OCZ RevoDrive 350 PCIe SSD Review (480GB) – LSI SandForce Driven Once Again

CRYSTAL DISK BENCHMARK VER. 3.0 X64

Crystal Disk Benchmark is used to measure read and write performance through sampling of highly compressible data (oFill/1Fill), or random data which is, for the most part, incompressible. Traditionally, LSI SandForce controlled SSDs did better with highly compressible data than that of incompressible data.  Let’s take a look at the results, compressible on the left and incompressible on the right.

OCZ RevoDrive 350 PCIe SSD Crystal DiskMark Paired

Testing the Revo 350 with compressible data differs slightly from that of incompressible data as can be expected with LSI SandForce flash controllers that use compression in storage.  Overall performance is less than we might see in ATTO which is the typical relationship of these programs, compressible data being favored in all write transfer operations.  As much as enthusiasts praise pure incompressible performance, one needs to remember that there is a much greater need for storage devices that excel in the transfer of both compressible and incompressible data.

AS SSD BENCHMARK VER 1.6

The toughest benchmark available for solid state drives is AS SSD as it relies solely on incompressible data samples when testing performance.  For the most part, AS SSD tests can be considered the ‘worst case scenario’ in obtaining data transfer speeds and many enthusiasts like AS SSD for their needs. Transfer speeds are displayed on the left with IOPS results on the right.

OCZ RevoDrive 350 PCIe SSD AS SSD BenchOCZ RevoDrive 350 PCIe SSD AS SSD Bench IOPSA bit unusual is the fact that AS SSD high sequential performance is better than that of Crystal DiskMark.  What is most impressive, however, is the fact that 4K read IOPS hit 146K while write IOPS hit 145K, well above listed specifications.  Let is see how AS SSD Copy Bench looks:

OCZ RevoDrive 350 PCIe SSD AS SSD Copy Bench

The ISO read transfer speed of 1028MB/s is one of the highest we have had to date with a total transfer time of over a second.

ANVIL STORAGE UTILITIES PROFESSIONAL

Anvil Storage Utilities (ASU) are the most complete test bed available for the solid state drive today.  The benchmark displays test results for, not only throughput but also, IOPS and Disk Access Times.  Not only does it have a preset SSD benchmark, but also, it has included such things as endurance testing and threaded I/O read, write and mixed tests, all of which are very simple to understand and use in our benchmark testing.

OCZ RevoDrive 350 PCIe SSD Anvil

Once again, we see the results of testing with incompressible data.  ASU is not the best example of just how high we can get our IOPS so we thought we might do a bit of a custom test in ASU:

OCZ RevoDrive 350 PCIe SSD Anvil 144K ReadOCZ RevoDrive 350 PCIe SSD Anvil 150K WriteAlthough not as high as the original Revo 3×2 PCIe SSD, IOPS are right around the 150K mark which is an excellent result.  Our primary purpose here was to confirm the high IOPS result of AS SSD which we have done.  perhaps PCZ might consider adjusting their IOPS specs to meet these.

PCMARK VANTAGE X64 HDD SUITE

The SSD Review uses benchmark software called PCMark Vantage x64 HDD Suite to create testing scenarios that might be used in the typical user experience. There are eight tests in all and the tests performed record the speed of data movement in MB/s to which they are then given a numerical score after all of the tests are complete. The simulations are as follows:

  • Windows Defender In Use
  • Streaming Data from storage in games such as Alan Wake which allows for massive worlds and riveting non-stop action
  • Importing digital photos into Windows Photo Gallery
  • Starting the Vista Operating System
  • Home Video editing with Movie Maker which can be very time consuming
  • Media Center which can handle video recording, time shifting and streaming from Windows media center to an extender such as XBox
  • Cataloging a music library
  • Starting applications

OCZ REVODRIVE 350 PCMARK VANTAGE RESULTS

Our testing of the OCZ RevoDrive 350 PCIe SSD returned a high of 52079 Total Points with a high transfer speed of 532MB/s when testing in Windows Media Center. As we had our doubts about this return, we reran the test on three separate PC’s, all of which returned similar results.  Considering the performance we have seen of the Revo 350 thusfar, we may be able to simply chalk this up to incompatibility, as we have seen in several other PCIe SSDs as well.  In any case, we will include some true transfer speed testing in response to this low score.

OCZ RevoDrive 350 PCIe SSD PCMark Vantage

22 comments

  1. blank

    Sandforce needs to die already.
    2011 controller on a highend ssd in 2014 is just plain laughable, especially when 3rd gen sandforce with native pci-e is just around the corner.

    But it does deliver performance, but at a hefty price.

    • blank

      Don’t agree with this at all. New innovations aren’t ready yet so they once again stepped outside the line and created something that many are looking for. Price per MB/s….it is unbeatable. I believe this is the cheapest available for this performance. Actually wait…is this the cheapest available?

