OCZ Vector SSD Spotted - Indilinx Barefoot 3 Controller

Subject: Storage | September 11, 2012 - 09:48 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: ocz, idf, idf 2012, vector, ssd, Indilinx, barefoot 3

While wandering around San Francisco today, I was stopped by a stranger on the corner of Market and 4th to show me something he found outside the convention hall.  It LOOKS like an SSD PCB but what do you think?

What you have here is a the internals of a new OCZ Technology SSD brand called Vector that will sit ABOVE the Vertex 4 in the product stack.  This SSD uses the as yet unreleased Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller.

The drive should be available sometime in Q4 of this year and it marks the first complete Indilinx controller design - no Marvell or other third party intellectual property to be found.

That's all we know for now but you can be sure we'll have the details as they are released!!

OCZ Announces New Indilinx Barefoot 3 Controller

Subject: Storage | July 18, 2012 - 07:19 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: ssd, aragon, Indilinx, barefoot 3, ssd controller

During a recent earnings call, OCZ CEO Ryan Petersen made an interesting announcement relating to the company’s solid state drives (SSD). Specifically, it concerns OCZ’s subsidiary company Indilinx which was purchased in 2011 for $32 million of OCZ common stock. According to a transcript provided by SeekingAlpha, OCZ is working on a new SSD based on the company’s Barefoot 3 controller. That controller is especially intriguing because it is reportedly being internally-developed and will use a new Aragon SSD processor which is a controller chip running at 400 Mhz with an optimized and custom RISC instruction set.

The Aragon core is further a 32-bit chip based on TSMC’s 65nm process node. It is using certain IP that is being licensed from an as-yet-unnamed third party. Allegedly, it is able to execute most instructions and branches in a single clock cycle. Bearing in mind that this is an announcement to shareholders, OCZ has stated the following about the new controller:

“When implemented in SSD controller, this gives the core a much higher performance than when using an off-the-shelf embedded safety field. And this design opens a world of new possibilities for game changing SSD solutions as it supports unprecedented levels of processing power.”

Beyond that we do not know what kind of performance to expect from the drives, but we should not have to wait too long to find out. OCZ should begin sampling the drives sometime between August and September of this year and are hoping to make them available for purchase by the holiday shopping season in Q4 2012.

It will be interesting to see where this new OCZ/Indilinx controller stands in relation to the other controller makers. Here’s hoping that it can give SandForce and Intel a run for their money and give us even more competition to drive down SSD prices for consumers!

You can see the full transcript over at SeekingAlpha.

Remember the OCZ Vertex 4? The 256GB model is less than $1/GB!

Subject: Storage | July 4, 2012 - 03:53 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: Vertex 4, vertex, ocz, Indilinx, ssd

It has been a while since Allan first reviewed the Indilinx Everest 2 powered OCZ Vertex 4 so it seems like a good time to refresh your memory.  That is not just because newer firmware is increasing the performance of this drive but also because the 256GB model can be had for under $1/GB!   You can see the performance against over a dozen other SSDs of varying prices at TechSpot, where it might not hold the top spot for overall performance it fares very well when you consider the price to performance ratio.  That is not to say it is the least expensive drive available but it deserves to be in your list when you are considering a new SSD for your system.

"Although SandForce controllers have powered much of OCZ's solid-state lineup, the company is shifting to its own solutions after purchasing Indilinx early last year. The "Octane" flash drives were the first to use the Indilinx Everest controller last holiday season and now that its SF-2281-based drives are over a year old, OCZ has begun phasing Everest into the rest of its offerings, including the Vertex series.

The Vertex 4 series is aimed at performance buffs, with initial Indilinx Everest 2 based models offering capacities of 64GB, 128GB, 256GB and 512GB. Performance is the name of the game here and OCZ doesn't disappoint."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

• OCZ Vertex 4 240GB SATA 6Gbit/s SSD Review @ Techgage
• OCZ Vertex 4 128GB Solid State Drive Review @ eTeknix
• OCZ Vertex 4 128GB Solid State Drive @ Pro-Clockers
• Crucial M4 SSD 128GB @ Computing on Demand
• Plextor M3 Pro (256GB) @ AnandTech
• Kingston HyperX 3k 240GB Solid State Drive @ Pro-Clockers
• CZ Vertex 4 256GB Solid State Drive Firmware 1.4.1.5 Testing @ Tweaktown
• LSI SAS 9207-8i PCIe 3.0 HBA Overview - Eight Crucial M4 SSDs Pushed to 4.1GB/s Performance @ SSD Review
• ADATA 500 Series S510 120GB SSD Review @ eTeknix
• 48 SATA 600 SSDs round-up @ Hardware.Info
• Intel 330 Series SSD 120GB Review @ HardwareHeaven
• Crucial Adrenaline Caching SSD Review @ HardwareLOOK
• MyDigitalSSD BulletProof 3 mSATA 256GB @ SSD Review
• SuperSSpeed S301 Hyper SLC 120GB Solid State Drive @ Tweaktown
• MyDigitalSSD Bullet Proof 3 256GB mSATA Solid State Drive @ Tweaktown
• Intel 910 800GB and 400GB PCI Express Solid State Drive @ Tweaktown
• Solid State Drive Performance Comparison Guide @ TechARP
• Western Digital VelociRaptor 1TB 10K RPM Hard Drive Review @ Techgage
• Better Power Management for your NAS @ Computing on Demand
• Thecus N4800 @ Bjorn3D
• Thecus N4800 4-Bay Battery Backup NAS @ Tweaktown
• QNAP TS-412 review: an affordable NAS @ Hardware.info
• Icy Dock MB559U3S Ultra Slim 3.5in USB 3.0 and eSATA Enclosure Review @ Hi Tech Legion
• QNAP TS-669 Pro @ techPowerUp
• Netgear ReadyNAS Duo V2: Fast and affordable @ Hardware.info
• QNAP vs Thecus @ Computing on Demand
• LaCie 2big Thunderbolt 4TB @ Hardware.info

