OCZ Synapse Cache SSD review

You know when the OCZ RevoDrive Hybrid series launched (a standalone PCIE storage unit with both HDD and an SSD for caching), we we certainly liked very much how it speeds up the overall PC experience.

Fact remains that a 5400RPM HDD will turn away a lot of people, well that and the price of course. With that in mind your next best thing would be to follow the Intel SRT caching route. For that however you'll need a compatible motherboard with a fairly advanced installation.

But it's November 2011, OCZ has launched an alternative. While the company just released the Revodrive Hybrid, they now also launch a seriously fast SSD just for caching. Combined with their Dataplex cache application software and your own HDD, the combination could be just what you are looking for, all at a much better price as well with no limitations to your hardware setup.

See for 120 EUR you can pick up the OCZ Synapse 64GB SATA3 SSD, it's armed with a SandForce 2281 controller and the means to use it, as alongside the SSD you get to use the very same cache software layer the RevoDrive Hybrid uses, Dataplex. A cache in combination with the Synapse SSD offers read speeds of up-to 550MB/s and write performance of up-to 490 MB/sec.

So you can create your own hybrid solution now, take you own massive in size HDD and then have the SSD cache it, regardless of hardware platform (as long as you are using windows 7).

It is an interesting concept, so we'll look at the SSD as it where a single entity, and we'll obviously check out cached performance as well. Head on over to the next page where we'll startup this review.

What's that CACHE series all about ?

OCZ's recently released a PCI Express solid state drive that is based on a hybrid design which combines a regular HDD with an SSD.

You as an end-user will be able to benefit from the large storage capacities offered by today's platter-based HDD drives, as well as the high speeds and low access time provided by SSDs, as that SSD will be used as a fast memory cache for the HDD.

Intel offers fairly similar technology on their SRT supporting products and now next to the Hybrid solutions you can create a 'Hybrid' setup yourself.

All you need is a PC with a HDD, you seat this Synapse CACHE SSD next to it and then install Dataplex software that manages and functions as the cache layer. The Dataplex caching software layer is used to create an environment where the most frequently used "hot" data stays on the fast SSD, while the "cold" data remains on the larger capacity HDD (sold separately).

That means with 1st reads you are working in with HDD access times and speeds, but after that 1st run, if the data is frequently accessed, you'll see performance speedups at SSD levels.

Since the Synapse SSD is a fully fetched Sandforce 2281 based SSD it guarantees performance levels of close to 500 MB/sec on reads and writes (over SATA3). Lets have a look at some of the specs:

• Available in 64GB and 128GB capacities
• Interface: SATA 6Gbps / Backwards Compatible 3Gbps
• MLC NAND Flash
• Native TRIM support
• Integrated Dataplex™ caching software
• ECC Recovery, Data Encryption
• Slim 2.5" Design: 98 x 69.9 x 9.1 mm
• Lightweight: 79g
• Operating Temp: 0°C ~ 70°C
• Ambient Temp: 0°C ~ 55°C
• Storage Temp: -45°C ~ 85°C
• Low Power Consumption: 2.7W Active, 1.5W Idle
• Shock Resistant up to 1500G
• Included 3.5" Desktop adapter bracket
• Compatible with Windows 7 32-bit and 64-bit
• MTBF: 2 million hours
• 3-Year Warranty
• 64GB Max Performance
  Max Read: up to 550 MB/s
  Max Write: up to 490 MB/s
  Random Write 4k: 75,000 IOPS
• 128GB Max Performance
  Max Read: up to 550 MB/s
  Max Write: up to 510 MB/s
  Random Write 4k: 80,000 IOPS
• 64GB (32GB cache capacity): SYN-25SAT3-64G
• 128GB (64GB cache capacity): SYN-25SAT3-128G
   

OCZ will launch with two models, a 64 and a 128GB cache SSD version. Honestly the 64Gb version is plenty for a data-cache. Mind you though that the SSD has 64GB of NAND flash storage (25nm MLC), however the Synapse Series uses 50% NAND flash for over provisioning to accommodate performance and software features. So the reality remains that roughly 32GB is used as an actual cache and formatted as such, the rest is for redundancy and performance enhancements.

