OCZ RevoDrive 3 X2 review - What's the RevoDrive 3 series all about ?

What's the RevoDrive 3 series all about ?

Much like the previous RevoDrive's from OCZ, the idea and principles behind the product remain the same, SSDs placed onto a PCB or multiple PCBs, tied together to a RAID controller delivering all the goodness over the PCIe bus. The technology however is completely overhauled as not a single IC for this product is similar towards the 1st generation spec. OCZ uses their own RAID solution with a proprietary VCA 2.0 software layer (we'll explain this later). The raid solution is called the OCZ SuperScale storage accelerator that enables scalable SSD performance and reduces the host CPU cycles and thus load.

Then the NAND flash type has been changed to the newer and all to familiar 25nm series and last but not least, you'll spot multiple SandForce series 2200 (2281) controllers on the RevoDrive 3 X2.

Pop quiz hotshot: What's the difference inbetween the OCZ RevoDrive 3 and OCZ RevoDrive 2 X2 you might wonder ?

Well, it is pretty much the very same product, however the OCZ RevoDrive 3 has just one PCB with two SSD partitions, it will become available in 120 GB and 240GB versions.

OCZ RevoDrive 3

• 2x SF 2200 controllers
• Up-to 900 MB/sec read performance
• Up-to 700 MB/sec write performance
• Up-to 120K IOPS (4K Aligned random writes)
• 120 / 240 GB (240GB = 599 USD)

The OCZ RevoDrive 3 X2 however uses that very same OCZ RevoDrive 3 SKU but just like the London double-decker BUS, the double Whammy hamburger or the Big Mac ... it has two PCB layers. That's right, it's super-sized! E.g. an extra PCB with again two SSD partitions and accompanying controllers are added and connected toward each other through an interconnect. That will bring more RAW power and thus performance to the product as well as the number of available data channels + one raid array has effectively doubled up. NAND memory configuration wise that also brings more alternatives to the table and as such the RevoDrive 3 X2 will come in versions starting at a 240GB up-to a whopper 960 GB (I'm into hamburger puns today).

OCZ RevoDrive 3 X2

• 4x SF 2200 controllers
• Up-to 1500 MB/sec read performance
• Up-to 1200 MB/sec write performance
• Up-to 200K IOPS (4K Aligned random writes)
• 240 / 480 / 960 GB (240GB = 699 USD 480 GB = 1699 USD and the 960GB is 3199 USD).

Now, don't let the numbers fool you. These are always best case scenarios and based on peak performance. Your sustained and linear writes will show different, yet still ridiculous, performance. Good to know is that the RevoDrive is bootable, but you need to supply Windows with the appropriate drivers to recognize the controller. OCZ provided us with a set of 64-bit drivers for the controller and I was on my way. Windows 7 x64 installed without any problem.

Let's have a more detailed look at the actual product, anyone wants some pickles on that ?