OCZ Vector 512GB SSD Review

Rating: 9.0.

Late last year we took a look at the 256GB Vector drive from OCZ and it walked away with one of our highest ever scores. It may have been an expensive drive, but in regards to performance there really was nothing to touch it at the time. 8 months later and we have the larger 512GB version in for testing. How does it compare and is it still a tempting proposition in late 2013?

Solid State Drive technology moves at a staggering pace and while Sandforce 2281 was a very popular controller to use a year ago many companies have shifted their focus elsewhere. Sandforce was at the center of many reliability issues so it made sense to make the move. OCZ subsequently invested a lot in their latest Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller and the results with both compressible and incompressible data has certainly been impressive.

This is important as regular readers will be aware that Sandforce 2281 exhibited a weakness when dealing with incompressible data, due to the nature of the compression based algorithms at the heart of the design.

OCZ say the Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller is a ‘milestone’ for the company. Not surprisingly it is based around the SATA 3.0 6Gb/s interface with 25nm IMFT NAND flash onboard. The Vector drives are built into the super slim 7mm form factor, making them ideal for ultraportable laptop systems. OCZ have released three models: 128GB, 256GB and finally the 512GB we are looking at today.

It is worth pointing out that the 128GB model of the Vector drive exhibits slightly lower performance when compared directly against the 256GB and 512GB drives. Sequential write performance is said to drop from 530 MB/s to 400 MB/s. Sequential read performance is the same – all Vector drives are rated at 550 MB/s.

OCZ Vector overview:

• Sata 3.0GB/s interface
• 25nm IMFT NAND Flash
• 7mm form factor
• 128GB, 256GB and 512GB models.
• Bundled with cloning software
• High performance and endurance without compression/loss of usable capacity
• Advanced suite of flash management to increase durability and reliability.
• Lower power consumption (idle 0.9W/Active 2.25W)
• TRIM Support
• 5 year warranty (or 36.5TB writes – whichever comes first).

Become a Patron!