OCZ Debuts Vertex 3 SSDs with SF-2000 Series

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OCZ's new SSDs are capable of read speeds up to 550 MB/s and write speeds up to 520 MB/s.

Thursday OCZ Technology said that its new line of Vertex 3 SSDs have shipped for the consumer sector, arriving in 120 GB, 240 GB and 480 GB capacities. The company's enterprise-class Vertex 3 Pro series won't launch until mid-Q2 2011-- otherwise sometime around next month.

We first saw the Vertex 3 series back in January during CES 2011. Taking advantage of the SandForce SF-2200 controller and a SATA 6 Gbps interface, the new line is capable of read speeds up to 550 MB/s and write speeds up to 520 MB/s, depending on the capacity. All three provide the same 60,000 IOPS (4K random write), native TRIM support and 2.5-inch form factor traits.

"The Vertex 3 series with the SandForce SF-2200 SSD processor has been eagerly anticipated in the marketplace," said Ryan Petersen, CEO of OCZ Technology Group. "Our partnership with SandForce has again facilitated the introduction of a solution that sets the benchmark for industry leading performance and reliability."

According to OCZ, the SSDs offer RAID support, a MTBF of 2 million hours, and low power consumption of 2W while in operation and .5W while in standby. Other features include a seek time of .1 ms and an included adapter bracket for mounting the MLC NAND-based drive into a 3.5-inch drive bay.

Currently Newegg is listing the 120 GB model for $300, the 240 GB model for $550 and the 480 GB model for a hefty $1,900 USD. Additional online retailers include Amazon, Micro Center, Circuit City and others.

Kevin Parrish
21 Comments Comment from the forums
  • warezme
    me wants.., anyone need a good kidney?
    Reply
  • jrharbort
    SATA III is still a fairly new technology, not even widely adopted yet. And there are already SSDs that can max out the available bandwidth? That is just INSANE. On top of that, flash based storage has been dropping in price far faster than any previous storage technology. I remember in 2003 when my 128MB flash drive was $50.
    Reply
  • bison88
    jrharbortSATA III is still a fairly new technology, not even widely adopted yet. And there are already SSDs that can max out the available bandwidth? That is just INSANE. On top of that, flash based storage has been dropping in price far faster than any previous storage technology. I remember in 2003 when my 128MB flash drive was $50.

    Yeah it's pretty incredible, but it's not really that surprising if you understand the general basics of how flash and NAND memory operates. It's simply evolutionary rather than revolutionary and the speed barriers will probably always be down to the bus and connections for the foreseeable future and not the drive or controller itself. Now that we have fully saturated SATA 3.0 aka Sata 6Gbps, can we now please work on correcting some critical flaws and consistent issues with future SSD's so we can get some quality assurance going and have it market saturated so I don't have to hold a Christmas list of what to look for when I go shopping for one?

    Since size isn't going anywhere without a heavy price on the wallet, this is the next logical step if you want mass adoption by consumers. SSD's have only gone from a baby lying on its back to laying flat on its belly. There is a long way to go before it even comes close to running in the mainstream
    Reply
  • JohnnyLucky
    Wait until you see what PCI-e 3.0 is capable of.
    Reply
  • eklipz330
    JohnnyLuckyWait until you see what PCI-e 3.0 is capable of.speeds that won't be needed by 80% of consumers?

    seriously, now that sata III is nearly saturated, maybe instead of working on increasing the speeds which will no longer be beneficial, they can work on bringing the price down per gig.... *fingers crossed*
    Reply
  • DXRick
    About time. I was getting tired of seeing the Vertex 3s in reviews but no products at retailers.
    Reply
  • limpman
    any one can tell me if i have SATA 3 Gbps mobo i still get full speed.coz this ssd SATA 6 Gbps.i have gigabyte ud-5 x58 mobo.
    Reply
  • dalauder
    eklipz330speeds that won't be needed by 80% of consumers?You're being close-minded. PCI-e can connect more than graphics. If SSDs, RAM, & Graphics were all connected on the same bus, chipsets could get a lot cheaper and more versatile in the near future. Since PCI-e extension cables exist, this might allow SATA type cables to connect graphics, RAM, etc. That could be pretty awesome.
    Reply
  • dalauder
    limpmanany one can tell me if i have SATA 3 Gbps mobo i still get full speed.coz this ssd SATA 6 Gbps.i have gigabyte ud-5 x58 mobo.Nope, you won't get full-speed. Get a SATA 3 PCI-e card or just buy a Vertex 2 34nm (or Corsair sandforce equivalent) once prices drop.
    Reply
  • pocketdrummer
    jrharbortSATA III is still a fairly new technology, not even widely adopted yet. And there are already SSDs that can max out the available bandwidth? That is just INSANE. On top of that, flash based storage has been dropping in price far faster than any previous storage technology. I remember in 2003 when my 128MB flash drive was $50.
    Which should probably suggest to the developers to focus on capacity and price instead. Fast is great and all, but affordability and utility reign supreme in the real world. This is how new, great technology dies out before it catches on.

    If they can get a fast 500gb SSD that only costs $200, they'd sell more. $1900 isn't going to happen for 99% of the population.
    Reply