      • blank

        Well to be fair, you can get 4x128GB 840PRO (or any other highperformance ssd) and with raid0, they would probobly destroy 350.
        But yeah, as far as PCI-e solutions goes and price/performace, its probobly unbeatable (but thats just the nature of pci-e drives anyway at this point).
        I just wish they hadn’t used sandforce. There are so many other controllers to chose from (heck they even have an inhouse controller) chosing sandforce really makes little sense at this point. Especially if you cosider all the problems sandforce had (and still has to some degree), not to mention OCZ lost pretty much all it reputation because of that (vertex2/3 anyone?).

      • blank

        Choosing controllers can be a funny thing. For instance, this choice now opens the door for an amazing upgrade or new release with their own controller. As far as reliability goes, the Revo famly has always been SF based and had a great deal of success. In fact, the majority of PCIe SSDs have all been SF based.

        On the controller note…. I personally have always believed that LAMD controller had amazing potential….that is until they were bought out . Now it has all but disappeared from the landscape.

      • blank

        Yeah, i guess you’re right 🙂 OCZ though ahead and for now went with slower and possibly cheaper sandforce just to upgrade in the future with something faster based on their own controller IP. Sneaky move 🙂

        As far as LAMD is concerned; yeah hynix really ruined it.. i really wish that hadn’t happed or maybe if someone else bought them (LSI ?)

      • blank

        HELLO TO ALL,
        I HAVE OWNED TWO OCZ RevoDrive 3 X2 MAX IOPS, AND ANY AND TWO WERE REPLACED IN RMA

        NOW I HAVE TO BUY ONE OF THESE TWO PRODUCTS:

        -OCZ RevoDrive 480GB-350
        -Deluxe Mushkin Scorpion’s 480 GB

        Please help me…

        Sorry for my caploks enabled

      • blank

        Come to think of it, outside of the Neutron GTX, did anything else get produced by LAMD?

      • blank

        Seagate consumer and enterprise SSDs.

    • blank

      LSI did die… they were just acquired by AVAGO.

  2. blank

    Any idea on expected availability? Can’t seem to find it anywhere online.

      • blank

        Just an update: Newegg has “May 12” as the “Release Date” for this product. Lets see then. I am not located in this US however (over in Asia here) so I might end up waiting a month at minimum before my local distributor decides to get their act in order. Thanks for the reply though!

  3. blank

    > there is a 5 second delay in the boot sequence prior to system BIOS that
    accommodates for this SSDs ability to work as a boot drive.

    ouch, thats alot.
    Thats like half of the boottime on sata based systems >:)

  4. blank

    OCZ is dead soon.. I been reading on internet..

  5. blank

    Can you please elaborate further, regarding the Mushkin Scorpion Deluxe’s “incompatibility concerns”?

    “End performance displays stronger write transfer throughput for the Scorpion, however, ‘incompatibility concerns’ are evident when we run AS SSD, Anvil Storage utilities and PCMark Vantage.”

  6. blank

    Hi Les,

    My Aussie supplier just informed me (..today) of this new RevoDrive 350 (…after my 2nd RevoDrive 2×3 failed in 48hrs of deployment and OS configuration back in January).

    …Everyone (Umart Online, OCZ Tiawan …and most of all, me) were concerned over the possibility of it happening (failure) a 3rd time. …So …we’ve all stood back to see what the Toshiba influence might yield, …and it appears I may have been correct to hold off.

    Yep …it’s time to get back on the horse for me Les. Everything you say about the Mushkin Scorpion Deluxe 1920GB rings true to those of my experience. …And, the fact Muschkin have yet to address the SMART and TRIM as standard features with the OCZ (…and I remain uncertain why I’m rank that feature so highly), held me back. ….However, those combined anxieties are the reasons I has remained / stayed on the fence this long.

    (…My many thanks go out to Umart On-Line, …their Australian supply chain …to OCZ Tech Support Tiawan ….and yourself for all the advice and warranty support extended to me in this testing period of disappointments.)

    Thanks for your review Les.

  7. blank

    Why does this need drivers if its presents to the host as a single drive ?

  8. blank

    Why does this need a driver if it presents to the host system as a single drive ? Im interested but dont want to install Windows at all.

  9. blank

    OCZ Support is very poor. I just replaced my dead Revodrive with an Intel DC P3700. OCZ support is still going back and forth with me on the warranty and claiming it was lack of airflow in my case (I have a D-Frame open air case with 3 fans at the bottom, and the RevoDrive had two open slots next to it… but their support just keeps insisting inadequate airflow killed the controller after only a year of use…)

    When the card works, it’s great. It’s just not worth dealing with their support when things go wrong (and they probably will go wrong at some point.)

  10. blank

    can u tell me how to install it? im stuck here since 5 days, as this worked before for me, now i cant figure out what to do 🙁 ihave asus rampage iv extreme

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *