The new Synapse SSDs are optimized for caching applications. It uses the Dataplex caching software to dynamically manage the Synapse SSD in conjunction with standard hard disk drives to provide users with SSD-level performance across the entire capacity of the HDDs. The SATA 6.0 Gb/s 2.5-inch utilizes SandForce 2281 MLC NAND flash memory chips. The drive comes in capacities of 60 GB and 128 GB with a MTBF of 2 million hours and three-year warranty.
As part of its Product Data Sheet, OCZ shows the benefit of the Synapse SSD drive on three runs of PC Mark Vantage - HDD Test Suite. You can see from the below chart, the HDD only runs at around 6,000 for the Overall Score on HDD Test Suite. The initial use of the Synapse jumps the HDD up to 8,000 on the Overall Score but once the second test is run, the SSD/HDD hybrid storage jumps to around 40,000 on the Overall Score and maintains its performance. This combination creates an environment where the most frequently used "hot" data stays on the faster SSD, while the "cold" data remains on the larger capacity HDD.
"The industry has shown that it craves the performance advantages that SSDs provide, however, many users still value the high capacities associated with HDDs," said Tobias Brinkmann, Director of Product Management, OCZ Technology Group. "We see the Synapse Cache SSDs integrated with Dataplex software as a big win for a large number of customers who value SSD performance but still require HDD capacity. We are proud to be the first to offer this no-compromise approach to enabling high-performance and high-capacity storage for virtually any PC platform."
Read more on OCZ's Synapse Cache SATA III 2.5" SSD on its product page.
Edit: Story has been updated to reflect the performance benefit as the Overall Score on HDD Test Suite not IOPS, as previously stated.
