TRIM Performance:
While SSDs offer many benefits, there are some downsides to using flash memory. One of the biggest issues people run into is performance degradation. Over time, an SSD will run out of fresh blocks and will have to write over data the file system has marked as deleted. This procedure is very complicated and can slow an SSD's write speeds considerably.
To address this problem, most manufacturers have added TRIM support to their SSDs. The TRIM command allows an operating system, such as Windows 7, to tell an SSD which data blocks are no longer in use. Using this information, the drive pro-actively erases these blocks and adds them to the free block pool.
To test the Vertex 3's TRIM function, I first put the drive in a "dirty" state. I used Iometer to fill the entire drive and then ran a random write test for 20 minutes. Looking at the screenshot below, you can see that the Vertex 3's average read and write speeds dropped to 168.7 MB/s and 189.7 MB/s, respectively.
OCZ Vertex 3 3.5" - Dirty
To see how well the Vertex 3 3.5" could recover, I let the computer sit for a few hours and then reran the test. The drive's average read speed jumped back up to 295.0 MB/s. However, its write speed lagged a bit behind, averaging out at 225.6 MB/s.
OCZ Vertex 3 3.5" - After Trim
Lastly, I used OCZ's Toolbox utility to perform a secure erase on the Vertex 3 3.5". With the drive wiped clean, its average write speed jumped back up to 372.0 MB/s.
OCZ Vertex 3 3.5" - Wiped
Final Thoughts:
OCZ's new Vertex 3 3.5" solid state drive is great choice for the consumer looking to put a high-performance SSD in their workstation or desktop PC. With its desktop-ready form factor, the drive fits in existing 3.5" drive bays without the need for an adapter. The Vertex 3 3.5" also combines LSI's SandForce SF-2282 controller with Intel's 25nm synchronous NAND flash to deliver some impressive performance. In our sequential read and write tests, the drive was able to read at speeds as high as 556 MB/s and write at speeds in excess of 480 MB/s. It also took the top spot in our random write tests, delivering more than 80,000 IOPS. As with other SandForce drives, the Vertex 3's performance did take a hit when reading and writing incompressible data. However, thanks to its synchronous NAND flash, its performance didn't suffer nearly as much as some other drives.
The Vertex 3 3.5" will be shipping soon in 120GB, 240GB and 480GB capacities. No word yet on how much the 240GB and 480GB versions will run. However, the 120GB drive reviewed here has a suggested retail price of $159.99. This is higher than what the original Vertex 3 currently goes for, but I'd expect the street price of the Vertex 3 3.5" to come down over time.
Highs:
- Desktop-ready 3.5" form factor
- Available in 120GB, 240GB and 480GB capacities
- SandForce SF-2282 processor with DuraClass, DuraWrite and RAISE technologies
- Excellent sequential read and write speeds
- SATA 6Gb/s interface
- Synchronous NAND flash
- Supports TRIM, SMART and NCQ
- 3 year warranty
Lows:
- Not as fast when writing incompressible data
- More expensive than 2.5" version
