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OCZ, ever on top of its game, has released another high performance SSD solution equipped with its own, home-brew Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller. In the past, the SandForce controller dominated the OCZ lineup up until recently. The SandForce did not disappoint, so it will be interesting to see how exactly the Barefoot 3 controller compares. On paper, this SSD does not dissapoint. Sporting speeds of 550MB/s read speeds, and 530MB/sec write. This leads me to believe that OCZ made a good call switching to the new controller. However, time will tell as we get into the testing phase later on in this review.



Along with the upgraded controller, the Vector sports a brand new design including aluminum housing, slimmer size, and new artwork. In this review we will be taking a look at the 256GB model. Other sizes include 128GB, and 512GB.

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We mentioned on the page prior that the OCZ Vector SSD is equipped with OCZ's own in-house controller, the Indilinx Barefoot 3. This is no doubt the biggest difference when comparing the Vector with any other prior version, or any other SSD for that matter. We will discuss this controller in detail on the next page and hopefully answer some questions you may have especially the advantages or disadvantages over the SandForce controller. But one thing is for sure, from what we have found, an SSD is mostly limited by the performance of the controller.

Here are the detailed specifications for this particular SSD taken from OCZ's website:

Performance numbers per capacity



The Vector is covered by a 5-year warranty.

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Indilinx Barefoot 3 is the new controller which powers the Vector series SSD which is essentially the 'brain' of the SSD. We mentioned earlier that in the past OCZ has always used the SandForce lineup of controllers which worked very well with the success of the previous Vertex series from OCZ. However, to date, there is not a whole lot of information available about the Indilinx controller compared to the piles of info we have on the SandForce.

So, what do we know? Pretty much all the information that OCZ cares to share with the rest of us! Most of it comes from a detailed press release found HERE.

In addition to that, take a look at this comparative chart. Currently the only drives taking advantage of the Barefoot 3 controller is the Vector Series. When you compare the data of the latest SandForce 2281 controller, the numbers are in favor of the Barefoot 3 controller. It also appears that the Barefoot 3 controller gives a small advantage over the Everest 2 controller currently used in the Vertex 4 lineup.
The Indilinx Barefoot 3 is controlled by two separate processors; the ARM Cortex processor, and the Aragon Co-processor. Caching for this SSD is powered by two chips of DDR3 from what we could tell. For this particular model, caching is set to 1GB. The 128GB model is said to only have 512MB.

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The OCZ Vector SSD is packaged nicely featuring some nice attractive design work on the package exterior. Inside you will see that everything is bundled nice and tight, eliminating wiggle-room which could cause damage during shipping.






Upon opening the package, you'll notice the SSD packed into its custom fitted foam shell inside an anti-static bag. Included also are your warranty information, a I <3 my SSD sticker, a mounting bracket for 3.5" configurations and mounting screws. The SSD is tucked away in an anti static bag to reduce electronic shock damage. We have always been impressed with the level of care OCZ uses when packaging their solid state drives.



The Vector series sports a much improved design over the Vertex series. To date, all other OCZ solid state drives were made up of a plastic and metal housing. The Vector is in a complete metal housing giving it a nice solid feel. The corners are also rounded even further improving on the design. Lastly, the artwork on the top is much improved taking advantage of the entire top surface. Overall I was very impressed with the level of detail OCZ put into this SSD.


The reverse side contains a sticker all of the drives technical information. The four screw holes on the bottom are for mounting the SSD to the included metal bracket if you chose to mount this into a desktop in a 3.5" drive bay.




Inside we find the single PCB with all the internal components installed. What probably stands out most is the Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller chip located right in the center. Surrounding the chip are all the OCZ branded NAND flash memory chips and cache.







Overall, I was very impressed with the quality of the Vector. For an internal component, the level of detail that went into the design is much more than I have ever seen before on any other SSD. Now that we've seen what we are working with, lets start crunching some numbers!

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Testing Methodology

The OCZ Vector was tested in full SATA 6 mode using a supported motherboard to maximize the performance of the drive. To measure performance we used several benchmark applications geared towards measuring drive speeds or transfer rates. The applications include Crystal Disk Info, HD Tune, Atto Diskmark, Crystal Disk Mark, and HD Tach. The firmware for the Vector was updated to the latest version running 2.0.

The motherboard used was an EVGA Z77 FTW configured in full SATA6 mode.

Installation

Installing the hard drive is about as straight forward as it gets. When installing into a desktop, provided you don't have a SSD mount in your case, the bracket allows you to mount the drive into any 3.5" drive bay. From there it is just like installing a typical HDD into a computer. In a notebook scenario, of course installation will vary depending on what you are installing it into, but the Vertex 4's size and screw configuration will match whatever 2.5" HDD you currently have in your system. So you should not have to worry about any hard drive incompatibilities.




Testing

For our first actual test we used a program called HD Tune. This handy program comes with a vast array of testing features. To kick things off we started with a good ol' fashioned read/write benchmark




For the read test, it looks like the Vector scored around 309MB/sec maximum read speeds.


Write speeds gave us a maximum of 371MB/sec. Below we have our random read and write speeds.


Lastly, below we gave the file benchmark a run. The file benchmark is a much more accurate representation of real-world performance results.


Using this test we were able to get the transfer speeds up to around 396MB/sec read, and 417MB/sec write.



Atto HD Benchmark is another great benchmark utility. It measures drive performance incrementally and gives results in a nice easy to read format.



Things are looking much better for the Vector here. Our read test maxed out at a whopping 552MB/sec, with read speeds clocking in at 510MB/sec.



