OCZ unveils Z-Drive R3, Vertex 3 family at CES

Just like it did last year, OCZ revealed several new flash-based storage solutions at CES, including an update to the popular Vertex SSD line with the Vertex 3 Pro and Vertex 3 EX. Both units have a 2.5-inch form factor, utilize the next-generation SandForce SF-2582 controller, and are able to deliver ridiculously fast read and write speeds of up to 550MB/s and 525MB/s, respectively, using the 6Gbps SATA III interface.

The main difference is in the type of memory used. The enterprise-grade Vertex 3 EX uses single-level cell NAND flash memory chips and tops 80,000 IOPS for random 4K writes, while the consumer-focused Vertex 3 Pro packs multi-level cell NAND and manages 75,000 IOPS. The drives being shown today are using 32nm Toshiba toggle-mode NAND, but OCZ says it will go to market with 25nm Intel NAND when the drive is ready. There’s not set date for a launch but the new Vertex line apparently won’t see the light of day until sometime in Q2 with capacities ranging from 50GB to 400GB.


The company also showed off a third-generation Z-Drive, the "R3" PCI Express SSD, which is the firm’s first SandForce-powered PCI-Express SSD for the enterprise market. The drive uses four SandForce SF-1565 controllers in a RAID setup, with MLC, eMLC or SLC NAND for up to 1.2TB of capacity, offering read and write speeds of up to 1,000MB/s and 950MB/s, respectively, with a random 4K writing performance of up to 135,000 IOPS.