OCZ VERTEX 3.20 240GB SSD
RRP: $229.99 | Website: www.ocz.com
Test Machine
• Intel Core i7 3770K
• GIGABYTE Z77X-UD4H (F2i)
• CORSAIR Dominator
Platinum 2x4GB DDR
2666MHZ CL10
• Cooler Master Silent Pro M2
1500W
• Windows 7 64-bit SP1
H
ere is yet another SSD
from OCZ. There’s no
questioning that OCZ
knows how to make SSD drives
that are both compelling in
performance and sometimes in
price. Over the last few issues
we’ve looked at the blisteringly
quick OCZ Vector and the
Vertex4, both remarkable
and well worth their placing
amongst enthusiast class SSDs.
So what of the Vertex3.20
then? Well this is a newer
version of the original Vertex3.
In essence the only thing
changed is that the new drives
make use of 20nm Intel NAND
instead of the older 25nm
NAND also from Intel. This does
18 The OverClocker Issue 24 | 2013
nothing but cut costs for OCZ,
ideally without compromising
performance. What it does in
theory though is reduce the life
cycle of the NAND. However this
shouldn’t be a problem for any
user at all as you’re unlikely to
cause failure through repeated
writes in any realistic scenario.
We’ll save you the time as
there’s no need to go into the
internals of this drive, you’ve
seen it before. The original Vertex
3 was one of the first if not the
first drive to come out with the
then new SF-2281 controller.
So you can imagine everything
associated with that controller
holds true here as well.
Keep in mind that this was
previously OCZ’s high end
offering, but was subsequently
replaced by the Vertex 4, the
Vector and now we’re hearing
rumours of a Vertex 5. Either
way this is a mid-range offering
from the outfit and as such
the performance should not
be judged too critically or
against other heavy hitters
like the Samsung 840. What
should be of concern to you
is the pricing which in turn
will skew your opinion on the
drive. From where we stand
the performance is admirable
for what it is, but falls short
of being as impressive as the
original Vertex3 when it came
out and certainly nothing like the
Vertex3..
The problem here is that at
$229 USD, you’re essentially
charging performance grade
prices for a mid-range part. No
doubt that with some shopping
around you may be able to find
it a little cheaper but based on
the pricing we use consistently;
this is an expensive drive. It
costs more than the remarkable
CORSAIR Neutron GTX. Now
there’s no situation where this
drive outperforms the GTX yet at
the time of writing, the GTX was
selling for just under $200. That
means for significantly lower
performance you’re paying up
to $30 more. That alone may
make you consider another drive
because while the Vertex3.20
is faster than the INTEL 335 we
reviewed last issue. It isn’t a
whole lot faster. Mind you the
INTEL drive is also overpriced in