OCZ Vertex 4 256GB Review

Performance Analysis

Because it lacks compression technology, the AS-SSD incompressible data test proved little challenge for the Vertex 4. A sequential write speed of 461MB/s is exceptional, easily outpacing both the Crucial M4 (278.5MB/s) and Samsung SSD 830 (392MB/S). This makes the Vertex 4 the fastest SSD we’ve seen in this particular test, even though sequential read speeds of 496.69MB/s weren’t quite as quick as the competition.

Single queue-depth 4KB random read speeds are above average at 27.2MB/s, but single queue-depth 4KB random writes were significantly improved over the first generation Everest-equipped Octane. 86.97Mb/s puts it among the fastest SSDs we’ve tested. 64 queue-depth 4KB random read speeds are a hugely impressive 325.22MB/s, as is a 4KB 64 queue-depth random write speed of 308.65MB/s.


The Vertex 4 continued to impress in our new Crystal Disk Mark benchmark. Sequential read speeds of 501.9MB/s are slightly outpaced by both Samsung and Crucial, but sequential write speeds of 470MB/s are around 50MB/s faster than anything we’ve tested. A 4K random read speed of 29.32MB/s is slightly above average, but a 4KB random write speed of 105.7MB/s is faster than anything else we’ve seen. The 32 queue-depth 4KB random read score of 237.3MB/s is only beaten by Crucial’s M4. 32 queue-depth random write speeds of 241.7MB/s tell the same story, but are still among the top 5 per cent of disks we’ve tested.

We were also impressed with how well the Vertex 4 maintained its performance following heavy use. After writing over 2TB of data to the drive on a TRIM-enabled system, we noticed almost no performance degradation compared to a clean disk.

Conclusion

The original Everest controller OCZ used for its Octane SSDs left us disappointed – the 1.13 firmware we reviewed it with was noticeably slower than both Crucial’s M4 and Samsung’s 830 drives. Thankfully, with the Vertex 4 256GB, OCZ has shown us that buying Indilinx for a cool $32 million just might have been worth it.

Sequential read speeds have significantly improved, bringing the Vertex 4 in line with the competition from Crucial and Samsung, but the real achievement here is the fantastic write speeds, both sequentially and when handling 4KB random data. They eclipse everything we’ve tested, and won’t suffer from inconsistent performance due to data compression thanks to the Everest 2 controller.

There's no question that the Vertex 4 is fast. However, this speed comes at a price. Compared to a Crucial M4 of the same capacity, the Vertex 4 is some £50 more expensive. Whether the faster benchmark scores and marginally faster real world performance is worth the extra cash is up for debate; certainly if you absolutely have to have the fastest drive around then buy the Vertex 4. You won't be disappointed, but the money you would save on the equivalent Crucial or Samsung might be better spent on other upgrades.