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OCZ Vertex solid-state drive

Vroom

Check out CrystalDiskMark and it's much the same case. You might think that the Intel SSD is awful but this isn't the case as the 64MB cache can hold a whole two seconds of data. In the event that you are writing large amounts of data in a constant stream to your storage device then you may hit trouble with the Intel SSD, but our experience shows it to be a stunningly good product.

OCZ Vertex SSD - ATTO OCZ Vertex SSD - ATTO

Intel X25-M (left) and OCZ Vertex
Click for full size screengrabs

The key test results with an SSD are the data read speeds as your drive needs to be able to deliver files as quickly as possible. Hard drives often deliver an initial burst of data and then slow down to a steady stream. Fragmentation can make this process much, much slower. By contrast, an SSD has minimal latency and ought to be able to deliver data in a mighty torrent provided it doesn’t suffer from the dreaded stutter. The Apex was a bit of a mixed bag, but we felt the internal Raid avoided stutter and turned the JMicron into a reasonably good product.

By contrast, the Vertex is a properly good SSD and matches the read speeds of the Intel and delivers write speeds that look really impressive. In practice, we doubt you'll ever need to use the extra write speed but what the heck, we’re happy to have it in reserve.

There’s another pointer to the advantage of switching to the Indilinx controller and that’s the question of heat. The Apex got quite hot in operation, no doubt because of the dual controllers and the Raid chip, while the Vertex runs as cool as other SSDs, which is a sign of progress.

OCZ Vertex SSD - HDTach

Click for full size screengrab

So we like the Vertex but would we recommend it? Hmm, that’s a tricky one as we have yet to see the OCZ Summit, which will combine MLC Flash with a Samsung controller. We can’t be sure that this will be the same as the controller in the 256GB Samsung PB22-J, but it’s a safe bet the Summit will be a good ‘un.

Verdict

For the time being, we’re going to hang back on a final verdict on the Vertex - even though it is very good - as we fully expect that the Summit SSD will be just as good and may be even better. ®

More SSD Reviews...


Intel X-25M 80GB

Samsung PB22-J 256GB

OCZ Apex 120GB

Crucial N125 64GB
90%
OCZ Vertex SSD

OCZ Vertex solid-state drive

OCZ ditches the questionable JMicron controller in favour of the new Indilinx chip and the result is impressive.
Price: £305 RRP

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