Real-World Software Performance
PCMark 8 Real-World Software Performance
For details on our real-world software performance testing, please click here.
Even with the benefit of direct-to-die writes to help with more intensive workloads, OCZ's Trion 150 can't match the 850 EVO's performance. The 480GB Trion 150 does narrow the gap between the ill-fated Trino 100 and Samsung's segment leader. But that's just not enough to overtake the incumbent.
This chart depicts all of the tests combined; the results are represented in average throughput. The 480GB Trion 150 shows up a full 100 MB/s behind the 850 EVO, and the 960GB model doesn't do much better. OCZ even concedes defeat to Adata's SP550 with a Silicon Motion SM2256 controller and SK hynix TLC flash.
PCMark 8 Advanced Workload Performance
To learn how we test advanced workload performance, please click here.
When it comes to evaluating low-cost SSDs, we focus on the recovery stages. Enthusiasts don't purchase TLC-based SSDs for heavy application workloads. The recovery states are indicative of light-use conditions with lots of data on the drives. This is in comparison to the previous tests, which were run with very little information stored on the flash.
Compared to most drives, the Trion 150 fares well. But there is a clear winner here, and that drive sells for a disruptively low price.
Total Access Time
The Trion 150s do a good job of maintaining low latency when they can keep their emulated SLC buffers fresh and ready to accept new data. The 960GB Trion 150 comes close to Samsung's 500GB 850 EVO, but the 480GB Trion 150 takes much longer to complete its combined application tasks.
Notebook Battery Life
Our notebook battery life numbers caught us by surprise. The Trion 150 doesn't increase run time compared to the original Trion 100. In fact, it goes the other direction. We measured an 18-minute difference between the successive generations at 480GB. Most folks won't notice the difference, but there it is, clear as day.