OCZ RevoDrive PCI-Express SSD 50GB

Zitat: Pro: + Fastest drive we´ve ever tested. + Low power usage 3 watts idle 8 watts active. + PCI-E x4 based. No SATA needed. + Stand alone, no wires. + Enterprise technology at enthusiasts price level. Contra: - Very few instructions. - Have to download drivers - May have compatibility issues on some boards. - 50GB is very small. - High price per GB. Nice scaling is evidenced here. The OCZ Vertex2 we tested previously is essentially the same as half of the REVO. Using the same type of components we had hoped for 2x the score and actually it showed slightly more than that. It even bested the previous champion, the RAID 0 array made up of 2 SuperTalent 32GB drives . The Revo 50GB drive lead all the others by a nice margin as well as being the first storage array in our lab to get a full 7.9 in the WEI rating in Windows 7.

Zitat: The OCZ RevoDrive is one hell of a drive. We have yet to test anything like it, or even as fast for that matter. With maximum Read speeds of 513MB/s and Write speeds of 434MB/s, according to our ATTO test, the Revo definitely performed as advertised. This is, on average, twice as fast as most solid state drives we have tested here at Pro-Clockers! The performance we saw from the RevoDrive is obviously due to the dual SandForce controllers in RAID0 configuration. Dual solid state drives of any type can result in decent speeds, but OCZ managed to do it at a reasonable price point which of about $200. Finding two solid state drives using SandForce controllers to put in a RAID configuration like tis, and at this price, is nearly impossible. Sure with this model you sacrifice some data storage capacity but you make it up in speed. And you also have to remember we are reviewing the smallest of the RevoDrives, which is aimed more at being used for a Boot Drive, and not storage. There are six other drives of much larger capacity to decide from, which the larger drives also offer even better performance. For those looking for TRIM support it is not within the RevoDrive, and according to staff on the OCZ forum there are no plans. Don´t let you deture you though. The garbage collection method they have used on the RevoDrive is quite up to the task of ensuring your performance doesn´t degrade with use. Which should you even feel that the case there is always the option of a Secure Erase (0-Write) to put the Revo back to it´s original performance.   There is a small drawback to the RevoDrive and that is that it is not compatible with all motherboards. Our usual test motherboard, the Gigabyte P67A-UD4 was one of them, so we had to move it over onto the MSI P67A-GD65 and it worked great. When used with the UD4 we could not get the system to POST no matter that slot we selected for the drive. So, it is important to check to see if your motherboard is compatible with the drive before purchasing.

