OCZ Solid State Drives

Havoc2510

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Hello,

I have never had an SSD before but I realise that they are much quicker than mechanical HDD's. I have been looking at buying a 60gb SSD to store the OS on. Anyway, my question is:

OCZ have the Vertex series SSD's. They have the Vertex 3 and 4, both of which are SATA III 6GB/s (correct me if I'm wrong). From the information I can see, the Vertex 3 60GB is cheaper AND faster on read and write speeds than the Vertex 4. Why is the Vertex 4 more expensive, and does it have any benefit over the Vertex 3?

Here are some specs I have found:
Vertex 3 60GB: Read - 535MB/s, Write - 480MB/s
Vertex 4 64GB: Read - 460MB/s, Write - 220MB/s

Again, if I'm wrong, feel free to correct me. Also, I would be really grateful for a fast response, since I am ordering my PC on Wednesday.

And if there are any other alternatives that are quicker than the Vertex 3 for similar money, please let me know as well. Thanks in advance :D
 

RealBeast

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If you can stretch your budget you would be much better off with a 120/128Gb model. All of the current drives are very fast, and the sequential read/write that you quote will be the thing that you will see the least of -- most everything is random read/write and IOPS for real use.

Consider this model, very reliable: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5247113&Sku=S203-8003

Here is a good price search site for SSDs as they go on sale often: http://www.logicbuy.com/categorydeals/computers/hard-drives-ssd Currently shows a 120Gb Intel 520 for $99.
 
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^ I agree. Go with a 120GB drive minimum if you can afford it. Don't forget that 20% of an SSD must be kept free for optimal perfomance. That really cuts into an already small 60GB.
 

Havoc2510

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Thanks for the fast response :) That Samsung drive has a fast read speed, but a comparatively low write speed to the Vertex 3. I am happy to get a 120GB SSD if I can get one in my price range.

One other thing I forgot to point out though, is that I am in the UK and my price range is anything less than £80. That Samsung SSD is in my price range and looks great quality, but the write speed compared to that of the Vertex 3 just doesn't seem fast. Is there a Samsung drive that can compete with the Vertex 3 in terms of read/write speeds that is in my price range?
 
D

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Don't get hung up on getting the fastest drive. The Samsung 840 is a great drive and in real world useage is as fast as the Vertex drives. Benchmarks only tell part of the story and for everyday use the Samung controller is great. The only other drive they still make is the 840 Pro and it's at the top of every benchmark chart. You might still find an 830 for sale and they are also very fast but have been replaced with the 840/840 Pro.

Read this. It explains that even though there is a difference in SSD speed, it's small compared to the difference between an SSD and any hard drive. I still have a 2 and a half year old Vertex 2 and it's still very fast. The only reason I even want to upgrade at all is to get a larger drive and my drive is in tier 10 on this list. Windows starts in around 15 seconds on my old Vertex 2.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-recommendation-benchmark,3269-6.html
 

RealBeast

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But you are looking at only the sequential numbers, which are deceiving unless all you do is copy very large video files to and from the drive. I have several OCZ Vertex 3 IOPS 240Gb drives and they do not benchmark better than the Samsung 830/840 drives in most comparisons that simulate real workload. I mean, they are decent drives, but there are better. Take a look at some of the other performance numbers other than the seq r/w: http://www.anandtech.com/show/6337/samsung-ssd-840-250gb-review/10

Anort3 is telling you the straight story -- benchmarks are really not that meaningful, my original Intel 80Gb X25-M is very close in apparent performance to my latest Samsung 840Pro 256Gb, despite the fact that the Intel is blown away in benchmarking.
 

lxgoldsmith

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write speed doesn't matter for most uses, read speed is most important for os and programs, which are usually the only things placed on the ssd.
 
Also samsung has a fantastic reliability record, while OCZs record is, in a word, atrocious. Their newest ones are ok but they have a habit of making bad products, using different chips in the same product and only listing the fastest as the specs for the others, limiting performance based on drive capacity and who knows what else. Some people swear by THEIR one drive, but OCZ's lies and screw ups are well documented and a bad company is a bad company. I won't touch them with a 10 foot pole. There are better options
 

lxgoldsmith

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it's more of a gamble with ocz, I actually got a good vertex 3, but I hear about their bad record all the time. I hope it lasts.
 


wasn't at all directed at you or anyone in particular lol. The new ones don't seem to fail but the whole lying on the series based on the best chip, and speed base on capacity. And their record.... wont recommend them on a product or as a company. Of course I hope you got a good one though lol
 

Havoc2510

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So from what everyone is saying, Samsung is the way to go. My question now is does the 840 Pro really warrant the price mark up over the standard 840? Here are the two prices in pounds on the Amazon UK store:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Series-120GB-Solid-State/dp/B009LI7C5I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356985367&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Series-128GB-Solid-State/dp/B009LI7CKI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1356985392&sr=8-3

