Testing Methodology and Bench
System Rig
|
Motherboard |
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 |
|
CPU |
Intel core i7-2600K (3.4GHz) (4.2ghZ OC) |
|
RAM |
GeIL EVO Corsa CL9 2133MHz (2 x 4 GB) |
|
Graphics Card |
Asus ATi Radeon HD 6970 2GB |
|
Hard Drive |
OCZ Synapse SSD + Western Digital 64mb Cache 1TB |
|
PSU |
Antec HCG 750w |
|
CPU Cooler |
Thermaltake Bigwater 760 Plus |
Methodology
Our testing method for SSD and HDD drives usually consists of running the drive through various synthetic benchmarking softwares. We are going to be running the same process today, but slightly different, as the Synapse SSD is not meant for a standalone use, although it can be; it shall be testing in comparison with the Synapse installed alongside the HDD, and results will included with the HDD as a standalone drive. As mentioned the Synapse drive shouldn’t be directly compared against a normal SSD, but we will include a Plextor SSD result as well, so you can get a good idea of performance in conjunction to an SSD.
We shall be using various programs to benchmark the drive, software’s will consist of the below. All tests were run three times, and the best score was taken.
Software’s
- ATTO
- AS SSD
- CrystalDiskMark
- PCMark7 - System Storage Testing
Additional Information
The Synapse is different from any other (SATA / PCIe) SSD as it does not need cloning software or a new installation of your OS. Simply plug it, install the Dataplex software and away you go. While the performance is close to a regular SSD (mainly because the Synapse is of course an SSD) the main purpose of the Synapse is to upgrade the HDD’s performance.
The overprovisioning is higher than with any other drive (about 50%) this is to ensure that the drive will have a stable performance while keeping the drive healthy.
Putting this next to a regular 120 GB SSD isn’t really fair, as the Synapse relies on caching a large capacity HDD and it will only use the most frequently data, so it will always be behind a normal SSD.
