OCZ 64GB S-ATA II SSD Saint Charles IL

Although OCZ is better known as a memory manufacturer, the company has spread its wings into the PSU, CPU cooling and SSD markets. However, this particular drive isn't manufactured by OCZ, but is in fact a rebadged Samsung 64GB SATA II SSD.




The 64GB S-ATA II SSD's specifications aren't very impressive. OCZ claims a maximum read speed of 100MB/sec and write speed of 80MB/sec. However, unlike most flash drives, the 64GB S-ATA II SSD employs SLC NAND flash memory. This has greater longevity than MLC NAND flash and lower write latency (the time before the memory starts storing data).




For example, the 64GB S-ATA II SSD has an MTBF of two million hours, double that of most MLC NAND flash drives. Unlike Samsung, though, OCZ doesn't make a 32GB version of this drive. The 64GB S-ATA II SSD is one of the most distinguished-looking SSDs on test, sporting a shiny metal top, complete with embossed OCZ logo.




We measured the 64GB S-ATA II SSD's claimed read/write speeds using HD Tach 3 RW. Unlike some SSDs, the 64GB S-ATA II SSD's specifications appear to be very accurate, as we measured an average read speed of 97.3MB/sec and an average write speed of 72.7MB/sec.




Like the original Samsung drive, the 64GB S-ATA II SSD was also a good performer in our real-world benchmarks, earning an impressive score of 1,400 in our GIMP image editing test, while it took 13 seconds to search through 16GB of data. The other test results were less distinguished, but the 64GB S-ATA II SSD is still one of the faster SSDs on the market.




The 64GB S-ATA II SSD is simply a Samsung drive with an embossed metal top, and at the time of going to press, the drive would set you back £666, which is £272 more expensive than the original Samsung drive. Until OCZ can sort out a more reasonable price, the 64GB S-ATA II SSD is best left on the shelf even if you're a human/magpie hybrid.

Author: James Gorbold & Antony Leather

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