Introduction: OCZ VBoost

Microsoft promised the world with their latest Operating System: Windows Vista. One of the few features in Vista which wasn't scrapped to make the release deadline was Windows ReadyBoost. While dependent on a suitable flash drive to provide a faster cache, Windows ReadyBoost claimed to significantly improve system responsiveness. OCZ understood the need for high-speed flash memory, and offers the VBoost USB Flash Drive for Windows Vista. This article will test and review the hardware, but more importantly it will answer why you may not need to buy into the Microsoft marketing spin.

OCZ had no reason not to believe their partner Microsoft, and set out to design and manufacture products specifically made for the Windows ReadyBoost feature. Did OCZ get the same bait and switch we did, or has the media taken the ReadyBoost feature and given it unnecessary attention? Perhaps the OCZ VBoost USB Flash Drive is exactly what Vista needed to properly offer real-world performance from Windows ReadyBoost. We will soon find out, and the results may just surprise you.

Let me be very clear from the beginning: it's not worth it for me to try and deceive you. After all, if you are interested in this kind of reading material you are smart enough to see truth and lies for what they really are. Microsoft gave me a good reason to open a business surrounding Y2K, and they have helped me achieve my third career as a Certified System Administrator. Despite whatever thanks I owe the goodly people who helped build Microsoft, I feel the honeymoon has been long over, and the recent release of Windows Vista has me beginning to see the light.

Ever since the Windows Vista was watered down to make a release date, part of me has wanted to walk away from the Microsoft-dependent industry and forgive them while I still can. The other part of me wants to see if maybe Google can't purchase the company and actually release something worth the price. But I digress, because what this really has to do with the OCZ VBoost USB flash drive is a promise. A broken promise, on the verge of a lie.

About the company: OCZ Technology

Entering the memory market in August 2000, OCZ Technology was built around the determination to manufacture the best high speed DDR and RDRAM. OCZ was founded by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts, and our commitment to the end-user has not digressed. OCZ Technology has been an innovator in many areas.

We were the first manufacturer to make Dual Channel optimized memory available to the public, which originally took advantage of nVidia's Twinbank or Dual DDR architecture, found in their nForce chipset. We have now taken that technology and tailored it for the Canterwood, and Granite Bay chipset's. OCZ developed and was the first to implement ULN technology, which has been a critical element in our manufacturing process for some time.

We at OCZ diligently work to improve communication with CPU and motherboard chipset manufacturers prior to the release of their products. Only in this manner can we fine-tune our memory's SPD settings, ensuring a synergistic relationship between the memory module, memory controller, and microprocessor. In today's rapidly evolving semiconductor industry, such communication is not simply research, but a necessary component of our manufacturing process.

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