As far as performance is concerned, the model we test comes with a Max Read of up to 550 MB/s and a Max Write: up to 490 MB/s.

Now, please do understand that these are always best case scenarios and based on peak performance. Your non-cached sustained and linear writes will show a somewhat different picture. Read performance on modern age SSDs is however bitching fast alright.

We'll pair today's product with a HDD with some serious booty, the 2 TB Samsung 5400 RPM drive to see where we end up in performance.

Product showcase

The following images were taken at high-resolution and then cropped and scaled down. The camera used was a Canon 450D 12 MegaPixel.

Right, we received the retail product which can be spotted in stores as we speak. Rather standard looking packaging. OCZ includes a 3.5" bracket for easy installation in your PC 3/5" drive bay. You'll also find a manual with instruction of where to download the DataPlex software alongside with a key to bee able to use it.

And there it is, this is the 2.5" SATA III 64 GB version. You should easily be able to place it somewhere in your chassis. Small and light-weight. This drive chunks out peak read and write speeds roughly 500 MB/sec, crazy stuff. Cached the dynamic is a little different, but we'll show you all that in the benchmark suite.

 

When we look at the connectors, we spot the standard power and Serial ATA connectors. This drive is SATA3 compatible, which typically requires a specific SATA3 cable by the way. A proper SATA 6G cable is recommended and should be delivered with your motherboard. We did try, and we never ever had issues with a standard SATA2 cable either.

The unit is Sandforce 2281 based and uses Micron NAND flash modules, 25nm. And all too familiar design really. With Sandforce being sold to LSI we wonder what will happen in the future though.

Installation

On this page we want to share some thoughts on the installation.

The dynamic is really simple. you can add the SSD to an existing HDD based setup. In our case a PC with a 2TB HDD. Mind you that Windows 7 is a requirement.

If you start from a fresh install, just install the OSS on the HD just like you normally do. Once you have installed Windows you'll notice your ATA HDD drive and ATA OCZ cache drive being added. Now simply go towards disk management, the HDD is already formatted as you installed Windows on it, but you also need to make a simple standard partition on the SSD partition. After you initialized it do a quick format on the SSD partition and finish the process.

The 64GB cache drive is formatted as ~32GB drive due to over provisioning.

We now have the partitions active but do need to activate some actual caching, for that you once again need to visit the OCZ website and download DataPlex software. OCZ does not supply a CD-Rom with this software with the package. That is mildly annoying as it requires you to register with keys and everything. Once you downloaded the software, install it like shown below ...

During installation you'll see a screen like this, your target drive is the drive you want to cache thus choose the boot drive (in our case the 2TB HDD) there.

Obviously the SSD partition should be selected as cache drive. Once the process has finished you need one more reboot and you are good to go. The system is now setup to cache our 2TB drive.

In windows if you go to Start menu Dataplex and click on the icon you can quickly verify if the cache function is properly activated.

Reboot your system twice, note down the 1st boot time, and then the second boot time .. yep the actual startup time just halved itself thanks to the working data-cache. its one of the first things you'll immediately notice.

Hardware and Software Used

Now we begin the benchmark portion of this article, but first let me show you our test system and the software we used:

Storage

OCZ Synapse cache SSD 64GB (SATA3)
Samsung 2TB HDD 5400 RPM HD204UI (SATA2)

Mainboard

X79

Processor

Into Core i7 3960X

Graphics Cards

GeForce GTX 580
 

Memory

16 GB (4x 4096 MB) DDR3 1600 MHZ

Power Supply Unit

1200 Watt

Monitor

Dell 3007WFP - up to 2560x1600

OS related Software

Windows 7 64-bit
 

Software benchmark suite

PCMark Vantage HDD test 1 through 8
ATTO Disk benchmark v2.4
SiSoft Sandra Storage Benchmark
HDTach 3.0.4.0
HDTune Pro
IOMeter 2010
AS SSD Benchmark
File COPY Write test Compressed
Crysis 2
Alien vs Predator