OCZ's Hybrid SSD/HDD PCIe Card Spotted

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By Kevin Parrish
published

OCZ is showcasing its HDD/SSD PCIe-based hybrid this week at Computex.

This week during Computex, OCZ is showcasing a unique storage solution called the RevoDrive Hybrid, a marriage of mechanical and solid-state storage technologies on a single PCI Express x4 card. OCZ has yet to determine final configurations, but expects to release a base model featuring a 500 GB HDD and a 60 GB SSD. There's also talk of a second model which may sport a beefier 1 TB HDD and a 120 GB SSD.

According to hands-on reports, the hybrid drive will use a 2.5-inch HDD provided by a third party although OCZ is still trying to determine whether it wants to use a 5,400-RPM or a 7,200-RPM model. The SSD component actually serves as a cache, and can even use multiple SandForce controllers arranged in a RAID 0 array. This unique caching scheme will allow the slower 5,400-RPM drive to be used without sacrificing performance.

OCZ said that the Hybrid's cache will be managed by Nvelo's Dataplex software which is capable of caching both read and writes up to 120 GB of solid state storage. According to Nvelo, Dataplex actually demonstrates better performance in PCMark Vantage results than the Smart Response caching scheme available with Intel's Z68 Express chipset.

OCZ also provided a spec sheet claiming that the Hybrid drive has sustained read speeds of 575 MB/s and sustained write speeds of 500 MB/s. It also reportedly has a random 4KB write rate of 30,000 IOPS. That could be tweaked even further before the PCIe-based drive is expected to hit the market this July. OCZ hasn't officially released a ship date or pricing, but the base model is expected to retail for around $350.

Currently OCZ is offering two RevoDrive models without the HDD riding piggyback: the original RevoDrive PCIe SSD and the RevoDrive X2 PCIe SSD.

Kevin Parrish
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14 Comments Comment from the forums
  • memadmax
    Nah, I'll pass.

    I would rather have the OCZ Z-Drive R4 PCIe SSD.

    Gargle Gargle Gargle Gargle....
    Reply
  • alextheblue
    mouse24hmm, i think this might work for servers, but for home use id rather have 'em separate.There are some advantages to the caching approach. Having seperate drives/cards takes up more space, for one. For a gamer with a full ATX case this isn't an issue, but smaller form factors are certainly a lot more commonplace than they once were.

    The other big advantage is simplicity for the end user. Again, not a problem for a typical geek who knows what to install on the small but fast SSD drive/card. But what about those who build boxes for non-nerds to use? This is a good looking solution from that perspective. From the user's point of view, it's just one big drive that happens to also be pretty damn fast.

    So yeah, it might not be the way to go for most THG readers PERSONAL machines, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have a place. Even big OEMs could take advantage of it too, for their higher end machines, as an alternative to a two-drive SSD/HDD setup. I especially like this talk of it being faster than Intel's Z68 caching. We can already see that it supports a larger SSD size.
    Reply
  • alidan
    lame? after the 7tb ssd and 1.5 mill io this just seams really lame.

    and the biggest advantage of ssd, no spinning crap, gets thrown out the window with this.
    Reply
  • dalauder
    I think this has a lot of potential. If smart caching allows apparent (and benchmarkable) SSD performance across the entire HDD, that could remove the huge capacity hit that switching to a SSD causes.

    I'd never buy one of these for $350--I'd just buy a single $200 SSD to go with my HDDs. But if they could get this near the price of a $60 SSD and a $35 500GB HDD and maybe package the "500GB SSD Hybrid" near $150, I'd be very interested.
    Reply
  • pocketdrummer
    alidanlame? after the 7tb ssd and 1.5 mill io this just seams really lame.and the biggest advantage of ssd, no spinning crap, gets thrown out the window with this.
    The point has been lost with this one...

    This is intended as an intermediate storage device. SSDs are too expensive and too small. HDDs are cheap and spacious, but slow. This bridges the gap. Whether or not it bridges the gap well is another story altogether. We need more information about it in actual use. What goes on the SSD portion and what goes onto the HDD. How is it controlled, what are the benches, etc. Need more information.
    Reply
  • alidan
    pocketdrummerThe point has been lost with this one...This is intended as an intermediate storage device. SSDs are too expensive and too small. HDDs are cheap and spacious, but slow. This bridges the gap. Whether or not it bridges the gap well is another story altogether. We need more information about it in actual use. What goes on the SSD portion and what goes onto the HDD. How is it controlled, what are the benches, etc. Need more information.
    i have an sata ports. ssds dont need to write or read fast, but have next to no seek time, thats what makes them feel so fast.

    but i done get who this is for?

    the pcie thing is cool for people like me with sata2 ports and not 3 to take full advantage of the read and write, but that doesn't really matter as i said above.

    the ssd drive isnt the best to speak of, as i see stand alone ones that go some where double their io operations,

    and the hdd is weighty and small you can get a 2tb hdd for 1-150$ a 1tb for 70ish, and a 500gb for 40$ cut that off the 350 base model price and you come out with 310$ or better put, $5.10 per gig... now not to complain, but isn't that what higher end ssds cost? and you aren't getting high end performance.

    this is unimpressive all around, not just for what it is.

    the ssd is expensive and under preforms, and takes up a pcie slot, and even than you just get faster read writes on older motherboards.

    who is this marked to?
    Reply
  • redgarl
    Seems more like an experiment to me...

    Still, OCZ should stick to pure SSDs.
    Reply
  • alidan
    redgarlSeems more like an experiment to me...Still, OCZ should stick to pure SSDs.true... unless they partner with someone and make a hybrid in the 3.5 form factor for sata, and its not more expensive than 20$ more than the non hybrid model. (10gb of ssd space or 2$ a gig)
    Reply
  • tmax
    Something that I would be intrested in if it tests well.
    Reply
  • eddieroolz
    Didn't Seagate try something like this, just in a HDD form factor and much more primitive?

    Either way, I'm sure enthusiasts would just simply buy a 500GB HDD and a 60GB SSD.
    Reply