|
|
Review: OCZ Vertex 4 – 512GB SSD ADVERTISEMENT
|
It was only last month that I reviewed the
OCZ Vertex 4. A lot can happen in a month and this was certainly the case
with OCZ's new flagship consumer grade SSD, the Vertex 4.
Every single reviewer on the Internet assumed that the words
"Indilinx Infused" meant that the Everest 2 controller was a
completely in house design from Indilinx. OCZ never claimed this, but it turns
out the silicon is in fact a proprietary Marvell controller, and the firmware
is Indilinx. In actual fact it doesn't matter, as to me what is important is
how the drive performs, and how stable the drive is in everyday use.
So here we are, one month down the line, and OCZ is about to
release a new firmware for the Vertex 4. The review sample I have is the 512GB
version which is already an awesome performer, in fact the fastest SSD I have
tested here at MyCE.com. When I tested the Vertex 4 last month I couldn't find
any real performance issues. Partly this was due to how I test SSDs. I tend to
test in a manner that I think is important to the majority of MyCE members, and
there is a great many of us who edit video, graphics, and audio.
In any case, in my original Vertex review I failed to highlight
that low queue depth (QD1) sequential reading performance with the original
Vertex 4 shipping firmware wasn't very good, in fact it was decidedly subpar. I
had noted that overall sequential reading performance could be better, but that
should not excuse me from failing to find a weak point in an SSD. However, it's
a lesson learned.
With firmware version 1.4, OCZ have raised the bar again.
The 128GB and 256GB models will see the largest performance increase, but even
the already blazingly fast 512GB model will also see some performance gains.
Adding to the impressive figures below, low queue depth (QD1) sequential
reading performance will also receive a boost with the new firmware.
Okay, let's get on with the testing. For this article there
simply wasn't time to run a full set of tests, but I also thought it was
important to run enough tests with the new firmware to make sure the results
were representative of the performance the end user can expect to get when
updating to firmware 1.4
Note: The 1.4 firmware update is a destructive flash.
Make sure you backup all important data before flashing.
Let's head to the next page for a recap of the OCZ Vertex
4 hardware......
