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  • OCZ Synapse Cache Drive Review - 64GB

          
    		   
    		   
    by
    strudinox
    Published on January 7th, 2012 11:00 PM
    8 Comments Comments
    Pages: OCZ Synapse Cache Drive Review - 64GB  Next
    OCZ Synapse

    When it comes to solid state drive technology, probably one of the greatest achievements of 2011 was the successful implementation of solid state cache drives. So what is a cache drive? Well, they are pretty self explanatory. Cache drives store frequently accessed information that is already on the hard drive. Items such as operating system information, startup programs, browser data, games, etc. This way when a program is launched, instead of pulling data off the disk, the information is passed via the SSD Cache drive. So basically, when a cache drive is paired with a hard drive, you get SSD speeds, with the capacity of today's large hard drives.

    OCZ cache drive

    In order to run OCZ's Synapse drive, all you need is a computer with a standard HDD, then install the this Synapse CACHE SSD then install the Dataplex software that manages and functions as the drives cache layer. The Dataplex software is basically used to create a platform where the most frequently used "hot" data stays on the fast SSD, while the "cold" data remains on the larger capacity HDD. And as far as speeds go, the OCZ Synapse drive is equipped with a Sandforce 2281 SSD controller which guarantees performance levels of close to 500 MB/sec on reads and writes when used with a SATA6 interface.



    Categories:
    1. Hard Drives
    Tags : cache drive, dataplex, dataplex software, ocz, ocz synapse, ocz synapse review, sandforce sf2281
    Pages: OCZ Synapse Cache Drive Review - 64GB  Next
    Comments 8 Comments
    1. Jester's Avatar
      Jester - January 7th, 2012
      Great review. Looking on newegg this thing costs even more than the Vertex 3 60GB, and going by your results it would be better to get a normal high end SSD and use it as an OS boot drive.
    1. Bored's Avatar
      Bored - January 8th, 2012
      I would probably just get a 60 gb SSD and install my OS and commonly used programs by myself, but this looks like a good idea for most people.
    1. Enad's Avatar
      Enad - January 8th, 2012
      avatar127fff
      Hmm, seems like a decent price for what it is. I still think all SSD's are way over priced.
    1. Jester's Avatar
      Jester - January 8th, 2012
      Quote Originally Posted by Enad View Post
      avatar127fff
      Hmm, seems like a decent price for what it is. I still think all SSD's are way over priced.
      $150 for this vs $100 for a faster SSD of the same capacity, which also gives you the option to install whatever you want on it (inside the space requirements of course). Not a decent price in my opinion.
    1. Enad's Avatar
      Enad - January 8th, 2012
      Well, just further proved my point that SSD's are overpriced.

      avatar127fff
    1. strudinox's Avatar
      strudinox - January 8th, 2012
      I think they are worth every penny. No way I could run winows on a normal hdd again. But that's not the point of the review

      Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk
    1. Bored's Avatar
      Bored - January 8th, 2012
      Quote Originally Posted by strudinox View Post
      I think they are worth every penny. No way I could run windows on a normal hdd again. But that's not the point of the review
      I agree, there is a very noticeable difference when using a computer with an SSD compared to a regular HDD.
      I think for most people, they could buy this and just throw it in their computer and have a significantly better experience rather than having to reinstall their entire system all over again. But I guess it is sort of overpriced compared to most SSDs.
    1. strudinox's Avatar
      strudinox - January 8th, 2012
      Well the synapse is more expensive than a drive of the equivelant size. But you can't look at this as a typical SSD. Instead think of it as a tool that will let that 2GB HDD run at near-SSD speeds.

      Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk