Benchmark: Iometer
Our highly-intensive Iometer benchmark combines 4KB read and write operations in a 50/50 spread and in this test, the SandForce-based drives lead the pack.
Corsair's Force Series 3 copes reasonably well when bombarded with random 4KB files, but the result is in keeping with a first-generation SandForce drive and well below Corsair's stated 85,000 IOPs. The reason for this is that Iometer can be used to test a drive in a number of ways, and Corsair's recommended test method is to stress the drive with a 100 per cent write distribution.
Confirming that the manufacturer's claimed speeds do hold true, here's the Iometer test run once again but this time with a 100 per cent random spread of 4KB writes on an 8GB block size:
So far we've seen blazing-fast sequential throughput, lacklustre speeds when dealing with incompressible data, and strong 4k random read and write performance. A mixed bag, but how do those characteristics translate to real-world scenarios?
