OCZ Vertex 3 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.

Interestingly, it appears the new PCMark 7 suite does change how SSD scores are computed, as its predecessor Vantage produced some notoriously unexplainable results for us in the past. Pure sequential writes no longer are given as much precedence which is as it should be.

OCZ Vertex 3 does not disappoint and perches neatly atop of the charts – every single one of them. It’s a promising, although not unexpected showing for the SF-2281 powered Vertex 3!