What about OWC SSDs?

[flong]

Hello Everyone,

I have been researching SSDs and have seen an amazing number of reviews on the OCZ Vertex 3. I was surprised to find out about about the OWC drives which are fairly equal to the Vertex 3 drives and claim to have better leveling / trim functions. I am disappointed that there has not been more coverage of the OWC drives in this and other forums. I have read Bit-tech, Hardware Canucks, Cnet and several other forums and I can't remember seeing a single review of the OWC drives. Have I just missed the reviews in these forums?

Are there any owners of the new OWC drives out there. In the few reviews that I have found OWC actually beats the Vertex 3 in several benchmarks.

My main question is if the leveling / maintenance/ trim functions (I know TRIM is a windows function) of the OWC drivers is superior to the OCZ drives. OCZ has the worst reliability record of all the major SSD manufacturers.

Forgive me if I have just missed the information on the OWC drives.

 

[ssddx]

you mean these reviews?

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=owc+ssd+review&aq=f&aqi=g1g-j1g-b7&aql=&oq=

the ocz vertex3 is most likely just more well known. keep in mind that ocz has had their name plastered over the industry for awhile. i've owned 3 sets of ram, a psu, memory stick and other products from them. getting tech support to issue a rma took a few tries but considering that the problem wasn't even their responsiblility (somone flicked the power off switch instead of shutdown many many times) they covered it with brand new sticks without questioning their lifetime warranty. big thumbs up in my book.

i've heard bad things about ssd reliability in regards to most of the manufacturers. however, i do believe that at present ssd reliability is much better than it was. i'm using two ocz vertex2 in raid1. the price was right and i have a decent warranty so i'm not worried. never trust your data to pure luck or good reviews, always have a backup option.

 

[flong]

you mean these reviews?

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=owc+ssd+review&aq=f&aqi=g1g-j1g-b7&aql=&oq=

the ocz vertex3 is most likely just more well known. keep in mind that ocz has had their name plastered over the industry for awhile. i've owned 3 sets of ram, a psu, memory stick and other products from them. getting tech support to issue a rma took a few tries but considering that the problem wasn't even their responsiblility (somone flicked the power off switch instead of shutdown many many times) they covered it with brand new sticks without questioning their lifetime warranty. big thumbs up in my book.

i've heard bad things about ssd reliability in regards to most of the manufacturers. however, i do believe that at present ssd reliability is much better than it was. i'm using two ocz vertex2 in raid1. the price was right and i have a decent warranty so i'm not worried. never trust your data to pure luck or good reviews, always have a backup option.

Thanks I did find many of these reviews but they were all in forums that I am not familiar with which is why I was a little frustrated. I am not sure why several of the major forums have not done any reviews of the OWC drives since they seem to be one of the top drives out there. It doesn't make sense.

It is good to know that OCZ backs their product. Thank you for the first-hand feedback.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

OWC is not as well known because it is a small start-up company. Unlike the large well known companies, OWC submitted their new solid state drive to just 4 web sites for review.

 

[flong]

OWC is not as well known because it is a small start-up company. Unlike the large well known companies, OWC submitted their new solid state drive to just 4 web sites for review.

Thanks, that explains a lot. I wonder why more sites don't just buy an OWC drive for review considering its high ratings (I'm sure it would not go to waste ha, ha). However, if OWC was more intelligent they would take the time to send out more drives to several sites.

 

[popatim]

If OWC wants to make it then they need to start selling on Newegg too. I only see 2 places they're selling; a Mac shop and 'Other World Comuting' (which is them).

I would also suggest they take on an attitude I seen used by the chinese/japanese when entering a market: make a good product and lowball the hell out of the competition. Get it out there, get great reviews, have great support.
If you come out with a product at about the same price; most people will buy the name brand...

 

[flong]

If OWC wants to make it then they need to start selling on Newegg too. I only see 2 places they're selling; a Mac shop and 'Other World Comuting' (which is them).

I would also suggest they take on an attitude I seen used by the chinese/japanese when entering a market: make a good product and lowball the hell out of the competition. Get it out there, get great reviews, have great support.
If you come out with a product at about the same price; most people will buy the name brand...

Supposedly, their customer service is better than OCZ, but I do not have any first-hand information. Their 240 GB SSD actually keeps up with the V3 and beats it in some benchmarks.