OCZ returns to Indilinx for the Vertex 4

Subject: Storage | June 21, 2012 - 06:37 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: Vertex 4, vertex, ocz, Indilinx

Just in case you didn't believe Al's review of the new OCZ Vertex 4 or because you want to see the difference between the 512GB version he reviewed and the 128GB version that costs a lot less, you can check out what OCIA thinks right here.  AS you would expect, the lower capacity results in lower performance thanks to the reduction in the amount of channels but at a tested 511.51MB on Sandra and an IOPS score of 99514 slow is a relative term.  If you are going to pick up this drive update to the newest firmware, OCIA tested with 1.4.1.3 and saw a big performance difference from the previous firmware version.

“The Everest 2 platform comes as a result of OCZ’s acquisition of Indilinx in early 2011 but it isn’t the first time we have seen the Indilinx brand stamped on a Vertex drive. The company launched the original Vertex SSD as one of the pioneering flash storage solutions for mainstream users with an Indilinx controller under the hood. OCZ jumped on the SandForce bandwagon with the Vertex 2 and Vertex 3 but have come full circle back to an Indilinx solution with the Vertex 4... well, sort of. But we’ll get to that in just a bit.”

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

• OCZ Vertex 4 Solid State Drive @ Benchmark Reviews
• Crucial Adrenaline Cache SSD @ XSReviews
• MyDigitalSSD SMART 256GB mSATA Solid State Drive @ Tweaktown
• Western Digital VelociRaptor 1TB Hard Drive Review @ Hardware Canucks
• MemoRight MS-701 240GB mSATA Solid State Drive @ Kitguru
• Corsair Accelerator Series 30GB Cache SSD @ SSD Review
• MyDigitalSSD SMART Series 256GB SSD @ SSD Review
• Western Digital Scorpio 1TB (9.5mm) review @ Hardware.Info
• OCZ improves Vertex 4 with firmware 1.4 @ Hardware.Info
• Adaptec 6805TQ maxCache RAID controller @ TechwareLabs
• Western Digital Sentinel DX4000 @ TechwareLabs
• StarTech.com USB 3.0 to SATA IDE HDD Docking Station @ AnandTech
• Thecus N5550 5-Bay NAS Review @ eTeknix
• NZXT Aperture M Card Reader @ Kitguru
• NAP Updates Firmware to 3.7 | New Features! @ Computing on Demand
• Synology DiskStation DS412+ @ Legion Hardware
• Seagate GoFlex Satellite @ LanOC Reviews

Podcast #197 - Z77 Motherboards, GTX690 Rumors, and the truth behind the new Indilinx controller

Subject: General Tech | April 12, 2012 - 03:46 PM | Ken Addison
Tagged: Z77, ssd, podcast, nvidia, Marvell, Ivy Bridge, Intel, Indilinx, gtx690

PC Perspective Podcast #197 - 04/12/2012

Join us this week as we talk about Z77 Motherboards, GTX690 Rumors, and the truth behind the new Indilinx controller.

You can subscribe to us through iTunes and you can still access it directly through the RSS page HERE.

The URL for the podcast is: http://pcper.com/podcast - Share with your friends!

• iTunes - Subscribe to the podcast directly through the iTunes Store
• RSS - Subscribe through your regular RSS reader
• MP3 - Direct download link to the MP3 file

Hosts: Ryan Shrout, Jeremy Hellstrom, Josh Walrath, and Allyn Malvantano

This Podcast is brought to you by MSI Computer, and their all new Sandy Bridge Motherboards!

Program length: 1:19:45

Program Schedule: 

1. Introduction
2. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
3. http://pcper.com/podcast
4. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
   
5. iPad 2012 vs. Transformer Prime
6. Kingwin Lazer Platinum 1000W
7. Asus ROG Maximus V GENE
8. Raspberry Pi passes EMC Compliance
9. This Podcast is brought to you by MSI Computer, and their all new Sandy Bridge Motherboards!
   
