Thursday, October 28th 2010

OCZ Launches RevoDrive X2 Second Generation Bootable PCI-Express SSD

OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) and memory modules for computing devices and systems, announces the launch of The RevoDrive X2 PCI-Express SSD, a follow-up to the successful launch of the first RevoDrive, with increased performance and capacity to serve high-performance computing consumers. The RevoDrive X2 upgrades the original architecture to deliver unprecedented speed up to 740 MB/s and up to 120,000 IOPS, nearly triple the throughput of other high-end SATA-based solutions with a substantial reduction in the total cost of ownership (TCO) to the consumer. The product is available now through OCZ's global channel.

"The original OCZ RevoDrive SSD was designed to be the first high-performance, bootable PCIe SSD solution and has become a popular choice for demanding computing applications that require faster, more reliable storage," said Ryan Petersen, CEO of OCZ Technology. "Building on the success of the original design, we are excited to introduce the RevoDrive X2, which delivers both increased performance and capacity, making the RevoDrive X2 a viable option for a wide spectrum of applications that include professional graphic design, multimedia rendering, and workstations. With our recently announced new state-of-the-art SSD manufacturing facility in Taiwan, OCZ will continue to be at the forefront of developing and deploying game-changing solid state storage solutions."
The RevoDrive family gets its edge by eliminating the SATA II (3Gbps) bottleneck and leveraging a PCIe x4 interface to exploit the full potential of current flash technology. Like the original RevoDrive, the X2 uses an onboard RAID 0 design, but it also employs four SandForce-1200 controllers versus two in the original to maximize data access and bandwidth. In addition to promoting a faster, more responsive PC experience, the RevoDrive X2 is bootable, unlike competing PCIe solutions, to ensure quicker start-ups and load times compared to mechanical hard drives, a major plus for workstation PCs.

The RevoDrive X2 thrives in a wide range of computing environments including demanding database and server applications as well as multi-media creation and management. Available in 100GB to 960GB capacities, the OCZ RevoDrive X2 provides ample room for data warehousing, applications, multimedia files, and operating systems. Additionally, the X2 provides the superior durability, energy efficiency, and reliability of SSDs.

For more information, visit the product page.
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46 Comments on OCZ Launches RevoDrive X2 Second Generation Bootable PCI-Express SSD

#26
[H]@RD5TUFF
Does this one have trim if not, it's bigger fail than the first gen.
Posted on Reply
#27
happita
The 240GB is definitely the sweet spot for this type of SSD drive.

The original RevoDrive carries a price premium of only about $80 to get nearly double the speeds next to a 285MB read/275MB write conventional SSD which is about $600 if you look on the egg.

The new revision of this drive that comes out will have even better speeds and will replace the current gen of RevoDrive SSDs. IMO, this is a win for rich people. And I for one......am not 1 of them :laugh:

For me, I think I'll just wait for the new waves of SSDs that will use the Sandforce 2xxx controller.
Posted on Reply
#28
ebolamonkey3
[H]@RD5TUFFDoes this one have trim if not, it's bigger fail than the first gen.
How so? first gen didn't have trim either. This is faster, w/ a wider range of capacity offerings.
Posted on Reply
#29
CDdude55
Crazy 4 TPU!!!
MindweaverI like it, but i would like to see some type of heatsink on the card. Anybody else agree?
But it's flash memory based, it shouldn't need a heatsink. The case fans should blow a fair amount of air over the card anyways if it gets hot, that should be more then enough.
Posted on Reply
#30
[H]@RD5TUFF
ebolamonkey3How so? first gen didn't have trim either. This is faster, w/ a wider range of capacity offerings.
Yeah and how is not having Trim a good idea on a windows machine, on Linux maybe but you couldn't even get it to raid on Linux it would only do 2 seperate dirve's and then wth is the point.

I like OCZ and I like this product but no TRIM is not a good idea and is really a deal breaker.
Posted on Reply
#31
DaMulta
My stars went supernova
I thought ocz made their own ver. of Trim?
Posted on Reply
#32
newtekie1
Semi-Retired Folder
[H]@RD5TUFFYeah and how is not having Trim a good idea on a windows machine, on Linux maybe but you couldn't even get it to raid on Linux it would only do 2 seperate dirve's and then wth is the point.

I like OCZ and I like this product but no TRIM is not a good idea and is really a deal breaker.
1.) Even with the write speed degredations without TRIM this is still one of the fastest drives on the market.
2.) As I said, I don't think TRIM is possible on a setup like this as the SSDs are invisiable to the OS, it just appears as a RAID Volume. The OS had no idea if that RAID volume is HDDs or SSDs. It is one of the downfalls of RAIDing SSDs.

Edit: It seems Intel is the only one that has managed to get TRIM working with the RAID chipset, and it is only on ICH10R motherboards, not dedicated RAID chipsets like the one used on the Revo.
Posted on Reply
#33
n-ster
I believe since it is internal RAID 0, that this drive works normally in Linux
Posted on Reply
#34
nemesis.ie
Standard SSDs with SATA 6Gbps interfaces and 500MB/sec+ speeds are coming soon.

The speed will be here via cards and drives, what we need next is lower prices.
Posted on Reply
#35
[H]@RD5TUFF
n-sterI believe since it is internal RAID 0, that this drive works normally in Linux
Perhaps this one, but the first one did not.
Posted on Reply
#36
n-ster
I believe PCI-E (or perhaps a another very fast port of the future) SSDs are the future :)
Posted on Reply
#37
Flanker
would it be possible/a good idea to run these things in a PCIEx1 slot?
Posted on Reply
#38
Nothgrin
Flankerwould it be possible/a good idea to run these things in a PCIEx1 slot?
X1 slots of an older PCIe 1.0a runs at 250 MB/s per lane.
X1 slots of PCIe 2.0 run closer to 500 MB/s per lane.

both of which are slower than that of the rated speed.

The card itself has pins specifically made for PCIe X4 so if you plug it into the X1 slot you will have open pins on the card. I would not recommend running it in a X1 slot. It may not even work without the X4 slot.
Posted on Reply
#39
Flanker
NothgrinX1 slots of an older PCIe 1.0a runs at 250 MB/s per lane.
X1 slots of PCIe 2.0 run closer to 500 MB/s per lane.

both of which are slower than that of the rated speed.

The card itself has pins specifically made for PCIe X4 so if you plug it into the X1 slot you will have open pins on the card. I would not recommend running it in a X1 slot. It may not even work without the X4 slot.
Thanks for that. Just trying to estimate how much longer I should allow my motherboard to live
Posted on Reply
#40
ebolamonkey3
[H]@RD5TUFFYeah and how is not having Trim a good idea on a windows machine, on Linux maybe but you couldn't even get it to raid on Linux it would only do 2 seperate dirve's and then wth is the point.

I like OCZ and I like this product but no TRIM is not a good idea and is really a deal breaker.
Yea, but that doesn't make this a fail product, especially when compared to the first Revo.
Posted on Reply
#41
n-ster
Sandforce has GARBAGE COLLECTION which really helps instead of TRIM... Sandforce =/= Indilinx where TRIM was really needed
Posted on Reply
#42
newtekie1
Semi-Retired Folder
[H]@RD5TUFFPerhaps this one, but the first one did not.
AFAIK this card uses the same RAID controller as the first one, really the only difference is they added a second PCB with two more sandforce SSDs. You can actually see where the connector was on the original version that allows this second PCB to be used. OCZ planned this second drive with better performance and size from the beginning, and only held of on releasing it to get people to bite that first one at high prices, then release this one to make it look like they did some more magic to release this one, when they didn't do anything new.

So in Linux it will show up as 4 drives unless they have released better drivers for the RAID chipset since the original(or changed the RAID chipset completely, which isn't likely since this is identical to the original just with a second PCB with more SSDs added).

To tell the truth, I never really liked how OCZ setup up the Revo. I don't like how they have used a PCI to PCI-E bridge chip and a PCI RAID chip, it adds latency which defeats one of the main purposes of SSDs, low latencies.

The Revo is set up like this:

[PCI-E x4 Slot]---PCI-E x4 Link--->[PCI-E to PCI Bridge Chip]---PCI Link--->[SiliconImage PCI RAID controller]===SATA 3.0Gbps Links===>[Sandforce SSDs]

The cheaper setup I posted earlier in the thread would actually probably perform better thanks to the RAID controller being PCI-E native and not needing a PCI to PCI-E bridge chip. Using a PCI controller with a PCI-E bridge chip is way old tech from back in the beginning of PCI-E days.:shadedshu
Posted on Reply
#43
NAVI_Z
ok folks herer's the REAL question. is there really a "bottleneck" at the sata interface

compared to the pci-e lanes. which is really faster: sataII@6gbs or pci-e??

thats what really matters to me. i know there are in fact ssd's and hdd's that are comming

to market with sataII@6gbs interface early next year.that whole "bottleneck" claim

throws a wrench in the cogs for me. has it been tested yet? are there any benchies to see

and compare??i'm not rich or swimmin in money but my next upgrade for my pc will be

a better c:drive and more storage.if this thing can really deliver on its claims,it would be

worth taking a second look at it.:confused:
Posted on Reply
#44
newtekie1
Semi-Retired Folder
Well, as I pointed out already, even this RevoDrive is still using a SATA 3.0Gbps connection to connect the SSDs to the RAID chipset. They just are using an internal SATA connection instead of actual SATA cables, but the speed is still the same. So that should answer your question right there. This is not an SSD connected directly to a PCI-E interface.
Posted on Reply
#45
NAVI_Z
newtekie1Well, as I pointed out already, even this RevoDrive is still using a SATA 3.0Gbps connection to connect the SSDs to the RAID chipset. They just are using an internal SATA connection instead of actual SATA cables, but the speed is still the same. So that should answer your question right there. This is not an SSD connected directly to a PCI-E interface.
thanx bro. i'd love to see some benchies soon.they make a lot of claims. "put your money

where your mouth is" OCZ!!:slap:
Posted on Reply
#46
n-ster
but the burst rates are higher than equivalent RAID setups. Therefore, there is a small advantage. Besides, 4x 40GB SSDs is about the same price than the 160gb Revo, and 4 x 60GB, you pay about 10$x4 premium for the Revo, which isn't bad.

I personally think that 160gb is the perfect boot + programs + most games... Then you put your old games + data (music,downloads,setups&drivers,etc.) on a mechanical HDD
Posted on Reply
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