OCZ Vertex 450 Solid-State Drive Review

The OCZ Vertex was one of the very first SSDs to become popular among PC enthusiasts. Announced in 2008, the drive combined a four-channel Indilinx controller with up to 250GB of 50-nm flash memory. Even with a gen-two SATA interface and maximum read and writes speeds of 200 and 160MB/s, respectively, the Vertex was a nice step up from mechanical storage. At $3-4 per gig, it was also a pricey proposition.

In the years that followed, the Vertex family spawned multiple generations based on new controllers from SandForce and Marvell. Performance went up thanks to improvements in those chips, smarter firmware, and faster flash. Finer fabrication techniques also reduced the cost of flash memory, allowing SSDs to dip into more affordable territory.

The latest addition to the lineup is the Vertex 450. This fifth-generation drive costs less than a dollar per gig, promises 2-3 times the peak throughput of the original, and packs double the maximum capacity. The Vertex 450 also returns to the brand’s roots: a fresh revision of Indilinx’s Barefoot 3 controller lurks inside… at TechReport