OCZ RD400 NVMe SSD Review (256GB/512GB/1TB)

More MB/s, more IOPS, and lower latencies are what storage enthusiasts dream of. CPUs, RAM, and GPUs are all pushing faster speeds than ever, but storage has typically been a bottleneck for enthusiasts, even after the introduction of SSDs. To enable faster speeds bus bandwidth has been increased over the years and storage has started to migrate onto the PCIe bus so that it is closer to the CPU. With the latest flash technology, protocols have even had to be rewritten to keep up as well. In the past two years Non-Volatile, Memory Express, or NVMe, has replaced AHCI protocol and is now common speak among storage enthusiasts. Thanks to the launch of the Intel 750, the first consumer NVMe product, more and more people have been demanding NVMe products for their systems. With the ability to deliver multiple GB/s read and write speeds as well as hundreds of thousands of IOPS due to great reductions of latency and overhead, we here at The SSD Review can’t help but think, who wouldn’t want this type of speed?

OCZ RD400 SSD Angle

The list of readily available consumer NVMe SSDs is pretty short. First, there is the Intel 750 Series, which comes in two form factors, HHHL add-in card and 2.5″ SFF. In addition to this, Zotac now has a HHHL AIC NVMe SSD out too. These SSDs are great for desktop/workstation platforms, however, there is an opportunity left on the table for other competitors in the market. Samsung with their 950 Pro, and now OCZ with the RD400, have decided to go a different route by producing smaller M.2 form factor NVMe SSDs (though OCZ also offers a HHHL AIC adapter option). These smaller form factors are perfect for those who want to save space in their desktop system by utilizing an M.2 slot, now common on many new motherboards, or use them in the latest laptops that support them. Furthermore, form factor wasn’t the only opportunity left on the table. With a readily available 1TB capacity, the OCZ RD400 couldn’t have come soon enough for enthusiasts and prosumers! With specs that rival the Samsung 950 Pro, a capacity point that nips at the heels of the Intel 750’s largest model, and competitive MSRPs, the OCZ RD400 is out for blood. Read on to learn more about this latest enthusiast class NVMe SSD and see how it competes with the best of the best!

SPECIFICATIONS, PRICING, AND AVAILABILITY

As previously mentioned, the OCZ RD400 is a PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe SSD that comes in a M.2 2280 form factor as well as an optional HHHL AIC form factor via an adapter. It is currently available in four capacities: 128GB ($109.99), 256GB ($169.99), 512GB ($309.99) and 1TB ($739.99). The HHHL AIC sku’s are an additional $20 each.

OCZ RD400 Specs

Sequential speeds are rated for up to 2600MB/s read and 1600MB/s write. Random read and write speeds are listed for up to 210K/140K IOPS. Endurance figures are also impressive with the 1TB model having a listed spec that is more than four times greater than that of the Intel 750! Active power consumption is rated for 6-6.4W typical while low power state consumption is rated for 6.0mW typical.

OCZ RD400 SSD Utility

In terms of features, the RD400 supports TRIM and SMART monitoring. The NVMe interface revision is 1.1b compliant. It is compatible with the latest OCZ SSD Utility. With it you can monitor your drive, manually TRIM and secure erase, you can even update your firmware and send support requests to OCZ too! The RD400 is also backed by OCZ’s awesome 5-year Advanced Warranty Program where you get advanced RMA on serial and free return shipping!

PACKAGING AND COMPONENTS

OCZ RD400 SSD Packaging Front Back

The packaging is very appealing with a sharp black and blue theme. On the front side the SSD model and capacity are displayed and as can be seen quite clearly, both Toshiba’s and OCZ’s names are shown.  Also, on both the front and back are images of the drive. The backside states the main specs and what is included in the box. Not pictured is a HHHL PCIe bracket that is also included.

blank OCZ RD400 SSD Back

The HHHL adapter card was included in our test samples. It is fully blacked out and has the OCZ logo on it. You can easily unscrew the M.2 drive itself from the adapter at any time without voiding your warranty. Once taken off the adapter card we saw there is also a thermal bad to help dissipate heat from the controller.

Speaking of the controller, the RD400 utilizes the Toshiba’s proprietary NVMe controller, part number TC58NCP070GSB. This is the same controller found on the Toshiba XG3 M.2 NVMe SSD we just reviewed. As a matter of fact, this and the XG3 are physically identical except for the branding sticker!

OCZ RD400 SSD Controller NAND

There are two 128G-bit Toshiba 15nm MLC NAND chips on the 256GB and 512GB capacities, and four on the 1TB capacity. There is also a DRAM buffer on this drive and Toshiba has opted to utilize a Samsung LPDDR3 DRAM package for this task.

22 comments

  1. blank

    One thing I am concerned about with the ocz brand is how reliable they really are vs Intel as had plenty of the ocz die and they didn’t honor warranty.