I'm also now wondering what size might be better to get; I could save up and go for a 256GB SSD. At the moment on my Gaming PC build I have a SATA III 6GB/s 2TB Seagate Barracuda. Could a 256GB SSD replace having any mechanical drive for a time while I save up again for the mechanical drive? (I will be downloading a lot of games off of Steam, so I think I really need the mechanical HDD)

Finally, I may have found a third contender, see what you all think of this SSD:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kingston-Technology-HyperX-inch-120GB/dp/B007R67FNA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356985638&sr=8-1

Thanks for everyone's help so far :)
 
Technically the 840 is slower than the old 830. Not that you'll notice. The 840 pro is TOP of the line, but probably not worth it to a consumer price wise.

you could def get by on 256GB for a while if you just look at games. That's 10-20 good games plus windows. If you use steam you can backup games you don't play to DVD or just redownload. but a 1 TB HDD is maybe $50 and lets you swap games on and off the SSD

The Kingston drive uses a sandforce controller, and while not as bad as OCZ they were part of that mess., the new one seems ok. But their reputation is tarnished.and I don't bother with them
 

Havoc2510

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Just found one more option to throw into the mix: (So many options!)

Have never seen one of these before but it is called a Hybrid Drive. It claims to combine the speed of an SSD with the storage capacity of a standard mechanical HDD. It also looks great value for money. Maybe this is the answer:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-750GB-Momentus-Serial-Hybrid/dp/B0068QO82G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356986275&sr=8-1

Why are there so many options on the market?! I like the freedom of choice, but with this amount of SSD's, maybe it has been taken a bit too far... :)
 

RealBeast

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Don't go with a hybrid drive, it just cripples an SSD by making it a cache drive and only performs a little better than a HDD.

The real question you need to ask yourself, do I need the absolutely fastest SSD available today or will just a very good one do? Are all your other parts the fastest available? Don't let benchmark numbers make your decision, use common sense.
 

Havoc2510

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The thing is, I am on a fairly tight budget now as my build is made up of all high quality parts, and I am trying to make it as futureproof as possible. Although I'm sure that the non-pro 840 is an amazing SSD, I think that the Pro might be more futureproof as it is the leader of the pack at the moment BUT almost all of my money is in this build, and I don't have a lot left so the 840 Pro would be a real stretch on my wallet.

I really think I am enclined to go with the Pro 256GB, as it won't be beaten in performance for a while, so what I might end up doing is skipping the mechanical HDD and just get the SSD, then save for the HDD again. It's funny when I think that earlier on today when I started this post I was only looking at a cheap 60GB SSD, and now I might be getting a 256GB best of the best SSD :)

Does anyone have any reason why I should not buy the pro? For example, does anyone have any news on any SSD advances expected in early 2013? Otherwise I think I will go for the 840 Pro.

Thanks to everyone who has helped comment in this post, I am really glad I am not going with OCZ after what everyone has said about them :D
 
The 840 pro is brand new, top of the line, and the 830 was recommended for as long as it was out. And sought after when the 840 came out and it went on sale. Samsung makes GREAT stuff.

The regular 840 is fine, and you probably won't notice the difference between them. I don't think "future proof" applies here. But if you want the best and don't save TV/movies 256GB can get you buy on games

And honestly. you could get the HDD first... SSDs.are NOT critical. I got an SSD when I was used to 8GB of memory with page file off and sleep mode.... The SSD just made updates and installs faster. Because I don't constantly launch programs. my work laptop.... Different story. But my gaming desktop, even games on the SSD... Not much to offer
 

Havoc2510

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I literally just changed my mind again lol :D

I think I will go regular 840 128GB and then get the mechanical HDD with it. That way I have maximum storage space with the ability to store the OS and a few games on the superfast SSD. At the rate technology is moving at the moment, by the end of 2013 I wouldn't be suprised if there were SATA IV 2TB SSD's on the market, I guess there is no way of futureproofing a system. In terms of value for money, the regular 840 is great and there is a lot of praise for it online.

As for what Bruce said earlier that everyone seemed to skim over and ignore, I actually did quite a bit of research into that SSD and in the UK, it just doesn't give the value that it does in the US. I'm not sure where you're from, but in the UK it actually is more expensive than the Samsung 840, but doesn't perform as well. In the US, however, from what I've read it seems a lot cheaper and better value for money than over here, so I have chosen not to go with it. That is not to say that is a bad drive though :)

The way this PC I'm building is shaping up, it will be a complete monster, especially when the NVidia 700 series GPU's is released and I pick up a 770. It will be awesome.

Unksol - In your last post, you said that SSD's are not critical, and especially as I have a 7200rpm Sata 6GB/s HDD in my build, will it make a massive difference to have one? Money is tight on this build, so if it makes no massive difference having one or not, I won't get one. Plus, when all the awesome new stuff comes out in 2013, I will reconsider if I don't end up getting one now.
 

lxgoldsmith

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sdd + hdd is the way to go. if you're cheap, it's much better than a big ssd or RAIDing hdd. If you need the space, it's better than ssd only and still provides an amazing increase in performance