OCZ’s RevoDrive X2: When A Fast PCIe SSD Isn’t Fast Enough

Benchmark Results: 4 KB And 512 KB Random Writes

Random write performance has always been a bit of a weakness for Intel, and our Iometer chart demonstrates why. The RevoDrive again outpaces the IBIS, while the RevoDrive and Vertex 2 fall in behind.

But can we really trust the results here as definitive in all cases, in light of the fact that SandForce’s architecture can optimize for highly compressible data? A cross-check with CrystalDiskMark should help.

Writing completely random data to these drives represents a worst-case for SandForce, and Intel’s position improves substantially. Again, with a queue depth of one, the results spread isn't particularly impressive. The RevoDrive X2 takes a first place finish just under 100 MB/s, but even the slowest drives at 60+ MB/s deliver reasonable throughput.

Things change drastically when queue depth is increased to 32. The IBIS leaps into the lead, just as we saw in the sequential write test. Again, the IBIS and RevoDrive X2 should be pretty close here, so take the RevoDrive X2's modest gains as a worst-case example of what an SSD in its "dirty state" encounters. Intel’s X25-M is able to go up against OCZ’s first-gen RevoDrive, leaving the Vertex 2 in its dust.