Corsair Nova Series V128 SSD Performance Review

Corsair Nova Series 128GB SSD Intro

If you are of a certain age, the name Nova conjures up visions of the beauty from the original Planet of the Apes. That’s probably not what the marketing folks at Corsair had in mind when they gave their new Indilinx ‘Barefoot’ controller-based series its moniker; although she too, was barefoot in the movie. Ramblings aside, the folks over at Corsair have been busy serving up SSD’s as of late and we recently took a look at the 100GB version of their Force series SSD line which performed extremely well in most of our tests. Today we’ll be giving the Nova Series V128 its turn on the test bench to see how well it fares.

The Nova series isn’t quite the speed demon that their Force series is
on paper, but we have already seen how well the Indilinx controllers
have fared so we feel pretty sure going in that this drive should see very good benchmark results. Really, it’s likely a matter of how well their firmware performs.

Found in the wild at 64GB and 128GB capacities at $193 and $369 respectively, buyers are looking at between $2.50 – $3.00 per GB which is a pretty reasonable price given today’s prices of NAND and similar drives. Like the movie version of Nova, Corsair’s drive of the same name is silent and easy on the eyes. They also list a host of other features as listed below:

• Fast PerformanceGames, applications and files load faster, while your system is more responsive
• CompatibleProven technology with installations on tens of thousands of systems worldwide
• Stutter freeIndilinx Barefoot controller along with integrated onboard cache, ensure smooth operations, unlike that of other less expensive SSDs
• Flexible use2.5″ form factor for your notebook or netbook needs, or use with included 3.5″ bracket for your desktop computer
• Silent operationNo moving parts means zero noise and high reliability
• Low PowerExtend battery life for notebook and netbook users
• ReliableOver 1,000,000 hours mean time between failures
• Backed by CorsairA respected name with a passion for great service and support

FEATURES:

• Maximum sequential read speed 270 MB/second
• Maximum sequential write speed 195 MB/second
• Indilinx Barefoot controller and MLC NAND flash for fast performance.
• 64MB cache for stutter-free performance
• Internal SATA II connectivity
• TRIM support (O/S support required)
• No moving parts for increased durability and reliability and quieter operations over standard hard disk drives
• Decreased power usage for increased notebook or netbook battery life
• 2.5″ form factor for your portable computer needs
• Included 2.5″ to 3.5″ bracket for installation on your desktop computer
• Two year warranty*

*EDITORS NOTE: As of mid May 2010 Corsair has upped the warranty to 3 years.

In the box, other than the drive itself you’ll find a Corsair branded mounting plate for installing into 3.5″ bays and the screws necessary to attach the drive to the plate. This is a simple yet effective solution for many cases depending on how the drives mount. It’s not really tall or long enough to mount rails.

The drive itself features a SATA power connector as well as a SATA II data connector. Four small phillips head screws hold the drive together and two of those are covered with warranty void stickers to discourage disassembly attempts by those curious about the inner workings of the SSD.

Absent are any pins for jumpers that would need to be used for firmware
updates as other Indilinx drives have used in the past. Having to use
the jumper puts the drive in engineering mode and typically means the
data on the drive will be wiped during the update. No pins is a good
sign that firmware updates will be non-destructive. Let’s have a peek at what Nova looks like under her protective shell.