Introduction and Specifications

Today we take a look at the first OCZ drive to hit the SATA 6Gb/sec mark – the Vertex 3 Pro. We break in our SandyBridge testbed to try and unlock the full potential of this new SandForce controlled SSD. Come on in for the full scoop on this exciting new drive!
Introduction:   

Today we get a look at the first SATA 6Gb/sec offering from OCZ, sporting a new SandForce controller. Our test unit came to us in engineering sample form, with pre-release firmware. The new ‘Vertex 3 Pro’ labels did not yet exist at the time of shipment, hence the 2001 Monolith action seen below:

OCZ Technology Vertex 3 Pro SandForce 2582 200GB SATA 6G SSD Review - Storage 40

OCZ Technology Vertex 3 Pro SandForce 2582 200GB SATA 6G SSD Review - Storage 41

OCZ Technology Vertex 3 Pro SandForce 2582 200GB SATA 6G SSD Review - Storage 42

Sitting next to a Vertex 2 we can see the outside packaging is identical to the previous generation.

The New SandForce SF-2000 Controller

OCZ Technology Vertex 3 Pro SandForce 2582 200GB SATA 6G SSD Review - Storage 43 
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This new controller is significantly improved over the SF-1xxx line, offering much more than just a faster SATA interface.

OCZ Technology Vertex 3 Pro SandForce 2582 200GB SATA 6G SSD Review - Storage 44

New features include the SATA 6Gb/sec interface with a corresponding 2x gain in data throughput, along with improved IOPS performance. Also new is SAS support for differing sector sizes (used for enterprise-specific applications). To assist with the lower erase cycle count of 2x nm flash, ECC has been bumped up to 55 bits/sector and uses the more advanced BCH coding for error correction.

OCZ Technology Vertex 3 Pro SandForce 2582 200GB SATA 6G SSD Review - Storage 45

Security features are very interesting with this new controller. To achieve NIST certification, SandForce added an *additional* encryption engine, meaning all data is encrypted at both ends of the pipeline. 

OCZ Technology Vertex 3 Pro SandForce 2582 200GB SATA 6G SSD Review - Storage 46 

These are the projected figures from back when we were briefed on the SF-2xxx.


Specifications:
(per OCZ)
  • Max read: 550 MB/sec
  • Max write: 500 MB/sec
  • 4KB Random Write (4K aligned): Up to 70,000 IOPS



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