Zitat: OCZ is taking the solid state drive in a different direction with the RevoDrive and I personally believe they are on to something much bigger than most may realize. Sure, as we mentioned earlier, storage over add-in card slots isn´t new, but it hasn´t yet been implemented in a mainstream cost efficient and user friendly method. The bandwidth on PCI-E lanes is much greater than current SATA controllers can provide which is exactly why hardware RAID controllers use them. The RevoDrive produced the highest numbers we have seen to date in ATTO and Sandra and did very well in other tests. As was discussed on the previous page, results in some of our tests were a bit lower than anticipated for several viable reasons. Aside from the increased bandwidth, using a PCI-E SSD like the RevoDrive eliminates the need for an extra SATA power and data cable. I´m a stickler about cable management inside my systems, so any opportunity I get to eliminate wiring is a plus. In the case of the RevoDrive, one would need a RAID 0 setup consisting of two SSDs in hopes of matching this level of performance, which means two SATA cables and two power cables. There are a few things that you will need to consider before picking up a RevoDrive for your system, however. First, you need to make sure that your system is able to boot over PCI-E. OCZ maintains an unofficial RevoDrive compatible motherboard list in their forums that´s worth checking out. Zahn was originally sent the RevoDrive but it turned out that his AMD system wasn´t 100% compatible with the SSD. A BIOS update was needed and on the way, but we decided to let someone else (myself) test it to stay on schedule with our deadline. I had zero issues with the RevoDrive on my Intel X58 system. Windows installed flawlessly and everything has been running without a hiccup since. Second, the RevoDrive will consume one of your PCI-E x4 or larger slots. This probably isn´t a concern for most, but if you are running multiple video cards or other PCI-E devices, it´s something to take into consideration. Also note that the activity LEDs on the front of your case will no longer work. There are LEDs on the back of the RevoDrive itself, but this does little good while hidden away inside your PC. Perhaps future RevoDrives could include headers for the HDD activity cable. Finally, since the RevoDrive works in a RAID0 configuration, there is no TRIM support. Under normal operations, the SandForce controller (or two, in this case) should be able to regulate wear and keep the drive running smoothly for some time to come. As shown in our testing, however, benchmarking the drive senseless will certainly take its toll on performance. This is true for all current SSDs. As anticipated by the clues on the RevoDrive, OCZ has since released the RevoDrive X2 which uses the data port on the original Revo to add two additional SandForce controllers and more memory capacity. The X2 increases speed by around 200 MB/s read / write, which is a substantial amount. Hopefully we will bring you a review of the X2 in the near future for comparison. The OCZ RevoDrive PCI-E 50GB SSD retails for $215 at our favorite online retailer. As with all SSDs, you have to "pay to play", but if performance is what you are after and you haven´t upgraded to a SSD yet, the RevoDrive should be at the top of your hardware wish list this holiday season.

Zitat: Pros: + Fast transfer speeds + On par or beats two-drive SandForce RAID-0 setup + Bootable and runs Windows and Linux (Confirmed with OS tests) + Runs on PCI Express bus using an open X4, X8 or x16 slot + Internal RAID-0 + Competitive Pricing + Capacities for all needs from 50GB to 480GB + 3 year warranty Cons: - Over provisioned compared to current SandForce SF1200 drives - No TRIM support yet The OCZ RevoDrive PCI Express 50GB drive was a complete pleasure to test. I had no issues whatsoever installing, booting into and running both Windows 7 Professional and Ubuntu Linux 10.10. The installation could not be simpler, just plug into the correct PCIe slot, set the BIOS to ACHI and boot away. The speeds were amazing and I was blown away. When compared to other drives that are in the same price bracket, there is no comparison. The RevoDrive demolished them all. Sure you trade off a bit of storage space for the speed, but when data transfer counts, the RevoDrive steps up to the plate and hits a home run. In almost every instance, the RevoDrive took out not only the single drives but also a dual RAID-0 setup using drives with the same controllers and the same striping size. Not only is the PCIe based design great for speed, but it also allows for further expansion above the number of available SATA ports or drive bays. This allows you to install a drive in a tight SFF case with little issues or to just keep adding blistering storage to your system. This drive is definitely the best bang for the buck when it comes to performance compared to cost. With it being bootable, this could allow you to have the RevoDrive for your OS and programs, leaving a larger mechanical drive for mass storage giving you the perfect balance of speed and space. There are only a few drawbacks that I see with the RevoDrive (and in reality, they are pretty minor). First, the RevoDrive uses the heavy over-provisioning that we saw with first generation SandForce based drives when they emerged. While there is a total of 64GB of actual NAND flash for the drives, only 50GB is allocated for space of which only 46GB is actually useable when formatted. This is almost 25 percent of the drive set aside for DuraWrite and wear leveling. I would like to see future firmware free up some of that space for actual use. Finally, there is no TRIM support for the drive since TRIM currently doesn´t function with RAID arrays. OCZ stated that they are working on a fix for it and hopefully will work out a way to enable it in the future. Overall, the OCZ RevoDrive is an excellent implementation of solid state drive use and outperforms even the best of the competition. If you are in the market for an SSD and want better performance than a single drive, then I would look into the RevoDrive. You get what you pay for and this is evident in the outstanding performance that the OCZ RevoDrive offers.