs from others on the market. The other part of the story I eluded to earlier has to do with  OCZ’s proprietary garbage collection engine, which promises  “Superior Sustained Performance” over a longer period of time. This was tested in house by OCZ, and the results are represented in the graph below. As you can see by the illustration, the Vector’s 4KRW QD32 testing shows the IOPS actually edging upwards through most of the 15 minute test. Furthermore, OCZ states the results of this test should alter very little as the drive is filled with data. The image below depicts the 256MB version of the Vector, but you get the idea.

OCZ provided the configuration file needed to run the exact same test as above. We’ll use those same parameters to run our own testing. We ran the test twice, once with the Vector empty and again just over half full of data. As you can see by the graph below the IOPS stayed very consistent throughout both 15 minute tests. When the Vector was half full of data, there was an expected very minor drop in IOPS, but certainly nothing to be concerned over.

Just because I was curious, I ran AS SSD, ATTO, and CrystalDiskMark after the Vector was loaded with data. The ATTO and AS SSD scores were almost identical to what was seen when the drive was empty. CDM showed a drop in 512K write and 4K QD32 scores, but again nothing alarming.

All and all, a very impressive showing for the OCZ Vector 128GB SSD.

Conclusion

At the time of this review the OCZ Vector 128GB SSD sells for right at $147.99 USD, and our European friends will find the price around £107.00. There are many 128GB SSDs on the market for substantially less than that, but with that lower price comes lower performance than what the Vector offers. The Vector SSD is the fasted drive we have seen as far as read performance goes, and has almost identical write speed performance as the Vertex 4. However, the Vector has the advantage of the new garbage collection engine and the sustained performance it provides. The Vector is also said to be the most extensively tested consumer SSD OCZ has ever offered. They are banking on this translating to a stable, reliable, and long lasting drive. The fact that OCZ offers a 5 year warranty tells me they are pretty confident in it’s reliability. Only time will tell.

To add extra value to the consumer, OCZ has made available a copy of Acronis True Image. As I mentioned earlier, this is a great addition to the bundle. If you don’t mind spending a little extra money to get the performance gain the Vector SSDs offers over the competition, then I highly recommend you give them a serious look for your next SSD purchase. Based on performance, innovative design, and the bundled Acronis software, it’s easy to give the OCZ Vector 128GB SSD our Gold Award!

-Dino DeCesari (Lvcoyote)