OCZ Vertex Plus 120gb question

[latexblanky]

I just bought a 120gb OCZ Vertex Plus SSD for $129 to use as my OS drive and storing a couple of my frequently played games and applications. I've read that this drive uses an old controller and is only SATA II. Will this drive be good for it's intended usage or should I return it and go for something like a vertex 3 or agility 3? I have a 1tb western digital caviar black drive for all of my other storage (music, movies, more games, etc.).

 

[Coup27]

It will work for your intended purpose but it is an old drive. It won't be as fast as a newer drive but it won't be as expensive either.

All depends how much you want to spend, if your motherboard has SATA 6Gbps and how fast you want your drive.

 

[latexblanky]

Do you know how reliable that drive is? I'd be willing to spend the extra (no more than $200 though) on something better if the performance and reliability is worth it. Or should I just go for a 64gb SSD for Win7 and keep all my games/applications on my caviar black?

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I'm using an OCZ agility 1 120gb and it's fast. I have a hard time believing someone in a blind test could tell the difference between mine and the latest vertex 3 without benchmarks. I'd like to see a test like that conducted with ssd's. I doubt anyone would do that cause it would piss off sponsors.

 

[GoStumpy]

I'm using an OCZ agility 1 120gb and it's fast. I have a hard time believing someone in a blind test could tell the difference between mine and the latest vertex 3 without benchmarks. I'd like to see a test like that conducted with ssd's. I doubt anyone would do that cause it would piss off sponsors.

Not a bad idea, actually.

I have 3 different drives, one is sata 6gbps, 2 3gbps, possibly do a fresh install of Win7, and time each drive from a cold boot? That's about the only thing that takes long enough to get an accurate time, LOL. Everything else is instant no matter what SSD you have.

 

[Coup27]

Do you know how reliable that drive is?

I don't think the original Indilinx drives had many reliability issues. Don't quote me though, do some research.

 

[Zap]

I just bought a 120gb OCZ Vertex Plus SSD for $129... should I return it and go for something like a vertex 3 or agility 3?

It is not inherently bad as an SSD. It is just not a good value since OCZ has been selling their latest generation Agility/Solid 3 for $120-150 after rebates off and on for the past couple months, thus making the Vertex Plus a bad value. Heck, the Intel 320 120GB has been $120 at various retailers this past week (after a hefty rebate though). Most would consider it a better drive than the Vertex Plus in terms of reliability while having similar performance.

Doesn't necessarily mean you should return it, unless you never opened it and won't get docked restocking/shipping fees. It will still run circles around a HDD.

 

[latexblanky]

It is not inherently bad as an SSD. It is just not a good value since OCZ has been selling their latest generation Agility/Solid 3 for $120-150 after rebates off and on for the past couple months, thus making the Vertex Plus a bad value. Heck, the Intel 320 120GB has been $120 at various retailers this past week (after a hefty rebate though). Most would consider it a better drive than the Vertex Plus in terms of reliability while having similar performance.

Doesn't necessarily mean you should return it, unless you never opened it and won't get docked restocking/shipping fees. It will still run circles around a HDD.

It's unopened and I don't plan on using it until my build is complete around christmas so I still have time to decide if I'm going to return it and spend the extra on a faster drive. If I do, what should I be looking for?

 

[latexblanky]

Also, is the Agility 3 better than the Solid 3? I've heard the Vertex is better than the Agility, but is it worth the extra money for my intended usage?

 

[Itchrelief]

Vertex Plus, as long as you have a good firmware, is probably more reliable than the Vertex/Agility/Solid 3. Sandforce issues seem kind of unpredictable and intermittent, so no knowing if or when you'll get hit.

The Vertex Plus issues, however, are basically guaranteed to hit you within a week if you have a bad version of the firmware and you didn't check it and update. You WILL know you have a bad firmware, one way or another .

As long as you make sure to flash the Vertex Plus to the newest firmware, I would think it would be more reliable than a Sandforce drive, if reliability is what you are after.

 

[latexblanky]

man...this is all so confusing lol. I really think I want to get a newer/faster sata III drive but what you're telling me makes me real nervous. I could go to compusa right now and get a 120gb vertex/agility3 for $50-70 more than I paid for the vertex plus, and might see if they can price match newegg, or just get my money back and order a completely different brand SSD. what do you think I should do?

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

You would notice no real world difference in that drive and a vertex 3. If you bought it to run benchmarks than by all means get a vertex 3 for $70 more.

 

[Coup27]

If you are concerned about reliability then simply do not get an OCZ or Sandforce based drive.

If you can afford to update to a modern generation SSD, look at either a Crucial M4 or Samsung 830 and stick it on a SATA 6Gbps connection. Presuming you have one.

 

[latexblanky]

You would notice no real world difference in that drive and a vertex 3. If you bought it to run benchmarks than by all means get a vertex 3 for $70 more.

