OCZ Technology Vertex 4

Since not everyone lives, eats and sleeps solid state drives for a living, let's run through some important details while we go though a few images of the drives.

Vertex 4 is an IOPS monster, but the unique feature is the series brings high IOPS performance down to consumer queue depth levels. All three capacity sizes have a max IOPS rating of 120K with a random read of 90K (95K for the 512GB). The write IOPS for all three capacity sizes is right around 85K.

At the time of writing Newegg lists the Vertex 4 128GB at $149.99, 256GB at $329.99 and the 512GB at $649.99.

Per the Vertex Standard, a measurement in which many companies base their accessory list on (but would never admit), you get a desktop adapter bracket, mounting screws, paper installation guide and a jazzy sticker.

OCZ went one step further with the Vertex 4 though and increased the warranty length to five years. Most SSDs ship with a one, two or three year warranty and very few are offered with a full five year replacement warranty.

To date we've been able to break down the consumer SSD market into two groups, SandForce without DRAM and controllers that use DRAM. The Vertex 4 uses a DRAM design, but it uses a massive amount - 1GB on the 512GB model and 512MB on the 256GB model. This is a significant change to the DRAM capacity found on other DRAM design SSDs regardless of the specific controller used.

Vertex 4 uses Intel third generation 25nm flash programmed for synchronous operation. Since we first reviewed the Vertex 4 we've learned quite a bit about this new flash and how it is affecting the SSD market. Apparently yields have increased with the third generation flash and the cost is decreasing by a substantial amount. This is why SSD prices are taking a nose dive right now.