OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Pros: Cost: $90 for 120GB; Greatest bang for buck that I was able to find.
Shipping: On Time
Read Speed: about 450MB/s consistently using BlackMagic for Mac. Super fast Start-Up Time.

Cons: Write Speed: about 160MB/s consistently using BlackMagic for Mac; I was really expecting more from the write speed. The Manufacturer Responses I have seen on other posts about the same issue explains this, but I don't know what to think about it. In any case, I use my computer mostly/solely moderately, so other than being just a little disappointed it is not a huge deal to me; thus 4 stars. Heavy video editors might want to be wary though.

Other Thoughts: Great SSD for the price! Still not sure what to think about the Write Speed.

Pros: No problems. rock solid so far.

Cons: None.

Pros: Very fast and affordable with a good gb per dollar $

Cons: I had the drive less than two weeks and it died. I purchased the extended warranty because it was a referb but i had no idea it would die so fast. I hope my replacement last longer if not. I will never by a ocz referb again as they might have issues at the tech facility. well see i will update if i have more issues.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear desert fox,

I am sorry to read of your problems with the refurbished Vertex 3. If you have any issues at all with the replacement please visit our Support Forum and we will assist in getting the drive setup and working properly.

We are very sorry for the inconvenience!

Kind Regards,
OCZ Support

External Link(s):

OCZ Support Forum|

Pros: Are you kidding me? What is to not like about this? Went from an increase in speeds like this? I am a very serious lover of good hardware, and I am very satisfied by this. No bottlenecking on this laptops hard drive now.

Cons: Nothing yet.

Pros: * Sata III speeds.
* Low Cost
* Stable
* Thin
* Small Form Factor.
* Looks New

Cons: * Win 7-64 bit Pro would not recognize the drive when put in several external enclosures.

Other Thoughts: I purchased this 2.5" drive to hold the OS for a HP Proliant N54L server build. I am using an ICYDock dual drive bay instead of putting in an OD. As a consequence, I can't load the OS to the drive from a C.D..

I first tried to put the 2.5" SSD in a Vantec Nexstar 3 external enclosure attached with a USB 3.0 bus to an HP Elitebook 8460p running Windows 7-64 bit Pro. The laptop recognized the enclosure but would not acknowledge the drive. I manually went into device manager to find the drive and mount the most current drivers. The laptop still would not acknowledge the drive. I went into DOS to clear the drive as per other instructions. After many hours of work I could get the Laptop to indicate that the drive was there but I still could not get Win 7 to be able to read from, or write to that drive. I even went to the OCZ website and downloaded the latest firmware and drivers to no avail. Very Frustrating!

I finally gave up and mounted the SSD in the server box where it was immediately recognized. I set the bios to boot from a USB Port as primary then the SSD as the second boot priority. I put in a USB flash drive and the server booted up with the OS and the OS transferred to the SSD with no problems.

This SSD is very fast (given that it is connected to a sata II connection). It will install a full Windows 7-64 bit Pro OS and a full suite of programs in just a few seconds. The longest time it takes to start up the server is the time it takes to post.

The specs on this SSD indicate that it takes up to 3 watts which is 30% more than many other SSD's. The drive does get warm to the touch but not even very warm.

I did configure the bios and the OS to enable TRIM, disable defrag, and several other items suggested to maximize SSD life and performance (look at the Newegg education section for the complete list and procedures). Since I have not owned this drive very long, I cannot speak to the durability. Hopefully the lifespan will be as good as the performance so far.

For the price paid for this refurbished drive, it has great value.

Pros: Not a single issue in 1 year, so I bought another one to do a RAID 0. That runs really fast !!!!

Cons: None

Pros: FAST!

Cons: I didn't buy more of these!

Other Thoughts: I am used to 7200 RPM drives. I upgraded to this and it's odd not having to wait for the drive to catch up! This drive is click and go! I wish I bought more of these and switched to SSDs a long time ago!!! BTW, looked up the speeds at Tom's Hardware and this drive per speed/price is way up on the scale!

Pros: Drive was cheap, only $79.99. Read speed is okay at 440 MB/s.

Cons: Write speed is a lie. The stated speed is only achieved using a compression mechanism to fluff up stats. The actual speed as measured by Blackmagic Disk Speed Test on my 2011 MacBook Pro was only 160 MB/s not the stated 500 MB/s

Other Thoughts: Stick to drives from companies who state honest speeds such as Samsung.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Grandknight,

What you have observed is completely normal. Drives using the SandForce 22xx controller handle different types of data at different speeds. Maximum speeds are seen with benchmarks like ATTO Disk Benchmark, while different numbers are seen by AS SSD or Black Magic in OS X. OCZ is very transparent about this as this is a unique characteristic belonging to drives using this controller. We publish sample numbers in the official product sheet listing not only the maximum capabilities as measured in ATTO Disk Benchmark, but the alternate numbers resulting from a test like AS SSD. In this case, a 120GB Vertex 3 would see results of 500MB/s read 155MB/s write in AS SSD which is very similar to Black Magic.

If you have any questions feel free to visit our Support Forum and we will gladly discuss or assist you further!

Thank you for your purchase,
OCZ Support

External Link(s):

Product Sheet|

OCZ Support Forum|

Pros: NONE

Cons: EVERYTHING computer can't recognize it, Windows can't find it, OCZ technology gives you a phony driver download SPAM

Other Thoughts: computer can't recognize it, Windows can't find it, OCZ technology downloads SPAM, ( That DRIVER thing provided by Norton), which is SPAM, then claims you have all kinds of bad DRIVERS, and then tries to get your Credit Card information instead of providing any help,
DON"T BUY IT

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Anonymous,

Please contact either OCZ or your computer manufacturer immediately. OCZ does not provide a driver for use with the Vertex 3 nor is any special driver required. Nothing the Vertex 3 does will request credit card information - that is all software issues and most likely is being caused by Malware of some sort. This has nothing to do with the Vertex 3 and should be taken seriously.

We are happy to assist you with this - please contact us using the link below.

Kind Regards,
OCZ Support

External Link(s):

OCZ Support Page|

Pros: none

Cons: DOA Tried it in both my tower and laptop. Doesn't show up in bios or in windows. Tried different cables, My other 2 SSD work fine, I got a refurbished lemon!!!!!

Other Thoughts: The packaging looked brand new. Wish it would of worked!!!

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Uncle Buck,

If you haven't already contacted Newegg for a prompt replacement please do so. You may also contact us directly and we will make replacement arrangements. If you have any issues at all with the replacement please visit our Support Forum and we will assist in getting the drive setup and working properly.

We are very sorry for the inconvenience!

Kind Regards,
OCZ Support

External Link(s):

OCZ Support Page|

OCZ Support Forum|