10. Will the real Indilinx controller ...
    1. please make themselves known to the staff
11. NV Tegra 4 Specifications Leak
12. Maingear Shift System: Just Delivered
13. ZOTAC Intel 7 Series Mobos
14. Leaks about NV GTX 690
15. Epic talks storm of Bullets
16. http://www.pcper.com/news/Graphics-Cards/NVIDIA-Introduces-Two-New-Rebranded-600-Series-Cards
17. http://www.pcper.com/news/Systems/PCAudioLabs-Editing-PC-Sweepstakes-Winner
18. This week: Still working on watercooling from Antec
19. Hardware / Software Pick of the Week
    1. Ryan:  thermite 
    2. Jeremy:  Scotch in Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!
    3. Josh:  Morrowind Overhaul
    4. Allyn:  IDE USB Dock!
20. 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
21. http://pcper.com/podcast   
22. http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
23. Closing

OCZ's brand new Vertex 4 arrives

Subject: Storage | April 4, 2012 - 03:37 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: ocz, ssd, sata 6Gbs, Vertex 4, Indilinx, vertex

There are quite a few changes in the 4^th version of OCZ's Vertex SSDs, not only the new Indilinx controller but the positioning of it right in the centre of the PCB.  You will also notice what looks like an mSATA interface, but The Tech Report is sad to say that it is only a connector for OCZ's internal testing machinery and is not a standard connector.  Of course, we may have to see what the modders do with it.  The performance is as good as you would expect in most circumstances though there were some tests the new prefetch mechanism had troubles with.  OCZ claims that the drive was intended to be partitioned and doing so could help the performance.  Also worth applauding is the move to a 5 year warranty, signalling OCZ's increased faith in reliability.

Our own Al Malventano took a look at not only the drive but also the difference between the 1.30 and 1.52 firmware revisions.

"Just a few months after its Indilinx Everest controller debuted in the OCZ Octane, a second-generation Everest chip has taken root in the Vertex 4 SSD. We take a closer look at the latest Vertex to see what's changed and how its performance measures up."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

• OCZ Vertex 4 @ AnandTech
• OCZ Technology Vertex 4 (Indilinx Everest 2) 256GB and 512GB SSD @ Tweaktown
• OCZ Vertex 4 512GB @ Kitguru
• OCZ Vertex 4 Indilinx 256GB & 512GB SSD Reviews @ Legit Reviews
• OCZ Vertex 4 Solid State Drive 512GB/256GB Launch Review @ HardwareHeaven
• OCZ Vertex 4 512GB SSD Review @ Hardware Canucks
• OCZ Vertex 4 SSD 256GB and 512GB @ Guru 3D
• ndilinx Everest 2 SSD Controller Platform Overview @ Tweaktown
• SSDs from Mushkin: Chronos deluxe 240 GB and Chronos 240 GB @ X-bit Labs
• Micron RealSSD P400e 6Gbps 200GB Enterprise SSD @ SSD Review
• OCZ Synapse Cache 64GB Solid State Drive Review @ circuitREMIX
• ADATA XPG SX900 256GB SATA 3 SSD @ SSD Review

OCZ's new Indilinx powered Octane SSD

Subject: Storage | November 24, 2011 - 05:57 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: ssd, sata 6Gbs, sata, ocz, Octane, Indilinx, everest

OCZ's new Octane SATA 3 SSDs will be available in sizes up to 1TB, though you can expect to pay a pretty penny for it; not that a 1TB HDD is inexpensive right now.  It uses a pair of new Indilinx controllers and sports 512MB of SYNC DDR3 SDRAM to help those controllers work to peak effectiveness.  It uses OCZ's proprietary NDurance technology to add to the longevity of the drive, a topic near and dear to the SSD enthusiasts heart even if we have yet to see significant failure rates; though certainly the decrease in performance early SSDs showed is both a concern and very much real.  SSD Review had no qualms handing it a Top Value award at the end of their review.

You can also catch Al's review of this same drive at the top of our page.

"Our review today will be a long awaited look at the OCZ Octane 6Gbps 512GB SSD. Eight months ago, OCZ bought Indilinx with full intention of spreading their wings in the development of their own proprietary controller based on the Indlinx Everest design. OCZ has spoken of higher incompressible data performance, quicker disk access as well as better sustained write performance in a consumer driven SSD that will be immediately available in capacities up to 1TB."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

• OCZ Octane 512GB SATA III SSD Launch Review @ HardwareHeaven
• OCZ Technology Octane 512GB @ Tweaktown
• Patriot Pyro SE 120GB Solid State Drive Review @ eTeknix
• OCZ Synapse Cache SSD 64GB Review @ Real World Labs
• Samsung 470 Series 256 GB SSD @ Kitguru
• Corsair Performance pro SATA 3 256GB SSD Review @ The SSD Review
• ADATA S511 240GB @ Legion Hardware
• Patriot Pyro SE 240GB & Wildfire 240GB @ kitguru
• ADATA 16GB S102 USB 3.0 @ Funkykit
• Kingston DataTraveler HyperX 3.0 64 GB @ Kitguru
• LaCie 5Big Network 2 Professional 5-bay RAID Server @ TechwareLabs
• QNAP TS-219 PII @ Bjorn3D
• Samsung MB-MS8GA 8GB microSDHC Card Review @ Tech-Reviews
• Understanding Wireless Storage: Kingston Wi-Drive and Seagate GoFlex Satellite @ AnandTech