Specifications & Features
Specifications & Features
The sample that OCZ submitted is a 120 GB version of the drive. The Vertex 460 series will come with Toshiba MLC NAND, flash memory from the 19nm node. The NAND flash used is labeled: TH58TEG70DJ8A4C. A familiar part number these days being used on several high-performance SSDs. So that's Synchronous 19nm MLC NAND Flash. The previous original Vector used IM Flash Technologies (IMFT) NAND.
OCZ will released three models within the Vertex 460 range, very simple... a 120 GB, 240 GB and 480 GB version. The top performance SKUs will be 256 GB and 480 GB. Due to the architecture and memory channels used, the 120 GB edition will be a notch slower. This is pretty much the thumb of rule for any brand BTW. Still a 120 GB SSD performing at 530 MB/sec read and 420 MB/sec write performance remains staggering, especially compared to the price.
MSRP Pricing:
- 120 GB - 99.99 USD
- 240 GB - 189.99 USD
- 480 GB - 359.99 USD
Not these are suggested retail prices, it would be save to shave off another 10% and also combine it with the fact that you'll receive free HDD/SSD cloning software (Acronis with Windows 8 compatibility) as well.
The Barefoot Controller
The flash memory is tied towards the Indilinx (owned by OCZ Technology) Barefoot 3 controller located under product code Barefoot 3 M10. This is an 8-channel NAND flash controller and the third revision from Indilinx, it comes with an all too familiar dual-core ARM architecture. The Barefoot 3 controller makes used of a pretty big memory partitions for caching, that means that internal DDR3 memory plastered and hammered shut onto the PCB being used as file and data caches. The SSD has 512 MB of cache divided over two 256 MB ICs from Micron, but as we'll show you later on in the photo shoot, there is room for more. On the next pages we'll be showing you some PCB photo's as well, and what you'll notice is that it carries DDR memory caches as well. In-between the different SKUs the 256 GB has a 512 MB buffer, and some write speed variation with the lower capacity model.
- SATA 3 - 6Gbp/s Interface
- 19nm Toshiba NAND Flash
- 7mm form factor
- 120 GB, 240 GB and 480 GB models
- Bundles with Acronis Clone software Windows 8 compatible edition
- High performance and endurance without compression/loss of usable capacity
- Advanced suite of Flash management to increase durability and reliability
- Lower Power consumption IDLE 06.9W / Active 2.70W
- TRIM support
- 5 Year Warranty
Over the SATA3 / SATA 6 Gb/s interface you may expect read speeds up to 545 MB/s and writes up to 525 MB/s based on volume size of the SSD. The 240 GB and 480 GB models will have these performance numbers. The 128 GB model will however have less write performance at 450 MB/sec. All these models have an advertised 4K random IOPS rating in-between 80,000 random read and 95,000 random write (4K aligned).
A block diagram of the OCZ Barefoot 3 controller