OCZ Synapse Cache 64GB SSD

The OCZ Synapse SSD

The SSD market has taken off over the past year, and business is booming. Every new SSD released in 2011 supported the SATA 6Gbps bandwidth, allowing users to fully take advantage of their SSD's, and adding a major selling point to the SSD market.

Despite the technological advancements, SSD's are expensive. At about $2-3/GB of storage (as compared to $0.05/GB for hard drives), not everyone can afford the best and fastest SSD. For this purpose, OCZ has released the Synapse Cache SSD, available in 64GB and 128GB variants. The Synapse is intended for caching the most important data, not for use as a main drive, though it can be used as a main drive if so desired. Either way, the Synapse is a great solid-state solution for users who want the increased performance that an SSD affords over an HDD, but don't want to break the bank for extreme performance SSD's like the Kingston HyperX or OCZ Vertex 3. The 64GB OCZ Synapse costs about $155, and the 128GB model costs about $210.

The SSD comes with a key for the Dataplex caching software, though the software can tell when a system changes. The software looks at specific components of a system: Ethernet card, memory, OS, boot drive, CPU ID, and BIOS. If two or more of these components change, the software will consider the computer as a new system, and the user must re-license Dataplex.

The drive also has a range of features such as the TRIM command, and 50% NAND overprovisioning. This means that only 50% of the NAND will be first available for storage use to ensure greater performance, and to ensure that whatever the user does, there will always be enough space on the drive for the system to actually be able to cache files. For instance, the 64GB drive only shows 32GB of usable space to install OS/programs; the other 32GB is "hidden" for caching files. Despite the positive aspects of this feature, it is confusing, and very likely users might wonder why the drive only delivers with half the capacity promised.

The OCZ Synapse comes wrapped in a compact cardstock package that isn't much bigger than the drive itself.

Inside the drive package is the drive, in a thick foam cutout for protection. On top of the drive is an included OCZ adapter tray to allow the 2.5" drive to fit inside a 3.5" drive bay. The drive also comes with the manual, and an amusing sticker labelled "My SSD is faster than your HDD!"

The drive is a standard 2.5" SATA 6Gbps compatible SSD. The sticker with the Dataplex license key is visible on the back. For the purposes of this review, we opened the drive up to expose the PCB and NAND chips, but users should not do this at home as it voids the warranty.

Here we can see the drive itself. The OCZ Synapse 64GB uses eight modules of 2Xnm MLC NAND flash, though we don't know from which manufacturer. Each module carries 8GB of storage. The drive is controlled by the SandForce SF-2281 controller. The SF-2200 series controllers allow the SSD full use of SATA 6Gbps.

The specifications for the drive are as follows: