OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SSD Review

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Comparison Drives & Test System

Legit Reviews Test System

All tests were performed on a fresh and up-to-date install of Windows 7 Pro x64 with no other applications running while using AHCI mode set through the BIOS. Synthetic Benchmarks were run with the OS loaded on a 40GB Corsair Force SSD. In between every test, the drive was secure erased using the OCZ toolbox. As such, all results should be indicative of optimal performance. All components were set to their default speeds and are listed below and we’d like to thank ASUS for their generosity and support in providing the motherboard for our test bench.

LR Test Bench

P67 Test Bench

Intel LGA 1155 Test Platform
Component Brand/Model Live Pricing

Processor

Core i5 2500k

Motherboard

ASUS P8P67 Deluxe

Memory

Crucial 2 x 2GB PC3-10600

Video Card

Gigabyte GeForce GT 430

OS Drive

Corsair Force 40GB

Power Supply

Corsair HX1000

Operating System

Windows 7 Pro 64-Bit

Comparison Drives & Other Models We Have Tested

Since there are so many SSDs out there now with different controllers, we started a reference table of which controllers are used by each drive to help you compare results. Different controllers definitely perform differently and each has various strengths and weaknesses. Like CPU’s, even identical drives will have variations in performance and part of that variance may be attributable to the NAND flash used. Since the tests of the drives listed have spanned different test benches and represent three different interfaces, we have listed them for easy reference.

SSD MODEL CONTROLLER(S) TRIM Support?
PQI S535 256GB
SandForce SF-1200 Yes
OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 120GB
SandForce SF-2200 Yes
Crucial m4/Micron C400 256GB
Marvell 88SS9174 Yes
Intel 320 Series 128GB
Intel PC29AS21BA0 (G3 firmware) Yes
Corsair Performance 3 Series 128GB
Marvell 88SS9174 Yes
Intel 510 Series 250GB
Marvell 88SS9174 Yes
Plextor M2 Series 128GB
Marvell 88SS9174 Yes
Kingston V100 Series 128GB
JMicron JMF618 (Toshiba branded) Yes
OCZ Vertex 3 Pro 200GB (beta) SandForce SF-2500 (SF-2582) Yes
RunCore Pro V 120GB
SandForce SF-1200 (SF-1222) Yes
Samsung 470 Series 256GB
Samsung S3C29MAX01-Y340 Yes
Zalman N Series 128GB SandForce SF-1200 (SF-1222) Yes
Kingston V+100 128GB Toshiba T6UG1XBG Yes
Corsair Force 40GB Sandforce SF-1200 (SF-1222) Yes
Intel X25-V 40GB Intel PC29AS21BA0 (G2 firmware) Yes
G.Skill Phoenix Pro Sandforce SF-1200 (SF-1222) Yes
Patriot Inferno 100GB Sandforce SF-1200 (SF-1222) Yes
OCZ RevoDrive X2 240GB SSD (4X) Sandforce SF-1200 (SF-1222) No*
OCZ RevoDrive 120GB SSD (2X) Sandforce SF-1200 (SF-1222) No*
ADATA S596 128GB JMicron JMF612 Yes
Corsair Force Series 120GB Sandforce SF-1200 (SF-1222) Yes
Patriot Zephyr 128GB JMICRON JMF612 Yes
Patriot Torqx 128GB Indilinx Barefoot Yes
Kingston 30GB V Series SNV125-S2 Toshiba T6UG1XBG Yes
Kingston 128GB V Series SNV425-S2 JMICRON JMF618 Yes
Corsair Force Series 100GB Sandforce SF-1200 (SF-1222) Yes
Corsair Nova Series 128GB Indilinx Barefoot Yes
Intel X25-M 160GB G2 SSD
Intel PC29AS21BA0 (G2 firmware) Yes
Micron RealSSD C300 (6Gbps) 256GB Marvell 88SS9174 Yes
* TRIM is not supported due to the RAID controller.

In the readout on CrystalDiskInfo 3.10.0, both NCQ and S.M.A.R.T. are enabled, as is TRIM. This is a great free tool to see what version of firmware the drive is running in the event there are updates available and at the time of this review, 2.06 is the latest from OCZ. Firmware is updated through their toolbox which can be downloaded on their site via their product pages.

VERTEX 3 120GB CRYSTALDISKMARK INFO

On to the benchmarks!

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