OCZ Octane 512 GB SSD Review: Meet Indilinx's Everest Controller

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What? A performance SSD from OCZ not based on SandForce's tech? The new Octane SSD features an Indilinx controller. Does OCZ rectify the controller company's past mistakes, or does it need more time to marinate? The truth lies somewhere in the middle.

Test Setup And Firmware Notes

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Test Hardware
ProcessorIntel Core i5-2500K (Sandy Bridge), 32 nm, 3.3 GHz, LGA 1155, 6 MB Shared L3, Turbo Boost Enabled
MotherboardASRock Z68 Extreme4, BIOS v1.4
MemoryKingston Hyper-X 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3-1333 @ DDR3-1333, 1.5 V
System DriveOCZ Vertex 3 240 GB SATA 6Gb/s
Tested DrivesCrucial m4 64 GB SATA 6Gb/s, Firmware: 0002
Row 5 - Cell 0 Intel SSD 510 250 GB SATA 6Gb/s, Firmware: 1.7
Row 6 - Cell 0 Intel SSD 320 300 GB SATA 3Gb/s, Firmware: 1.7
Row 7 - Cell 0 Crucial m4 128 GB SATA 6Gb/s, Firmware: 0002
Row 8 - Cell 0 Crucial m4 256 GB SATA 6Gb/s, Firmware: 0002
Row 9 - Cell 0 Crucial m4 512 GB SATA 6Gb/s, Firmware: 0009
Row 10 - Cell 0 Crucial RealSSD 256 GB SATA 6Gb/s, Firmware: 0006
Row 11 - Cell 0 OCZ Vertex 3 240 GB SATA 6Gb/s, Firmware: 2.15
Row 12 - Cell 0 OCZ Vertex 3 120 GB SATA 6Gb/s, Firmware: 2.15
Row 13 - Cell 0 OCZ Agility 3 120 GB SATA 6Gb/s, Firmware: 2.15
Row 14 - Cell 0 OCZ Solid 3 120 GB SATA 6Gb/s, Firmware: 2.06
Row 15 - Cell 0 Corsair Force 3 120 GB SATA 6Gb/s, Firmware: 1.2
Row 16 - Cell 0 Corsair Force 120 GB SATA 3Gb/s, Firmware: 2.0
Row 17 - Cell 0 Adata S511 120 GB SATA 6Gb/s, Firmware: 311A
Row 18 - Cell 0 Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 120 GB SATA 6Gb/s, Firmware: 319A
Row 19 - Cell 0 Patriot Wildfire 120 GB SATA 6Gb/s, Firmware: 319A
Row 20 - Cell 0 Kingston SSDNow V+100 128 GB SATA 3Gb/s, Firmware: CJRA
Row 21 - Cell 0 Western Digital VelociRaptor 300 GB (WD3000HLFS) SATA 3Gb/s
Row 22 - Cell 0 G.Skill FM-25S2S 64 GB SATA 3Gb/s, Firmware: 02.1
Row 23 - Cell 0 Seagate Momentus 5400.6 500 GB SATA 3Gb/s
Row 24 - Cell 0 Intel X25-M G2 160 GB, Firmware: 1.7
Row 25 - Cell 0 Samsung 470 256 GB SATA 3Gb/s, Firmware: AXMO
Row 26 - Cell 0 Samsung 830 256 GB SATA 6Gb/s, Firmware: CXMO
Row 27 - Cell 0 OCZ Octane 512 GB, SATA 6Gb/s Firmware: E068
Row 28 - Cell 0 OCZ Vertex 2 (32nm) 120 GB SATA 3Gb/s, Firmware: 1.32
Row 29 - Cell 0 Kingston HyperX 240 GB SATA 6Gb/s, Firmware: 320A
GraphicsPalit GeForce GTX 460 1 GB
Power SupplySeasonic 760 W, 80 PLUS
System Software and Drivers
Operating SystemWindows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
DirectXDirectX 11
DriverGraphics: Nvidia 270.61 RST: 10.5.0.1022Virtu: 1.1.101
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Benchmarks
Tom's Hardware Storage Bench v1.0Trace-Based
Iometer 1.1.0# Workers = # Logical CPUs, 4 KB Random: LBA=16 GB, varying QDs, 128 KB Sequential: QD=1
ATTO BenchmarkLBA=2 GB, QD=2 & 4, varying transfer sizes
PCMark 7Storage Suite

Firmware Notes

Performance can change noticeably with a firmware update. We'll try to update our benchmark library when a new firmware version is released.

