Benchmark Results: Storage Suite v1.0 And PCMark 7
Storage Bench v1.0 (Background Info)
Storage Bench v1.0 is our home-grown trace tool that replays the first two weeks of I/O activity on a desktop workstation. Because it includes several software installations, the trace incorporates quite a bit of sequentially-written compressible and incompressible information.
As Intel's specs indicated, the SSD 330 actually does perform slower than its SSD 520. Singling out the 120 GB models, it looks like the SSD 330 falls behind by about 13%. Still, that's pretty respectable. After all, OCZ's 120 GB Agility 3 is about 10% slower than the SSD 330.
By the time we get down to the 60 GB drives, the SSD 330 is even able to match OCZ's higher-end Vertex 3.
When you consider the field more completely, though, we see that the inclusion of incompressible data in our trace puts the SandForce-based drives at a marked disadvantage. Even Samsung's 64 GB 830 outperforms the 180 GB SSD 330.
PCMark 7
PCMark 7 puts more of an emphasis on compressible data, which is why the SandForce-based drives move up the chart. At any given capacity, Intel's SSD 330 typically trails the SSD 520 and outperforms OCZ's Agility 3.