Disclaimer: SSD Testing

EDITORS NOTE 05/10/2009: Benchmark Reviews has re-tested the OCZ Vertex with the latest v1.10 firmware, which includes TRIM support, and the resulting performance was generally identical to the previous firmware. Please remember that TRIM is a Windows 7 supported feature, and does not improve performance on Windows XP or Vista Operating Systesm.

Benchmark Reviews recently published an article which details Solid State Drive (SSD) Benchmark Performance Testing. The research and discussion that went into producing that article changed the way we now test SSD products. Our previous perceptions of this technology were lost on one particular difference: the wear leveling algorithm that makes data a moving target. Without conclusive linear bandwidth testing or some other method of total-capacity testing, our previous performance results were rough estimates at best.

It's critically important to understand that no software for the Microsoft Windows platform can accurately measure SSD performance in a comparable fashion. Synthetic benchmark tools such as HD Tach and ATTO Disk Benchmark are helpful indicators, but should not be considered the ultimate determining factor. That factor should be measured in actual user experience of real-world applications. Benchmark Reviews includes both bandwidth benchmarks and application speed tests to present a conclusive measurement of product performance.

SSD Testing Methodology

Solid State Drives have traveled a long winding course to finally get where they are today. Up to this point in technology, there have been several key differences separating Solid State Drives from magnetic rotational Hard Disk Drives. While the DRAM-based buffer size on desktop HDD's has recently reached 32 MB and is ever-increasing, there is still a hefty delay in the initial response time. This is one key area in which flash-based Solid State Drives continually dominates because they lack moving parts to "get up to speed".

However the benefits inherent to SSD's have traditionally fallen off once the throughput begins, even though data reads or writes are executed at a high constant rate whereas the HDD tapers off in performance. This makes the average transaction speed of a SSD comparable to the data burst rate mentioned in HDD tests, albeit usually lower than the HDD's speed.

Comparing a Solid State Disk to a standard Hard Disk Drives is always relative; even if you're comparing the fastest rotational spindle speeds. One is going to be many times faster in response (SSD's), while the other is usually going to have higher throughput bandwidth (HDD's). Additionally, there are certain factors which can effect the results of a test which we do our best to avoid.

Test System

• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P (Intel X58/ICH10R Chipset) with version F6b BIOS
• Processor: Intel Core i7-920 BX80601920 2.667 GHz
• System Memory: 6GB Tri-Channel DDR3
• Operating System: Windows XP Professional SP-3 (optimized to 16 processes at idle)

Drive Hardware

• Crucial / Lexar 32GB 2.5" SATA-2 SSD CT32GBFAB0
• G.Skill 64GB 2.5" SATA-2 SSD FM-25S2S-64GB
• Hitachi Travelstar 5K160 2.5" 40GB SATA 5,400 RPM HDD HTS541640J9SA00 (8MB Cache Buffer)
• Hitachi Travelstar 7K100 2.5" 60GB SATA 7,200 RPM HDD HTS721060G9SA00 (8MB Cache Buffer)
• Intel 80GB X25-M SATA SSD SSDSA2MH080G15E
• Kingston 80GB SATA SSD SSDSA2MH080G1GC
• MemoRight GT 64GB 2.5" SATA SSD MR25.2-064S
• Mtron Pro 7500 32GB SATA-II SSD MSP-SATA7525
• Mtron Pro 7000 16GB 2.5-Inch 16GB SSD SATA7025
• Mtron MOBI 3000 16GB 2.5" SATA SSD MSD-SATA3025
• Mtron MOBI 3500 64GB 3.5" SATA SSD MSD-SATA3535-064
• OCZ 64GB 2.5" SATA SSD OCZSSD64GB
• OCZ SATA-II 32GB 2.5" SSD OCZSSD2-1S32G
• OCZ Core Series SATA-II SSD OCZSSD2-1C64G
• OCZ SATA-II 64GB 2.5" SSD OCZSSD2-1S64G
• OCZ Apex 120GB SATA SSD OCZSSD2-1APX120G
• OCZ Vertex 120GB SATA SSD OCZSSD2-1VTX120G
• Patriot Warp 128GB SATA-II SSD PE128GS25SSDR
• Samsung 64GB 2.5" SATA-2 SSD MCCOE64G5MPP-0VA
• Seagate 7200.11 500GB 3.5" ST3500320AS 7,200 RPM SATA-II Hard Disk Drive (32MB Cache Buffer)
• Super Talent MasterDrive MX 60GB 2.5" SATA-II SSD FTM60GK25H
• Silicon Power 64GB 2.5" SATA SSD SP064GBSSD25SV10
• Silicon Power 32GB SLC SATA-II SSD SP032GBSSD750S25
• Western Digital Raptor 74GB 3.5" WD740ADFD 10,000 RPM SATA Hard Disk Drive (16MB Cache Buffer)
• Western Digital VelociRaptor 150GB WD1500HLFS 10,000 RPM SATA Hard Disk Drive (16MB Cache Buffer)

Test Tools

• EVEREST Ultimate Edition v5.00.1650 by Lavalys: Disk Benchmark component tests linear read and write bandwidth speed
• ATTO Disk Benchmark v2.34: Spot-tests static file size chunks for IOPS benchmarking
• HD Tach RW v3.0.4.0 by Simpli Software: Approximate buffered read and write bandwidth speed
• PCMark05 by Futurmark Corporation: Synthetic measurement of real-world productivity
• System Speed Test v4.78 by Vladimir Afanasiev: Accurately measures random access response time

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