You'll notice that 512 GB Crucial m4 scores are different than what was posted in our previous review because we've updated to firmware 0009. While this purportedly enabled better sequential performance, that claim only applies at higher queue depths, which is why the other m4 capacities weren't retested for this review.

Andrew Ku
29 Comments Comment from the forums
  • theuniquegamer
    I think in 2 to 3 years we can get a affodable and fast 1tb ssd in market
    Reply
  • theuniquegamer
    Wow CRYSIS 2 reads and writes above 1 gb data per 20minutes
    Reply
  • ksampanna
    theuniquegamerI think in 2 to 3 years we can get a affodable and fast 1tb ssd in market
    Fast yes, affordable no. My guess is atleast 5 years for a 1 TB ssd to be under $100
    Reply
  • EDVINASM
    Still comparing Crysis 2 to everything that moves? I had WD Blue in RAID 0 for quite a while and was relatively happy. Before Christmas however, I have replaced them with just simple, SATA 300 Intel 320 SSD 80Gb. Boy what a difference! No more HDD scratchy sounds, no heat from them, no vibrations, no annoying ticks when idle, silent.. Speed wise PC boots up within 30 sec, and I am only running Intel i3 2100 with no OC. To those who are holding onto HDD I would say unless capacity is the key - sell it off for an SSD. Especially now that HDD prices are skyroketting it is proving easier and easier to do the swap.
    Reply
  • nebun
    ksampannaFast yes, affordable no. My guess is at least 5 years for a 1 TB ssd to be under $100it's so much fun to dream....don't expect prices to drop that much....that's what people people said about CPUs a few years back, yet nothing has changed.... another example is the mid and top end video cards....since manufacturing techniques have improved and have become more efficient one would think that the products would be cheaper....that's not the case....it's called demmand....people demand faster components and will pay a premium price for it, why would manufacturers drop the prices?...they still have to make a profit
    Reply
  • mayankleoboy1
    theuniquegamerI think in 2 to 3 years we can get a affodable and fast 1tb ssd in market

    yeah.
    and in 2 to 3 years we can get a 20 core intel 9999 X edition for $50.
    and gtx990X2 for just $100.
    Reply
  • buzznut
    edvinasmStill comparing Crysis 2 to everything that moves? I had WD Blue in RAID 0 for quite a while and was relatively happy. Before Christmas however, I have replaced them with just simple, SATA 300 Intel 320 SSD 80Gb. Boy what a difference! No more HDD scratchy sounds, no heat from them, no vibrations, no annoying ticks when idle, silent.. Speed wise PC boots up within 30 sec, and I am only running Intel i3 2100 with no OC. To those who are holding onto HDD I would say unless capacity is the key - sell it off for an SSD. Especially now that HDD prices are skyroketting it is proving easier and easier to do the swap.
    And I recommend folks hold onto their current hard drives and get a boot SSD. 80GB may be enough for you, but a lot of us have bigger storage needs. Its gonna take about a year for the hard drive market to recover, so hang on to those mechanical drives.
    Reply
  • drwho1
    theuniquegamerI think in 2 to 3 years we can get a affodable and fast 1tb ssd in market
    mayankleoboy1yeah.and in 2 to 3 years we can get a 20 core intel 9999 X edition for $50.and gtx990X2 for just $100.
    I do believe that 3-5 years from now we will see a huge increase on performance accompanied by a huge drop in price (compare with today's prices and performance)

    Then we will probably have SATA 4 on the market and the "right price/GB/TB" will be on SATA 3 SSD's.

    With that in mind, I have always build my systems a generation "behind" which is always more than "a few" generations of whatever I had built last, I have always double or triple my previous built performance for around the same money invested on it.

    (plus/minus a few new "tricks" that probably were not on the previous built that could raise my budget
    200 dollars or so)

    Is is possible to get an 1TB SSD for around $100-$200 dollars in 3-5 years?
    I believe it will be.
    just don't expect to also be the faster SATA 4, you will have to "compromise" by been a little "behind"
    in speed.








    Reply
  • mikenygmail
    Add "SSD" to the title.
    Reply
  • tetracycloide
    nebunthat's what people people said about CPUs a few years back, yet nothing has changedAMD Athlon 64 4000+ San Diego 2.4GHz circa 2005 - $475.99 inflation adjusted to 2011 ~$548.22
    Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz circa 2007 - $279.99 inflation adjusted to 2011 ~$304.10
    Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz circa 2011 - $219.99

    I'm sorry, you were saying?
    Reply