OCZ RevoDrive Hybrid 1TB PCIe SSD Review – Performance, Capacity And Value Finally

PCMARK VANTAGE X64 HDD SUITE

The SSD Review uses benchmark software called PCMark Vantage x64 HDD Suite to create testing scenarios that might be used in the typical user experience. There are eight tests in all and the tests performed record the speed of data movement in MB/s to which they are then given a numerical score after all of the tests are complete. The simulations are as follows:

• Windows Defender In Use
• Streaming Data from storage in games such as Alan Wake which allows for massive worlds and riveting non-stop action
• Importing digital photos into Windows Photo Gallery
• Starting the Vista Operating System
• Home Video editing with Movie Maker which can be very time consuming
• Media Center which can handle video recording, time shifting and streaming from Windows media center to an extender such as XBox
• Cataloging a music library
• Starting applications

If you are new to testing and considering benchmark software, this is the best you can get because the program goes well beyond the results of simulated testing as we have already done. In comparing SATA 2.0 SSDs, we have reached the bandwidth limit and the performance of most new SATA 2 SSDs is as high as it can get with typical high sequential access speeds in the area of 280MB/s read and 270MB/s write. This observation can again be seen with drives of different manufacturers that utilize similar components within and have very similar specifications.

We needed a way to differentiate these drives and to find a method that can actually put one drive above another and this is exactly what Vantage testing does. Its tests combined can provide an accurate comparison between drives and its tests individually can assist a smart shopper in finding the best SSD for their needs. Next to actual true to life testing which can take an insurmountable length of time, PCMark Vantage is the only program that can compare any SSD, side by side, regardless of SATA interface or controller in use.

HOT CACHING AND PCMARK VANTAGE

PCMark Vantage is the one place where we saw the RevoDrive Hybrid caching truly shine and this could be verified with the first run of the hybrid where the results were similar to that of an upper tier hard drive.  Lets take a look at the comparison chart between the Hybrid and XT to see how the caching improves the performance of both.  Both represent the PCMark Vantage HDD Suite ‘Total Points’ Scores.

This next chart depicts the transfer speeds of the individual tests through three runs.

Now, lets take a look at the hardware Vantage Total Points for all evaluated hardware:

This bottom chart is particularly interesting because, all but the Seagate Momentus, are part of the same storage device which is the OCZ RevoDrive Hybrid SSD.  If you remember, we physically disassembled the Hybrid in order to test the Revo 3 and Toshiba hard drive separately. This also reminds us of how significant a jump moving to a solid state drive is from a hard drive.