OCZ 256 GB PCI Express SATA 2 Solid State Drive Z-DRIVE P84 OCZSSDPCIE-ZDP84256G Overview
PCI-E Solid State Drives / 250 GB – 1 TB / x8 PCI-E / 4 x SATA / MLC NAND / Performance Solution Designed for ultra high-end consumers seeking the optimum all-in-one storage solution, the OCZ Z-Drive takes the SATA bottleneck out of the equation by employing a high-speed PCI-Express architecture for ultimate performance. With an internal four-way RAID 0 configuration that enables up to 870 MB/s read and 780 MB/s write, the pushes the envelope in storage performance like no other solid state or hard disk solution. In addition, the Z-Drive features these impressive speeds all while providing lower power consumption, superior durability, and shock resistance. The Z-Drive is the result of the latest breakthroughs at OCZ and builds on our expertise in flash-based storage. This proprietary solution is comprised of a compact enterprise-grade RAID array and utilizes 8 PCIe lanes to deliver incredible performance that translates to professional-class data storage in a complete, all-in-one form factor. The Z-Drive offers ultra-fast data access that significantly outperforms HDDs and capacities up to 1 Terabyte, making it an ideal solution for applications that put a premium on both performance and maximum storage capacity. Unlike other solutions, the Z-Drive provides a cost-effective formula of performance, reliability, and upkeep for enterprise customers and their applications which require the benefits of solid state drive technology. Impressive speeds are achieved all while providing lower power consumption, superior durability, and shock resistance compared to traditional rotational-based drives, translating into exceptional energy savings and reduced maintenance costs. The Z-Drive is available in 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1 TB capacities to offer ample room for the complete spectrum of applications, and comes backed by a leading 3-year warranty and dedicated technical support.
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$1,708.92
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- General
This is a herald of things to come. With SATA II (3Gbps) becoming saturated by modern SSD’s this drive, essentially 4 Vertex drives on an onboard RAID0 configuration feeding through a PCIe x8 lane. Extreme read-write speeds are achieved without problems and equivalent performance can only be achieved by SATAII RAID arrays that most mainstream user have difficulties configuring.
- Pros
* Excellent speeds in all usage scenarios (i.e. random, sequential, small and large size)
* Simple – No special set-ups required, no user set-up RAID, no Firmware updating etc. The thing is ready to go right off the box. Ideal for the less tech-savvy user who wants top performance with minimum of fuss
* Simple installation – Just a PCIe slot (x8 or x16) and a standard HDD Molex power connector
* On-chip GC – Garbage Collection is built-in to the board so occassionally idling the drive is sufficient to prevent performance degradation
* EXCELLENT customer service
* Bootable drive – Can accommodate and run an O/S immediately after installation
- Cons
* No field upgradeable firmware
* No TRIM as it is a RAID array not a stand-alone SSD
* Potential spatial considerations due to card size (make sure to consult the motherboard compatibility guide)
* Poor documentation – As the drive was made with simplicity in mind its guide is extremely shot and only show the basic installation steps without much further detail
* It doesn’t look it, but this thing does get hot. Make sure adequate ventilation is at hand
* PRICE: At time of writing there’s a significant “early-adopter’s premium” on this piece of kit. Expect to see those becoming more mainstream very quickly indeed, especially as variants with field replaceable flash memory become available.
As with all SSD’s it’s important to do the minimum of tweaks to accommodate them depending on the O/S you will be using. For Win7 very few things need to change (such as disabling Indexing, Superfetch, Prefetch and auto defragmenting). WinXP would require more tweaks but all can be found in OCZ’s support forums.
My particular model conked out 2 weeks ago but OCZ have been very helpful in processing my RMA. Replacement is due tomorrow; so one star comes off for this.
Technical Details
- 256 MB Local Cache; Onboard RAID Controller
- PCI-Express interface (x8); For use as primary boot drive or data storage
- Operating Temp: +5ºC ~ +55ºC; Storage Temp: -20ºC ~ +80ºC
- MTBF 900,000 hours;
- Compatible with Windows XP 32/64, Vista 32/64,
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