So for booting windows 7, running frequently used applications, and a couple of games (skyrim, BF3) the vertex plus won't be noticeably slower than a vertex/agility 3, and should be MUCH faster than a HDD? and it should also be more reliable (no freezing, BSoD, crashing, etc.) than one of the newer drives? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just trying to make sure I make the best decision

 

[latexblanky]

If you are concerned about reliability then simply do not get an OCZ or Sandforce based drive.

If you can afford to update to a modern generation SSD, look at either a Crucial M4 or Samsung 830 and stick it on a SATA 6Gbps connection. Presuming you have one.

Yeah reliability is a pretty big concern. I just want to install it and not have to worry about anything crazy going on. The samsung 830 sounds like a pretty good deal. It comes with an adapter and a copy of batman arkham city

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I've owned 3 first gen OCZ indilinx ssd's and they all ran flawlessly. You probably paid $10 too much but to me it would not be worth the hassle to return it and then have to deal with mail in rebates to get a faster little more expensive drive. I honestly believe that you will be blown away with how fast it is going from a mechanical drive to ssd even though the benchmark guys will tell you that they notice the millionth of a second slower speeds of the vertex and vertex 3.

 

[Anonemous]

I got a Vertex Plus 120 gig before (I got it for 100 so I took a chance since it wasn't a Sandforce drive) and it took me a around 6-10 tries to install windows 7 on it without it giving an error. I finally installed Win7 and it worked for 8 hrs while I reinstalled the programs then the problems arose, the computer wouldn't come back from SLEEP and it wouldn't even boot into windows. I spent a couple hours combing the OCZ forums for their support and found out I wasn't the only one etc etc etc. Long story short, I RMA'd the drive back to OCZ (at my own cost) and got a refund from them.

Just a note, this wasn't my first SSD, I had an Intel 510 and I knew the proper optimizations for an SSD. I even spent a couple hours trying to update the firmware or diagnose the drive thinking it was user error. In the end, I learned not to deal with OCZ again even though their SSD's are rated much faster than others.

 

[Zap]

Also, is the Agility 3 better than the Solid 3? I've heard the Vertex is better than the Agility, but is it worth the extra money for my intended usage?

They all seem within spitting distance of each other in performance, so I would just get the cheapest one.

So for booting windows 7, running frequently used applications, and a couple of games (skyrim, BF3) the vertex plus won't be noticeably slower than a vertex/agility 3, and should be MUCH faster than a HDD?

Yes.

and it should also be more reliable (no freezing, BSoD, crashing, etc.) than one of the newer drives?

Well, see what Anonemous wrote above. Also, read the Newegg user reviews on both the 60GB and the 120GB. Does not paint a pretty picture.

I would think that the Vertex/Agility/Solid 3 with the latest firmware should be reasonably reliable.

 

[latexblanky]

After seeing Anonemous's post I decided to just return the drive and get my money back. I ended up leaving the store with my new motherboard (Asus P8Z68-v pro). I think I'm going to order the Samsung 830 128gb in a couple weeks when I order my RAM. Thanks everyone for all of your advice.

 

[Itchrelief]

After seeing Anonemous's post I decided to just return the drive and get my money back. I ended up leaving the store with my new motherboard (Asus P8Z68-v pro). I think I'm going to order the Samsung 830 128gb in a couple weeks when I order my RAM. Thanks everyone for all of your advice.

His problems sound a lot like the problems the drive had before they fixed the firmware. If you're nervous then you probably did the right thing, but I doubt you would have the same problems, considering that issue is most likely already fixed.

 

[Coup27]

I would think that the Vertex/Agility/Solid 3 with the latest firmware should be reasonably reliable.

Thats what the pro-OCZ people have been saying, but this bloke has a different opinion.

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...h-of-testing-13-Vertex-3-s-with-2.15-firmware

 

[latexblanky]

I think I made the right decision. Sure, the drive could have worked perfectly, but after reading some complaints about OCZ I'd just be much more comfortable going with the Samsung product.

Also, since this is the memory and storage forum, rather than making a new thread can someone recommend a great 8gb DDR3 kit for the Asus P8Z68-V Pro motherboard? I've had my eye on a Mushkin Blackline DDR3 1600 kit on newegg but it's currently out of stock. I've had a Mushkin DDR2 kit in my current system for 3-4 years and it's been great so I'd like to stick with them unless there's something better. Thanks!

 

[Zap]

Thats what the pro-OCZ people have been saying

Are you calling me pro-OCZ? I'm probably the most brand-agnostic person in the world that still calls myself an "enthusiast."

can someone recommend a great 8gb DDR3 kit

Probably anything at 1.5v would be fine. G.Skill seems to give good value with their Ripjaws and RipjawsX series.

 

[Coup27]

Are you calling me pro-OCZ? I'm probably the most brand-agnostic person in the world that still calls myself an "enthusiast."

Sorry, that didn't come out as intended. What I meant to say is since 2.15, the pro-OCZ people have been saying that this solves most the problems, both on here and on the OCZ forums, while there is still massive evidence that it does not.

 

[Old Hippie]

I'm probably the most brand-agnostic person in the world that still calls myself an "enthusiast."

I must be number 2. :biggrin: