OCZ Vertex Limited Edition, SandForce Powered SSD

The Vertex LE from OCZ looks just about like any standard SSD on the market today, at least in terms of its exterior appearance.  Of course we're always going to crack the case to get a look inside.

 
 

Like the Vertex 2 Pro we tested a few weeks back the Vertex Limited Edition is based on Micron NAND flash.  The PCB you're looking at here is based on a 100GB configuration, which actually has 128GB or so of memory on board but is over-provisioned specifically for the SF1500 controller architecture that is on board. It doesn't require any DRAM cache and actually uses NAND Flash for memory space, for caching, garbage collection and volume management.


What's this? OCZ's very own controller?  Not quite...

The silkscreen logo on the chip is actually that of OCZ's but this isn't custom silicon here.  Sandforce simply offered OCZ a limited quantity of a specific lot of their SF1500 controller which would allow them to offer an SSD with enterprise-class performance at a more consumer targeted price point.  In reality these chips are likely from a specific lot that didn't pass some corner case performance condition for enterprise applications but will serve just fine in a consumer client application.


Dave Altavilla

Dave Altavilla

With nearly two decades of experience as a semiconductor sales engineer, Dave Altavilla founded HotHardware.com over 25 years ago with perspective as an industry insider and a passion for the wonders of system-level development and performance that culminate into the next generation, cutting-edge devices of tomorrow. Cultivated with the sweat-equity of time spent in the engineering backrooms and offices of Chief Architects of Wall Street bellwethers like Motorola, Cisco and EMC, Dave's insight into the design and manufacturing of leading-edge technologies, brings a laser-sharp understanding of what it takes to deliver a best-of-class product to market. Dave handles final editorial responsibilities of HotHardware's content, along with the site's creative vision and business development efforts. In addition to feature product launch articles at HotHardware for major OEM releases, Dave is also a published author in various technology-based print publications and has been a featured guest on various webcasts and Tech radio shows. In his spare time Dave likes to spend time on the ocean and coaching youth Baseball.  - Contact: davea(at)hothardware(dot)com and follow him on Twitter if you like. He also has an About.me page here. 

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