Computex 2014 - Day 1

Computex 2014 - OCZ

Our final trip of the day was to the guys at OCZ. As you're probably aware, the company has had some tough times in recent months, first going through bankruptcy proceedings before being bought out by Toshiba. While this has slowed some plans down, things are beginning to get back on track, and OCZ was showing off the upcoming Vector 180 SSD. This is a SATA 6Gbps SSD that will fit the standard 2.5-inch form factor, much like the exisitng Vector 150, which it is set to eventually replace.


The Vector 180 still uses the Barefoot 3 M00 controller, but it will feature new Toshiba A19nm NAND instead of the current 19nm NAND – the process node is the same but the physical structure of the NAND is a little different, allowing Toshiba to make more efficient use of its silicon. The Vector 180 will also feature power loss protection thanks to a series of capacitors on the PCB which will power the drive just long enough to flush data to the NAND in the event of power loss – a feature that comes as standard in Crucial's most recent SSDs. We were only able to obtain pictures of the PCB as the outer case design has yet to be finalised (though you may have noticed that the Vector 150 has an updated look compared to when we first saw it).


While the Vector 180 targets enthusiasts and entry level server clients, OCZ will also be launching a new TLC-based SSD later in the year (approximately Septemeber) so that it can better compete in the value-oriented markets, over which Samsung and Crucial currently have a strong grip. Details on the SSD don't extend beyond that at the moment, but it will certainly be good to have another competitor in this space, as for the majority of consumers looking to upgrade to an SSD the only thing that matters is cost per gigabyte – benchmark differences aside, most modern SSDs are now easily fast enough to make a massive difference to any computer still trundling along on mechanical storage.

That's all for today's Computex 2014 coverage – be sure to check back tomorrow for a round-up of all our escapades on day 2!