Review SSD OCZ Vertex 3: SandForce 2 is Here!

Unlike the RevoDrive and RevoDrive X2, two storage medias from OCZ that uniquely utilize the PCI-Expres x4 interface to deliver blazing speed, the Vertex 3 looks more like your everyday SSD with a SATA (6 Gbps) connector. Our sample comes with 240 GB of storage capacity.

Vertex is OCZ’s flagship line of products. These SSDs are fast, as can be seen in the previous Vertex 2 that came to our lab some time ago. While Vertex 2 uses the SandForce SF-1200 controller, Vertex 3 boasts the latest SandForce SF-2000 with SATA-III support. The Vertex 3 utilizes NAND Multi-level Cell fabricated using 25 nm processing.

So, what’s the difference between SandForce SF-1200 and SF-2000? The most obvious improvement has to do with increased bandwidth. SF-2000 has SATA-III (SATA 6 Gbps) support, allowing a maximum data transfer rate of 500 MB/s. SandForce has also addressed the TRIM problem that bugged its previous controller. SF-1200’s DuraWrite feature cannot function properly be executed on compressed files (made using either lossy or lossless compression). Data transfer speed will be reduced even as TRIM has been executed. The only way to recover performance is by using Secure Erase, which will also wipe out all the data contained in the corresponding SandForce SSD. With the SF-2000, that should no longer be a problem. We will see if it’s really the case in our TRIM testing on the next page.

Sales Package and Contents

This is how the package box looks like.

The box is sleek and thin. Bundled accessories are as follows: