Access Speeds & Load Times

I have used ATTO Disk Benchmark to get the sequential read and write speeds, while the burst speed was measured using HD Tach. The Random 4K speeds were tested using Crystal DiskMark.

For the Windows 7 boot time, I installed a fresh copy of Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit on these hard drives, with just the basic drivers installed for the motherboard and graphics card. No antivirus or any other applications were installed since any programs installed by users are arbitrary and will change startup time. The time measured in seconds below is after POST (when the ‘Starting Windows’ logo appears) till the time I see the desktop and mouse.

Conclusion

The performance of the OCZ RevoDrive Hybrid speaks for itself as it closes the gap between hybrid solutions and true solid state drives, traditional hard drives don’t even enter this equation. The overall transfer speeds, as well as the all important 4K read/write speeds are incredibly high as well. Easily the best hybrid drive on the market, the OCZ RevoDrive has everything working for it: high capacity 1TB hard drive, high capacity 120GB solid state NAND for caching data as well as the incredibly fast SandForce 2281 controller. All of this is perfectly complemented by the PCIe interface for uncompromised bandwidth speeds.

Honestly, the only thing I can think of against the OCZ RevoDrive, apart from the high price point, is the fact that should the drive fail, you’ll loose everything. Having custom drivers for a storage solution isn’t the most reliable form of data storage, a gripe that I have with Intel’s Z68 based SRT where SSDs can be used to cache traditional hard drives. So for long term reliability, maybe the Seagate Momentus XT wins out with its simple plug & play operations; but we’re talking about hypothetical situations in the long run. Contants firmware upgrades and proper support from hard drive manufacturers should ease this concern.

As it stands, the OCZ RevoDrive Hybrid 1TB is the fastest hybrid drive we have tested, and certainly the fastest hybrid drives on the market. It’s powerful enough to go toe-to-toe with even the most blistering SSDs out there, but with the added benefit of large capacity storage as well. If you can afford it, the RevoDrive Hybrid is definitely one to consider for a powerful rig.