Today we take a look at a new solid state drive offering from OCZ, the Vector Series SATA III SSD. The Vector joins the Vertex models in OCZ's High-Performance category, touting a 7mm low profile design, Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller and either 128GB, 256GB or 512GB capacities.


Like the Vertex 4 that Shawn reviewed last year, the Vector Series touts an impressive five year warranty. Performance looks to be on par with the Vertex as well, with over 500MB/s claimed sequential read/write speeds (on the larger capacity models) and around 100,000 random 4k IOPS. It's important to note that only the 256GB and 512GB drives sport these numbers. Just as Shawn noted for the Vertex 4, the 128GB (and 64GB Vertex 4) offer significantly less sequential write throughput.


The Vector Series SATA III 2.5" SSD ships with one of OCZ's black metal frame 3.5" adapters and mounting screws, an "I <3 my OCZ SSD" sticker, installation manual, warranty info and a license key for a downloadable copy of Acronis True Image cloning software. The SSD is housed in an all-new 7mm alloy case, so although configurable to mount in a standard desktop 3.5" bay, the Vector is also laptop-ready utilizing the low profile height that most modern notebooks and netbooks require.


Join us as we take a closer look at the OCZ Vector 256GB SATA II 2.5" SSD.