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The best part of being a technology reviewer is that every time there is a knock at the door the years are stripped off and we become kids again.
The delivery carriers and I are on a first name basis and I am sure one or two are wondering if I should be reported to authorities because of the mysterious packages received from the US, Europe and the Asias.
As well, opening each and every package is like Christmas and this was no different as the UPS guy provided the standard ‘Merry Christmas’ greeting while handing me a package destined from OCZ Headquarters in San Jose, California. Admittedly, I knew exactly what the package contained but couldn’t wait to get it opened just as every OCZ RevoDrive owner has done before me.
PRODUCT BRIEF
The RevoDrive is a bit different than other solid state drives, in that, it does not attach through a typical SATA II port, but rather a PCI Express slot on the motherboard of the computer itself. It is a simple installation and the warranty on the card is 3 years limited with performance results for the tested drive advertised at an amazing 540MB/s read and 480MB/s write performance with a 4k aligned IOPS of 75,000 IOPS. The drive is available from 50GB to 480GB sizes with typical pricing ranging from as little as $199 for the 50GB version with performance of 540MB/s read and 450MB/s write for capacities less than 120GB.
HOW THE REVODRIVE ACHIEVES PERFORMANCE
The RevoDrive utilizes RAID 0 within a single card to attain its performance achievements. For many unfamiliar with RAID 0, The SSD Review has recently published an article on just that, coincidentally, which might help you along just a bit. As a bit of a ‘Coles Notes’ explanation, RAID 0 uses separate configurations of storage which enables the reading and writing of information as much as twice as fast.
To draw a very similar comparison, consider that one worker had to pick up two automobiles and return them to another location. His job would entail travelling to a location, picking up the first car and then heading back before starting out again to retrieve the second car. If there were two people, however, they could both return with the cars at the same time, cutting the total time in half and, in essence, doubling the performance. This is exactly how RAID 0 works, in that, the data is cut in half and stored on separate disks simultaneously which allows for reading and writing of both at the same time and subsequently, transfer speeds are now increased significantly.
EXTERIOR PACKAGING
Unlike the typical SSD, the RevoDrive has no exterior metal shell to protect its components so care must be taken in handling and packaging must be reflective of such as well. OCZ has gone well beyond this with a very descriptive exterior cardboard outer that holds a thick protective casing where the bottom slides out to reveal the drive surrounded with foam. The case is so well constructed, in fact, that a typical man could stand on it without any damage whatsoever.
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REVODRIVE SPECIFICATIONS
- Available in 50GB to 480GB capacities
- PCI-Express interface (x4)
- For use as primary boot drive or data storage
- Internal RAID 0
- 181.07 (L) x 21.59 (W) x 125.08mm (H)
- Shock Resistance: 1500g
- Seek Time: 0.1 ms
- Operating Temp: 0°C ~ +70°C
- Storage Temp: -45°C ~ +85°C
- Power Consumption: 3W Idle, 8W active
- MTBF: 2,000,000 hours
- 3-Year Warranty
- Compatible with Windows XP 32/64, Vista 32/64, Windows 7 32/64
50-80GB Max Performance
- Read: Up to 540 MB/s
- Write: Up to 450 MB/s
- Sustained Write: Up to 350 MB/s
- Random Write 4KB (Aligned): 70,000 IOPS
120GB-480GB Max Performance
- Read: Up to 540 MB/s
- Write: Up to 480 MB/s
- Sustained Write: Up to 400 MB/s
- Random Write 4KB (Aligned): 75,000 IOPS
Part Numbers
- 50GB – OCZSSDPX-1RVD0050
- 80GB – OCZSSDPX-1RVD0080
- 120GB – OCZSSDPX-1RVD0120
- 180GB – OCZSSDPX-1RVD0180
- 240GB – OCZSSDPX-1RVD0240
- 360GB – OCZSSDPX-1RVD0360
- 480GB – OCZSSDPX-1RVD0480
Resources
Downloads
Pg1 – RevoDrive Overview and Packaging
Pg2 – Components and Installation
Pg3 – Benchmarks
Pg4 – PCMark Vantage & Comparison Testing
Pg5 – Final Thoughts
quite perfect i might say. i would love to try one of these!
Great stuff if you ask me !
I use the OCZ IBIS 160GB as Boot drive, Supperb !
About the ReveDrive, it’s to small to use as save devices, i’m waiting for 1GB ! and a lower price 😉
Can you believe we used the called “Frame Grabbers” with 32KB and 64KB available capacity ! for image analyzes in the years …1979 !
All right , it were B/W pictures we analyzed, which, after interpolation, needed only a few bytes !
Thanks for your comments Les (if it’s you ?).
Regards