Conclusion

The OCZ Vector solid state drive represents a number of firsts for OCZ Technology. It is the first SSD that OCZ developed after purchasing Indilinx and the first to feature the Indilinx Barefoot 3 SSD controller. It is also the first SSD to feature the OCZ Aragon co-processor.

This first joint effort seems to have paid off handsomely. When paired with 25 nm synchronous MLC flash memory chips from IMFT (IM Flash Technologies - a joint venture of Intel and Micron Technology), the 256 GB OCZ Vector delivered blistering performance, particular in writes. It actually trashed the Intel 520 Series SSD in write speed, particularly with large data blocks.

This can be attributed to the design of the OCZ Vector. Unlike the Intel 520 Series SSD, whose SandForce SF-2281 controller performs on-the-fly data compression to improve performance, the OCZ Vector's Barefoot 3 controller relies on a large 512 MB DDR3L cache to accumulate writes before writing them to the NAND flash chips. This allows the OCZ Vector to deliver really fast write speeds.

The large write-combine SDRAM cache also reduces the number of actual writes to the flash memory chips, increasing their lifespan. This is the same effect that SandForce achieves with their on-the-fly data compression technology. Both techniques are important because they help to mitigate the low write endurance of MLC NAND flash chips - each memory cell generally lasts only about 5,000 program/erase cycles. Thanks to the large SDRAM cache, the OCZ Vector is rated to last at least 5 years of normal usage (defined by OCZ as 20 GB of writes per day).

All that performance comes at a cost, of course. The OCZ Vector is not a cheap drive. In fact, it's priced as a premium SSD, at the same price point as the 240 GB Intel 520 Series. As of August 2013, both solid state drives cost US$ 259.99 (RM 809.99). But don't let that smaller capacity of the Intel drive fool you - its actual capacity is 256 GB, with a usable capacity of 240 GB because 16 GB has been overprovisioned. OCZ, on the other hand, does not overprovision the Vector.

Our test results show that the 256 GB OCZ Vector is a superior drive to the 240 GB Intel 520 Series. It is faster in every aspect, except for small random reads. But even that is only apparent with 8 simultaneous transactions or less. When we pushed the drive to handle more transactions, the OCZ Vector won out. It is obvious that the Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller is superior to the SandForce SF-2281, which makes the OCZ Vector a much better SSD for servers.

The only downside is its power consumption and thermal output. Even when it idles, it consumes 50% more power than the Intel 520 Series SSD. When it's actively reading or writing, it consumes 2.25 W, which is actually more than what most 2.5" hard disk drives consume and 2.6X more than what the Intel 520 Series SSD requires when it reads or writes. This also results in a much higher thermal output, which we noted in our tests.

If we had to choose between the OCZ Vector and the Intel 520 Series SSD, we would decide depending on the application. If we are looking to upgrade a laptop, then we would choose the Intel 520 Series SSD for its much lower power consumption and thermal output. But if we are looking to upgrade a desktop, workstation or server, we would certainly choose the OCZ Vector.

Overall, we are very impressed with the performance of the 256 GB OCZ Vector and judge it worthy of our Reviewer's Choice Award. Congratulations, OCZ Technology! We can't wait to see what you guys come up with next!

* For the latest prices of OCZ solid state drives, check here.

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