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OCZ Vertex 3 120 any good? $87 new?
- Thread starter HardLiner
- Start date
you get what you pay for. there's a reason OCZ is resorting to practically giving these away
Not with OCZ. I paid for a 34nm Vertex 2 but they sent me a 25nm model at the same price with no warnings. I didn't get what I paid for.
Silverpike
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OCZ has largely fixed all firmware-related issues. However, the one issue they have not fixed is poor flash quality. It is known that they source B-grade chips to use in their drives, and as a result their failure rate is significantly higher than others. Apparently their manufacturing is not the greatest these days either.
I own a 1st gen Vertex 1 drive and a Vertex 2. The Vertex 1 is down to only 20% usable life left after only 2 years of use (ouch). I'm hoping my V2 will last longer.
I own a 1st gen Vertex 1 drive and a Vertex 2. The Vertex 1 is down to only 20% usable life left after only 2 years of use (ouch). I'm hoping my V2 will last longer.
Since you made this grandiose claim, can you please quote a reliable source for these comments?
That seems like a really good deal to me. Even if you end up not liking it past the return period, I'm sure you could sell it for not much, if any, loss.
I actually built a computer a few years ago with an OCZ power supply and SSD, only to replace both parts after hearing horror stories on the internet. Well, the power supply is still working fine in a family member's computer (ModXStream Pro 700W) and the SSD (Solid 2 120gb) is doing great in a small laptop I use to play music in my living room.
I know they are completely unrelated products, just trying to show not all their offerings end in immediate disaster (or long term, knock on wood).
I actually built a computer a few years ago with an OCZ power supply and SSD, only to replace both parts after hearing horror stories on the internet. Well, the power supply is still working fine in a family member's computer (ModXStream Pro 700W) and the SSD (Solid 2 120gb) is doing great in a small laptop I use to play music in my living room.
I know they are completely unrelated products, just trying to show not all their offerings end in immediate disaster (or long term, knock on wood).
Thanks I'll be sure to follow up on the drive if I have any problems so people know, It will be my first SSD and I'm getting excited. Anything I should know before installing?
Enable AHCI SATA mode?
Like the above poster, I agree with only using AHCI. Are you running Windows 7? If you are, it is pretty much install and go.
That's a good deal.
I have a vertex 2 60gb in my HTPC. I Paid $120 CAD for it last year I'm on the 3rd one in about a year. I keep good backups, so recovery isn't a huge issue for me but it is inconvenient and somewhat expensive to ship back for warranty service.
Other than the failures I've had, the performance has been good.
I'd say make sure you have a good backup and restore process and enjoy the drive.
I have a vertex 2 60gb in my HTPC. I Paid $120 CAD for it last year I'm on the 3rd one in about a year. I keep good backups, so recovery isn't a huge issue for me but it is inconvenient and somewhat expensive to ship back for warranty service.
Other than the failures I've had, the performance has been good.
I'd say make sure you have a good backup and restore process and enjoy the drive.
Silverpike
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http://blog.macsales.com/9438-not-all-ssd’s-are-created-equal-the-story-continues
This has been verified (at the time) by users checking their drives for non-A grade parts. My understanding is that this is one of the reasons OCZ can sell their drives cheaper than competitors.
EDIT: one user confirmed seeing the same thing in his drive:
http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...ality-Concerns&p=615468&viewfull=1#post615468
If you are happy with your OCZ, then hooray for having something you like. I own 2 generations of OCZ drives and for the most part I'm satisfied. However, I have many good friends have OCZ drives fail with a very disappointing RMA process, so based on this I will not be buying another OCZ SSD. You are free to do as you like.
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Honestly, if this were true I would expect to be reading it at more than a single site (a site by the way which is selling a competing device). I would expect every tech site on the planet to be calling them out if there were any problem.
Silverpike
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You are welcome to come to your own conclusions about this. This subject was beaten to death like a year ago, and you can use Google to listen to both sides of the argument. I have concluded that OCZ uses low end parts in order to boost their profit margins, which matches the very high defect rate I see in their parts. You can come to your own conclusions however you want. I've given up on trying to convince people about this, because it tends to be a religious kind of thing. There is data out there though if you want to spend the time to find it.
I have no religious feelings towards SSD's, believe me. In any case, even if that is the case, and I am not saying it is, it doesn't mean anything. If the parts they sold met the definition or marketability based upon what they presented the product, noting illegal was done. Do you know for example that every intel Ivy bridge processor just released is the same in the beginning. Some fail at 2.9GHz, but pass at 2.7GHz and are fused and sold on that basis. Many intel dual core processors are quad core dies where one or more cores has failed, and are fused off. Many AMD 3 core processors were failed 4 core dies where one CPU was fused off. Many companies due this, it is called binning and post-production modification. As long as it meets the specs that they sold it as, failing some higher tests doesn't make it bad.
Silverpike
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For the record, I have worked as a semiconductor hardware designer for 13 years. I know how this works.
Binning is not the same as using under-spec parts. I don't care who bins what as long as the product works according to how it is marketed. The problem as I see it is that OCZ is using flash parts with less-than acceptable service life because it's cheaper. These parts may also (statistically) work up until the 3-year warranty, and then die quickly. I believe other brands use higher quality of flash parts, providing a service life well past 5+ years (which is all I'm going to use anyway).
The problem is that these drives don't specify a service life, only a replacement warranty. OCZ can take shortcuts on drive life since they make no specific promises about it. Other brands don't make promises either, but likely have longer functional service lifes due to a better selection of parts. Indeed, OCZ could even use parts which statistically might fail under 3 years, and assume the warranty work will make up for any irate customers. From appearances this seems to be how they operate now (high defect rate).
I completely agree. My point is that the only specs that are given are a rough speed rating (which is stated by every manufacturer as subject to change based upon many factors) and a usable storage size. Even the usable storage size has been as subject of conjecture and lawsuits for years based on how you interpret a kilobyte, megabyte and all derivations of such. This being said, what specification do OCZ drives in general, and this item in particular not meet?