HD Tach is another hard drive benchmark utility that uses a sequential read test similar to that which we used in HD Tune.



The Vector not doing too well this time around with speeds averaging 280.1MB/sec.



Sequential read speeds proved to be the best with this benchmark measuring in at 509MB/sec and read speeds at 477MB/sec. For whatever its worth, AS SSD Benchmark gave us a final score of 1070 based on its total performance.

So what do all the numbers mean? It's hard to make sense of SSD transfer speed results from different programs because they are all... well different. Basically all this proves is what the drive can do under different scenarios. Each program benchmarks a little bit differently. Exactly how different we will never know. This is why we did not reach the Vector's rated speeds of 550MB/sec read and 530MB/sec write. To achieve these speeds you need to hit a perfect set of circumstances ...

The lineup of Lian Li's mid tower case arsenal continues to expand with its latest edition, the PC-9N or in particular the PC-9NB which is the Black model which we will be reviewing. Lian Li has a history of manufacturing cases with an almost meticulous sense of exceptional quality and design. This particular model at a glance features brushed aluminum exterior with a full metal aluminum interior. It fully supports ATX and micro-ATX motherboards on its new rail mount motherboard mount design which we will cover more in depth later on in the review. But lets not waste any more time! On with the review...

The MSRP for the PC-9NB stands at $99.99. Not too bad considering this is a Lian Li case.

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The Lian-Li PC9N was packaged typical to pretty much any case we have seen. The case is secured inside the box with two custom formed Styrofoam inserts to secure it during shipping. Overall we have found this method very effective and from what we could tell, there was no damage to the case due to shipping mishaps.


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ArmA 3 Alpha is one of the hottest discussions in the PC gaming world right now. As the name suggests, it's a public alpha build of the upcoming ArmA 3, a PC exclusive military simulation game. Access to the alpha is granted upon pre-order right now, though keep an eye out for GND's upcoming ArmA 3 alpha invite giveaway!

This article will serve as a small review and overview of ArmA 3 Alpha. Since it's just an alpha, there will be no score or anything; I'll just go over what it offers, and list my observations/criticisms/praises.



The ArmA series is well known by the PC gaming community for being in a genre of its own, created by its predecessor Operation Flashpoint. The only non-Bohemia title in this genre is Iron Front: Liberation 1944, which uses the same engine as ArmA 2 and is essentially ...

Ah, the first official game review of 2013 here at GND-Tech. And what a way to start off the new year! Miasmata is a game made by IonFX, an indie game developing studio. The brains behind the game are two brothers; Bob and Joe Johnson. Miasmata was in the first batch of Greenlit games on Steam, and rightfully so, for it is a very unique and interesting game. It's an open world first person survival-adventure game, set on a mysterious island called Eden.

What makes Miasmata stand out is, you start on a large island with almost nothing given to you: there's no map or objective markers, just a compass and a watch, until you make the map yourself. You have to navigate and stay hydrated with very minimal assistance, and more importantly, you must cure yourself of a plague that will soon kill you. It's a minimalistic but lengthy adventure, that ...

Just when you thought the Toughpower series power supplies from Thermaltake didn't get any better, the Grand Platinum series is proof that they do. The Toughpower lineup has always been the best of the best from Thermaltake's lineup, and the Grand Platinum series takes it one step further. How? Well, all Grand Platinum series power supplies carry a 80+ Platinum (hence the name) efficiency rating. This is the highest standard a power supply can achieve which speaks good things about this PSU at first glance. Typically we find that more efficient power supplies are made from higher rated parts and components which makes them run longer and much cooler.

The Toughpower Grand Platinum series comes in just two varieties, 600W and 700W. If you are looking for a bit more oomph than 700W, you will have to sacrifice that platinum efficiency rating for a gold rated one. With the Grand Series' design, Thermaltake has completely reworked this power ...

In the world of computer power supplies, it seems that all the big name companies like PC Power & Cooling are constantly pushing the limit when it comes to performance. Users know that the power supply is probably the most important component in their system, and many are willing to buy the best of the best. If you are one of these people, looking for a power supply that not only can provide massive amounts of power to your components, but will do it reliably and efficiently, then look no further than the Silencer MK III from PC Power & Cooling which is what we will be reviewing today. In this review we will be taking a look at the 1200W model which is the highest output rated model of the MK III family. Other variations include the 400W, 500W, and 600W.

This particular model combines a high power output with an exceptional efficiency rating. According to PC Power & Cooling, this power supply is 92% efficient which earns it an 80-Plus Platinum rating which is the highest level a power supply can achieve. Another noteworthy feature is is that at maximum load, the MK III 1200W will maintain a maximum temperature of only 50 ...

Well folks, it looks like we have another keyboard on our test bed. This time it's from Ducky, a brand we have yet to examine. More specifically, we're looking at the Ducky DK9087 Shine II tenkeyless keyboard.

The Shine II was a smash hit among enthusiasts all around the world, who praise it for its quality and awesome features. Perhaps the most unique thing about the Ducky Shine II is the amount of models available:

• Full size or tenkeyless
• Red LED, blue LED, green LED, white LED, pink LED, or yellow LED backlight (can be disabled for boring people who prefer no light)
• Cherry MX Red, Black, Brown, or Blue switches

The model we have here is the DK9087 Shine II which is tenkeyless, and this particular one has a green LED backlight and Cherry MX Red switches. Unlike rubber dome keyboards including those fake "gamer" keyboards, the backlight is actually bright on mechanical keyboards. For ...