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      I got a bad experience with OCZ product. When you hit the compatible issue with you SSD and reported to their forum. They will direct you to seeking help from notebook maker. They will ban your login ID and deleted your comment status and put you into their future request. Never ever buy this brand. Luckily I got two weeks warranty period with newegg. Ended up I return to newegg and bought new SSD from Samsung without any issue plugged into my rig.

      • blank

        You failed to mention the notebook but, when purchasing that notebook the warranty ONLY applied to the notebook and not OCZ whatsoever. It would be the same as you buying a brand new car and then contacting a spark plug manufacturer with an engine problem for assistance. Maybe I am missing something. What compatibility issue are you speaking of with respect to their SSD? Then again, how were you aware that their SSD was even installed in the product?

      • blank

        Looks like you are a paid Samsung fanboy. No need to spread advertised lies here.

    • blank

      Yes. Totally agree with your point of view. Make sure you bought from newegg.com which has one or two weeks warranty. If could not use just return for replacement. Their forum is full of complaints. If users having problem with their SSD and submitted request for solution. At first they will try to solve. If got no solution, they will ask you seeking solution from Vendor like HP, Dell and etc. Further follow up, they just put users away by moving user request to future requests and locked down user from giving comment.

  2. blank

    One problem, the highly coveted 1TB model does not appear on that amazon link…plus it’s not up anywhere else. Where I can I order the 1TB RD400?

    • blank

      1TB appears behind the amazon link for me. No one has stock, but they’ll let you order it. I’d call that pretty similar to not being able to order it though 🙂

      • blank

        i see. I was just early…I have a google alert set up for “950 pro 1tb” and when this article first went up, the 1tb was not there…but now it is, but not avail as you said. What’s also a light rub, this price for just the card is $30 more on Amazon and Newegg than the article stated (769 vs the article’s 739).

  3. blank

    I looked into purchasing the competing Intel model, and ended up being discouraged by 1) all the reviews said the excellent benchmark performance made for no perceptible difference in actual consumer workloads as compared to more regular SSDs; and 2) it added a ridiculous delay to system boot times, iirc something like 8-10 seconds. Is this drive any different in those respects?

  4. blank

    One important point, these M2 cards are not compatible with Intel RST raid controllers, I just brought 2 512GB models and found out the hard way. Also had trouble configuring as a Win 8.1 boot drive and gave up (could have been the MSI Z170A Mpower mainboard).No biggie as I wanted them mainly for games so I just use 1 for steam and the other as a video editing scratch drive. They are super fast without the raid zero config, copying between them the write speed topped out at 1.52GBs!

  5. blank

    Last time I was using their new SSD product with HP Elitebook 8570W running Raid 0. It had compatibility issue and pop up blue screen. I logged a report in their Tech Forum. Their forum is full of complaints. If users having problem with their SSD and submitted request for solution. At first they will try to solve. If got no solution, they will ask you seeking solution from Vendor like HP, Dell and etc. Further follow up, they just put users away by moving user request to future requests and locked down user from giving comment. Luckily I got warranty from newegg.com which allow me to swipe with other brand. I later used the Samsung SSD which give me peace of mind. Pls stay away with their product without QC.

  6. blank

    I don’t see any mention of this being Mac compatible. Is this a pure Windows oriented site? Thanks in advance.

  7. blank

    Hi – does anybody know if a samsung 960 pro would work in the add in card that comes with the ocz rd400

    • blank

      If I remember later, I can check for you. There is no reason that it shouldnt work though because the OCZ M.2 SSD is not tied to that board in any way shape or form. The board should work as a typical adapter PCIe for any M.2.

      • blank

        thanks Les for the replay. hopefully you will have good news later.

        the reason i ask the question is that i will be upgrading my pc in oct / nov time frame and until then i want to be able to take advantage of nvme and the only option i have with my current board is to use an AIC card as my board does not have an m.2 slot.

      • blank

        Hi Les
        Did you get a chance to check this out
        Thanks
        Flan

      • blank

        My apologies… busy as heck but I just pulled out the device…what drive did you want me to match it with?

      • blank

        i am hoping to get the 2tb samsung 960 pro but i persume that a test with any 960 pro would work

      • blank

        I plugged my main system into the this and we are now running as the Samsung 960 Pro 2TB SSD set on the OCZ RD400 adapter…as the boot drive. No problem whatsoever. My bench is the ASUS ROG Apex Z270.

      • blank

        Thanks Les Great News – so i will buy the cheapest rd400 since you cannot get the adapter on its own, and then just use the adapter for the samsung 960 pro

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        How does that went for you Flan ? As far as I know, the AIC cards are mere adapters, as the controller is in the SSD itself, but curiously enough, it depends on bios from Z97 or preferible forward Z170 and Z270 is kinda sure to already have native support since earlier bioses.

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