 

[ssddx]

it doesn't matter if you make the best product or if you have the best customer service. if your product is not out there and readily available on the market people will pass it by without a second thought. as to why it wasn't reviewed: why would they waste time reviewing a product nobody will buy?

i agree: if they want to gain market share (which they could if they have a superior product) they need to get listed on newegg.com or other large e-tailers as well as in some local big-box stores. they will begin to attract customers and soon build themselves a name.

as of now, most people don't know of them so are a high risk to buy from. think about it this way: would you buy a car branded as a "ford" which is well known or "abc car co" which might work even better but you have no information on it at all? the vast majority of the people will not take a risk since they don't want to get shafted.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

I did a little research.

The OWC ssd's appear to be a new venture by a well established company that has been around since 1988. OWC caters to Apple and MAC users and is quite well known in that niche market. The OWC ssd's seem to be a "house brand". It is similar to what Microcenter did.

I took a look at Apple and Mac products at Newegg. The Apple and Mac products are limited to about 134 items. The vast majority of the Newegg items are accessories like carrying cases for Macbook pro's.

I also discovered there were quite a few reviews of the OWC ssd's. Most of the reviews were published by web sites that cater to Apple and Mac users.

Here is a link to a web page that has the links to the reviews:

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/internal_storage/Mercury_Extreme_SSD_Sandforce

Scroll down the page to see the links to the reviews.

 

[OWC Grant]

OWC is not as well known because it is a small start-up company. Unlike the large well known companies, OWC submitted their new solid state drive to just 4 web sites for review.

Glad you all have taken an interest in our company. We're certainly not a start up as we have been in continuous operation for nearly 23 years. We are perhaps a bit more well known in the Mac market, but our SSD line has certainly been reviewed by numerous PC oriented sites as well.

Our company is pretty noteable for aspects beyond our products and customer service...industry awards and recognition include: Inc. 5,000 “Fastest Growing Privately Owned Companies in America” list honoree 2007-2010; Reseller Ratings Elite Member 2009 & 2010; Better Business Bureau Top Rating of A+ 2010; and Computerworld Magazine Top Green-IT Companies for 2008.

Our corporate campus was designated as LEED® Platinum by the Green Building Certification Institute, the highest achievable LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Program level. Out of more than 14,000 LEED projects engaged worldwide since the program's inception, OWC is one of less than three hundred to achieve the Platinum standard. In September 2010, OWC’s headquarters earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR® rating for building operations that perform in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency.

And in 2009, we became the first US technology manufacturer/disdtributor to become 100% on-site wind powered.

The four reviews being referenced are in regard to our new Pro 6G model...and more reviews are either available, such as The SSD Review http://thessdreview.com/our-reviews/owc-mercury-extreme-pro-6g-240gb-ssd-review-500mbs-sets-the-new-standard/
and MacTrast http://www.mactrast.com/2011/05/02/mactrast-reviews-owc-mercury-extreme-pro-6g/

as well as Anandtech should have one this week too.

We share your dissapointment that Tom's Guide/Tom's Hardware hasn't jumped on the bandwagon to review our Pro 6G as we are the only other SandForce based SATA 3.0 SSD on the market. Heck, this roundup ran and we weren't even listed:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-ssd-price-per-gb-ssd-performance,2880.html#xtor=RSS-182?#xtor=998

Maybe some requests from you forum members would get their attention?

Thanks again for your interest and I warmly welcome you to check out our full SSD line...the most comprehensive SandForce based line available today: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/

OWC Grant

 

[JohnnyLucky]

OWC Grant - I initially thought OWC was a new company because of a YouTube video that gave that impression. Looking back in retrospect it was the ssd's that were the new venture.

I look forward to reading the AnandTech review. AnandTech is well respected among gamers and enthusiasts.

 

[flong]

Glad you all have taken an interest in our company. We're certainly not a start up as we have been in continuous operation for nearly 23 years. We are perhaps a bit more well known in the Mac market, but our SSD line has certainly been reviewed by numerous PC oriented sites as well.

Our company is pretty noteable for aspects beyond our products and customer service...industry awards and recognition include: Inc. 5,000 “Fastest Growing Privately Owned Companies in America” list honoree 2007-2010; Reseller Ratings Elite Member 2009 & 2010; Better Business Bureau Top Rating of A+ 2010; and Computerworld Magazine Top Green-IT Companies for 2008.

