OCZ intros Vertex 3 SSDs with new SandForce controllers

Matthew DeCarlo

Posts: 5,271   +104

OCZ has introduced its next generation of Vertex solid-state drives armed with SandForce's latest drive controllers. OCZ offers two versions of the drive, one aimed at client environments and the other intended for enterprise applications, with both using different controllers. The Vertex 3 features the SF-2200 processor while the Vertex 3 Pro uses the SF-2500.

Both controllers offer the same basic specs: up to 500MB/s sequential reads and writes, support for SATA 6Gb/s, up to 60k IOPS sustained 4KB reads and 20/60k IOPS burst/sustained 4KB writes. However, SF-2200 has an artificial firmware limitation that caps the random write throughput at 20k IOPS as SandForce believes this is sufficient for client use.


The SF-2500 also adds various enterprise-centric features such as power protection by employing a supercapacitor, enhanced SMART attributes for better diagnostics, and overall better reliability. If you're interested, Tom's Hardware has published a comprehensive review of the Vertex 3 and Vertex 3 Pro with a full break down on SandForce's new controllers.

OCZ plans to show the new Vertex series during next week's CeBIT conference in Hanover, Germany. Units should begin shipping shortly thereafter with the Vertex 3 being available in 120GB ($249.99) and 240GB ($499.99) capacities, while the Vertex 3 Pro will come in 100GB, 200GB and 400GB sizes. We haven't seen pricing for the enterprise models.

Permalink to story.

 
Much better read over at Anandtech, never cared much for Tom's either. There must be a little more to the random write ceiling, why slow the drive down for no particular reason. Unless of course you remove the artificial limit resulting in a faster drive that sells for more money.
 
Mizzou said:
Much better read over at Anandtech, never cared much for Tom's either.
I fully agree with you!
Mizzou said:
There must be a little more to the random write ceiling, why slow the drive down for no particular reason. Unless of course you remove the artificial limit resulting in a faster drive that sells for more money.
nVidia does the same thing with their Quadro vs Geforce brands
ATI with FireGL vs Radeon
Intel with Xeon vs Pentium (well here sometimes there are slight hardware differences I admit)
 
Back