OCZ RevoDrive Hybrid 1TB PCI-E SSD Review Comment Thread

[SKYMTL]

Searches for affordable high capacity SSDs usually come up blank so several manufacturers have begun releasing hybrid solutions which combine the performance of an SSD with the storage space of the hard drive. OCZ's RevoDrive Hybrid is the latest to take on this challenge by combining a 100GB SSD with a 2.5" 1TB HDD. This isn't exactly a match made in heaven but the benefits are tangible.

Read the full review here: OCZ RevoDrive Hybrid 1TB PCI-E SSD Review

[EmptyMellon]

Nicely done. Got to say, before the review(s), I have been looking forward to this product. Unfortunately, like others, you have highlighted the glaring short-comings of this product very well, which cannot be over-looked.

- Not an “out of the box” solution as software is required for it work
- Must be used as OS drive otherwise software will use your existing hdd instead of the on-board hard drive

Annoyances which killed my enthusiasm for this product.

[Digitaldemon]

damn.... the idea is good though. and excellent read, jusy how bad does this affect the pc, besides the crippled effect.

....RevoDrive 3 X2- don’t expect your CPU to enter idle mode since the included software eats processor cycles for breakfast. In this case Nvelo’s Dataplex stack sits in the background playing traffic cop for cached data but it just doesn’t seem to be optimized and can literally cripple dual core systems. Also be aware that only 100GB of the 1TB of space will be at these stellar performance levels since only the most used data will be cached.

[b1lk1]

But we shouldn't need more than 100GB of data in the fastest part of the drive. I loved my Momemtus XT drives, they were simply amazing when it came to boot times and such but their limitations were obvious. I'm about to put a 60GB SSD in my laptop and run a 320GB 5400RPM drive VIA USB for data so I would LOVE a system like this that would combine both inside a laptop. Sadly I am limited to 9.5MM drives so I can't see how they could combine a large SSD and 2.5" drive, but for desktops this looks amazing.

[JimboToronto]

I don't understand the obsession with trying to combine high performance and high capacity in a single drive. It invariably leads to compromises and usually to a higher overall price.

Why not save money and headaches by using fast SSDs for booting and apps and capacious HDDs for bulk data storage?

For less than the price of a 1TB RevoHybrid you can get a 120GB Revo3 and a 3TB 5400RPM HDD. That's triple the capacity, higher performance, and less money.
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Okay, with the current price-gouging in HDDs due to the flooding in Thailand the 3TB might cost a little more but that will soon be back to normal.
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Personally I find the whole idea of polluting a solid-state device with a mechanical contraption to be repugnant.

The only moving parts I want in my case are the unavoidable cooling and rarely-used ODD. All my HDDs are external.

[AkG]

Well to be honest, Hybrid's are going to be around for a long, long time in one form or another. Seagate has stated that within 5 years they want 80% of their hard drives to be hybrid models.

IMHO, hybrid's are a GOOD THING. Right now according to stats I have heard, total units of consumer ssds moved were 5.5 mil. Compare that with only Seagate who moved 650 million hard drives. IF you get a couple 800lb gorilla's like OCZ and Seagate buying in HUGE quantities the demand for NAND will make the increase in production capacity well worth it to NAND mfgers. This in turn will lead to massive Hybrid models which cost basically the same as a std 7200rpm costs (normally). It will also lead to significantly lowered prices of normal SSDs models. As an added bonus Apple will no longer be the major buyer of NAND and a new apple launch wont have any bearing on storage prices. ;)

As for this OCZ model, I can see its usefulness in certain scenarios. It will not be right for everyone, but then again very few models have that kind of broad range of appeal.

[JimboToronto]

Originally Posted by AkG

Well to be honest, Hybrid's are going to be around for a long, long time in one form or another. Seagate has stated that within 5 years they want 80% of their hard drives to be hybrid models.

IMHO, hybrid's are a GOOD THING. Right now according to stats I have heard, total units of consumer ssds moved were 5.5 mil. Compare that with only Seagate who moved 650 million hard drives. IF you get a couple 800lb gorilla's like OCZ and Seagate buying in HUGE quantities the demand for NAND will make the increase in production capacity well worth it to NAND mfgers. This in turn will lead to massive Hybrid models which cost basically the same as a std 7200rpm costs (normally). It will also lead to significantly lowered prices of normal SSDs models. As an added bonus Apple will no longer be the major buyer of NAND and a new apple launch wont have any bearing on storage prices. ;)

As for this OCZ model, I can see its usefulness in certain scenarios. It will not be right for everyone, but then again very few models have that kind of broad range of appeal.

Indeed, hybrids are here to stay and for notebook users who don't require the operating shock resistance of all-solid-state storage they offer a decent compromise in a 2.5" SATA drive.

It's PCIe hybrids like the Revo that are better replaced with separate SSDs and HDDs. For now.
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As for falling NAND and SSD prices, anything that speeds up that process is good but my feeling is that they'll be falling anyway.

Driven by the success of SSDs, NAND technology has been charging forward with smaller manufacturing processes and improved architectures. R&D costs have to be recouped before prices can really fall.

Once the technology is mature it should become cheap. DRAM is a good example. DDR3 is dirt cheap compared to any previous type of RAM and is available in much higher capacities.

Once NAND becomes cheap enough, the price of multi-terabyte SSDs should become cheap enough for mainstream PC users to use mechanical HDDs for archival purposes only. Anything mechanical has a higher risk of failure.

In the meantime hybrids do offer a reasonable compromise.