Our corporate campus was designated as LEED® Platinum by the Green Building Certification Institute, the highest achievable LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Program level. Out of more than 14,000 LEED projects engaged worldwide since the program's inception, OWC is one of less than three hundred to achieve the Platinum standard. In September 2010, OWC’s headquarters earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR® rating for building operations that perform in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency.

And in 2009 became the first US technology manufacturer/disdtributor to become 100% on-site wind powered.

The four reviews being referenced are in regard to our new Pro 6G model...and more reviews are either available, such as The SSD Review http://thessdreview.com/our-reviews/owc-mercury-extreme-pro-6g-240gb-ssd-review-500mbs-sets-the-new-standard/
and MacTrast http://www.mactrast.com/2011/05/02/mactrast-reviews-owc-mercury-extreme-pro-6g/

as well as Anandtech should have one this week too.

We share your dissapointment that Tom's Guide/Tom's Hardware hasn't jumped on the bandwagon to review our Pro 6G as we are the only other SandForce based SATA 3.0 SSD on the market. Heck, this roundup ran and we weren't even listed:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-ssd-price-per-gb-ssd-performance,2880.html#xtor=RSS-182?#xtor=998

Maybe some requests from you forum members would get their attention?

Thanks again for your interest and I warmly welcome you to check out our full SSD line...the most comprehensive SandForce based line available today: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/

OWC Grant

It's nice to hear from somebody from OWC. I would suggest as others have in this thread that you send a 120 and 240 GB SSD to Tom's Hardware for review. I am sure that they would be interested in seeing how your SSD performs. In the reviews that I have read, your SSD compares very favorably to the market leader, the OCZ Vertex 3. That being the case, a favorable review on Tom's Hardware and some of the other major computer websites would generate a lot of interest in your product.

I am considering a Vertex 3 120 GB drive and I would like to know how the OWC drive stacks up against the V3 and the V3 high IOPS. I am sure that most of the people who read this forum regularly would be VERY interested to see such reviews.

If you are successful in the MAC world, you probably are set up to be very successful in the PC market as MAC users can be very demanding.

How about it - let's rev things up and have an OWC vs V3 vaa V3 high IOPS vs M4 vs Intel 510 shootout . It will bring down the house ha, ha.

 

[ssddx]

yes, definitely try to venture out into the pc market.

mac represents only a small amount of the computers in the world. if you impress pc users you're liable to double or triple your yearly output.

getting reviews listed on major web hubs, getting on major etailers and the like will help accomplish this.

 

[flong]

Anandtech has a great review of the OWC 120GB drive here: http://www.anandtech.com/show/4315/owc-mercury-extreme-pro-6g-ssd-review-120gb/1

It keeps up or beats the Vertex 3 120 GB in almost every benchmark but one. Also the wear leveling appears to be better than the V3. If anyone is considering a V3, OWC definitely looks like it is worth a look that narrowly beats the V3 120 GB in most benchmarks.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

I recommend a little bit of patience. OWC needs to make a few improvements for production quality ssd's.

First, the red wire in the photos is a bridge connecting what appear to be four tiny capacitors. OWC needs to revise the pcb board so that the red wire is eliminated. The wire should not be there. A long long time ago when there was no Internet, reviews were published in magazines. Back then the first thing reviewers of motherboards and power supplies did was check for any signs of quick fixes, last minute add-ons, and soldering. It is a sure sign that changes need to be made.

Second, the temporary cap on 4Kb random writes needs to be removed.

Finally, the SandForce Release Candidate firmware needs to be changed to finalized firmware.

Anand stated he would obtain and review a final retail version. If there were any changes he will post a follow-up.

 

[flong]

I recommend a little bit of patience. OWC needs to make a few improvements for production quality ssd's.

First, the red wire in the photos is a bridge connecting what appear to be four tiny capacitors. OWC needs to revise the pcb board so that the red wire is eliminated. The wire should not be there. A long long time ago when there was no Internet, reviews were published in magazines. Back then the first thing reviewers of motherboards and power supplies did was check for any signs of quick fixes, last minute add-ons, and soldering. It is a sure sign that changes need to be made.

Second, the temporary cap on 4Kb random writes needs to be removed.

