OCZ Vertex 4 240GB SATA 6Gbit/s SSD Review

Futuremark’s PCMark benchmarking suite should need no introduction as it has been a staple of PC benchmarks for the better half of a decade. PCMark offers a range of tests to gauge every aspect of a computer’s performance and presents it in a neat simple final result. Thankfully it also breaks down the overall score with individual subsystem scores (such as Memory, Storage, etc) in addition to given individual test results.

With the latest 2011 release of PCMark 7 we should hopefully see quite a few changes to how SSDs are handled, and the resulting scores computed, as previously, results were biased towards sequential read and write performance. With its Windows 7 focus PCMark 7 offers a variety of storage system tests, such as simulating a Windows Defender scan and using Windows Media Center to using other built-in programs for video and music file manipulation. But for those that just want a nice overarching score, it has those too.

PCMark 7 is a welcome refresh of the PCMark series as it brings with it optimizations for SSD benching and score totaling. This results in a much flatter spread of SSDs in both the overarching score and the storage subsystem score.

Right off, the Vertex 4 proves that SandForce-powered drives are no longer the only choice if you are looking for the fastest SSD available. The Vertex 4 puts in very good numbers across the board with a very minimal spread between the top drives.
The Vertex 4 does deliver the best result we’ve seen in the importing pictures subtest, which is comprised primarily of writes with some data transference. The majority of data access happens at the 4KB level in this subtest which explains everything; the Vertex 4 features the highest 4KB write IOPS ratings we have seen yet on a consumer solid-state drive.