Testing Methodology
Test Bench |
| CPU |
Intel Core i7-4770K (4.4GHz, 8MB cache, quad-core) |
| Motherboard |
Asus Z97-A |
| Memory |
16GB Corsair Vengeance Pro (2x8GB) DDR3 @ 1,866MHz |
| Storage Controllers |
Intel Z97 PCH (SATA 6Gbps, AHCI) |
| Graphics |
Integrated HD 4600 Graphics |
| Power Supply |
Corsair AX760i |
| Operating System |
Windows 8.1 (64-bit) |
Comparison Drive Configurations |
| |
Total Capacity |
Controller |
Firmware |
Interface |
| OCZ Vector 180 |
480GB |
OCZ Barefoot M00 |
1.0 |
SATA 6Gbps |
| Crucial MX200 |
512GB |
Marvell 88SS9189 |
1.0 |
SATA 6Gbps |
| Corsair Neutron XT |
240GB |
Phison PS-3110-S10 |
1.0 |
SATA 6Gbps |
| SanDisk Extreme Pro |
480GB |
Marvell 88SS9187 |
XL2100RL |
SATA 6Gbps |
Benchmarks |
| ATTO Disk Benchmark |
The freeware ATTO benchmark provides basic sequential speed results for both read and write operations. Using the default queue depth of four, we record read and write speeds during 1MB transfers. |
| CrystalDiskMark |
CrystalDiskMark provides various storage benchmarks, but we're interested in the returned 32-thread 4K performance numbers to see how well the drives fare when tasked with numerous small transfers. |
| PCMark 8 |
PCMark 8's storage test is a collection of workloads that isolate the performance of the PC's storage system. The Expanded Tests dig deeper into performance by looking at how the drives respond when in a degraded, steady and recovery state. |
Notes
OCZ's premier SATA drive is up against the SanDisk Extreme Pro, Crucial MX200 and Corsair Neutron XT. We don't expect there to be much difference between the quartet in the sequential tests which are governed by limitations imposed by the SATA interface. What's of more interest is how they all perform once in degraded and steady states.