Finally, the SandForce Release Candidate firmware needs to be changed to finalized firmware.

Anand stated he would obtain and review a final retail version. If there were any changes he will post a follow-up.

Excellent points - I agree. It is interesting to note that even with the 4k cap that the OWC keeps pace with the V3 120 GB. Also their wear leveling programs appear to beat the V3. As more and more people buy the V3. the CM4, OWC and the V3 high IOPS - it will be interesting to see which is the fastest, most reliable drive.

The V3 high IOPS is on sale at NewEgg for $280 which is a great deal but I just don't have the money right now.

 

[tecmo34]

We share your dissapointment that Tom's Guide/Tom's Hardware hasn't jumped on the bandwagon to review our Pro 6G as we are the only other SandForce based SATA 3.0 SSD on the market. Heck, this roundup ran and we weren't even listed:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-ssd-price-per-gb-ssd-performance,2880.html#xtor=RSS-182?#xtor=998

Maybe some requests from you forum members would get their attention?

OWC Grant

Please send me a Private Message, so I can see if I can help out...

 

[Proximon]

Interestingly I just happened to open this thread. I was wondering about OWC myself. OCZ is leaving a bad taste for me... I don't pay a lot of attention to newegg user reviews but when companies like Mushkin, Corsair, and G.skill all consistently pull better reviews on SSDs I begin to wonder.
If OWC can deliver a more reliable Sandforce SF-2200 product it would be of great interest to me.

 

[flong]

Interestingly I just happened to open this thread. I was wondering about OWC myself. OCZ is leaving a bad taste for me... I don't pay a lot of attention to newegg user reviews but when companies like Mushkin, Corsair, and G.skill all consistently pull better reviews on SSDs I begin to wonder.
If OWC can deliver a more reliable Sandforce SF-2200 product it would be of great interest to me.

It is too early to tell. I think that some of the people in the NewEgg reviews didn't know what they were doing. But some of them did get bad drives from OCZ. OCZ sells the most and so they will have the most failures - it is the percentage of their failures that is important. I am very interested in their 120 GB high IOPS. It may be an equal to the 240 GB which tops every chart right now.

 

[JohnnyLucky]

flong - a minor correction. OCZ has the most ssd models over at Newegg but OCZ does not sell the most ssd's. For the past 8 quarters (two years) that title belongs to Fusion-io. The company sells PCI-e based ssd's to the business enterprise market. STEC is in second place due mainly to military contracts for highly specialised ssd's. Texas Memory Systems which specializes in PCI-e based ssd's and rackmount ssd's is in third place.

PCI-e based ssd's for the business enterprise market is where the real action is.

 

[flong]

flong - a minor correction. OCZ has the most ssd models over at Newegg but OCZ does not sell the most ssd's. For the past 8 quarters (two years) that title belongs to Fusion-io. The company sells PCI-e based ssd's to the business enterprise market. STEC is in second place due mainly to military contracts for highly specialised ssd's. Texas Memory Systems which specializes in PCI-e based ssd's and rackmount ssd's is in third place.

PCI-e based ssd's for the business enterprise market is where the real action is.

Thanks for correcting the record.

 

[groberts101]

given the context of this conversation and the relativity to the newegg reviews.. it seems pretty safe to say that OCZ is on top of the list for SSD sales.

 

[flong]

Best answer selected by flong.

 

[jn77]

I am surprised I found this old thread from 2011. I just bought my first Macbook Pro..... a Mid 2012 15 inch retina edition, i7, 500gb Apple SSD and this is the only laptop I own with less than 4TB of space on it.

I remember OWC back when I was in school and looking at Macbook G3's. My have a few concerns about OWC even though they are well known in the Mac community.

First, in the "PC" world, Samsung, Toshiba, Hitachi, Western Digital, Sandisk, HST, Seagate, they all list full spec's of their drives, meaning, I wand to know if they are SATA3, SATA 6, and if they are 2.5 inch drives, mSATA, or M.2 drives.

Anything Apple lends itself to being hush hush.

While OWC drives are fine, Samsung, Micron, or some other manufacturer makes the chips and controller on the drive.

I want want to compare the OWC drive to a Samsung drive to put in my Macbook pro and then I will decide which one I want and finding out with Samsung drives are compatible with my Macbook is like trying to get information from a vault. Not very friendly,