Performance and Conclusion
Performance
In terms of performance the Vertex 3 delivered some mind boggling speeds in our Atto benchmark, showing both read and write speeds in excess of 500MB/s. This justifies OCZ’s claimed performance ratings for the drive and almost doubles the speed compared to the quickest drives from the previous generation.
The drive also roared ahead in our PCMark Vantage test in comparison to the myriad of SF1200-based drives on the market, with an untouchable score of over 58,000 points. Burrowing into the results sees the Vertex 3 leading the competition by as much as 100MB/s in many tests, showing just how fast this drive can be under real world situations.
The Vertex 3’s dominance is again underpinned in CrystalDiskMark. It thrashes SF-1222 based competitors by a factor of two in some metrics, though at higher queue depths the Vertex 3 is barely faster than the Corsair Force 120GB illustrating how different firmware revisions can be tailored to suit different requirements.
In AS SSD the Vertex 3 continued to shine, taking a lead in most tests. It doesn’t win every benchmark compared to some competing drives based on Marvell controllers, however, and this is mostly due to the SandForce controller’s method of compressing data on-the-fly to increase transfer rate. The workload simulated by AS SSD is non-compressible so it shows a worst case scenario for the SandForce drives.
At £215 the Vertex 3 is one of the more expensive SSDs available today, and costs £40 more than SF-1200 based drives of the same capacity like Corsair's Force 120GB and OCZ's own Vertex 2. Nevertheless it is faster than these products in almost every test, and justifies its extra cost with unrivalled performance overall. Even when factoring in value for money the OCZ Vertex 3 is a fantasitc purchase, particularly if you have an Intel Sandy Bridge based PC with 6Gbps SATA ports.
Conclusion
Easily the fastest SSD we have ever tested, and more than worthy of your hard earned cash. With blazing speeds in both sequential and real-world tests the OCZ Vertex 3 sets a new benchmark in solid state performance. Until other manufacturers jump on the SF-2200 controller band waggon, OCZ basically has the high end market sewn up.
Ian Jackson
| We Like |
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Verdict |
Score |
- Untouchable performance
- Useful bundle of accessories
- OCZ's SSD forum is the most active on the web
- Makes the most of the new Sandy Bridge platform |
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The OCZ Vertex 3 is by far the fastest SSD we have tested, and trumps its rivals by as much as 50% in real world benchmarks. It may be pricey compared to older rivals, but this is the only SSD to own if you are a PC enthusiast.
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95 |
| We Don't Like |
- Rather expensive compared to other 120GB SSDs
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