Opinions on Vertex 4 SSDs?

VirtualRain · Nov 22, 2012, 05:18 PM

Contrary to my own recommendations in recent months, I'm considering a couple of OCZ Vertex 4 SSDs. Newegg has the 256GB drives on for a great deal right now.

Anyone else here using these? Any experiences good, bad or ugly?

From what I've read they have an innovative performance mode that uses the dual cell MLC NAND like single cell SLC NAND until the drive gets to 50% and then it utilizes some garbage collection to try and maintain this in increasingly smaller 50% chunks until the drive is full. Seems like a nice idea.

I'm wondering about failure rates in particular, but I suspect the population here is probably too small to gauge that accurately.

Any opinions or experiences are welcome!

All Taken · Nov 22, 2012, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VirtualRain

Contrary to my own recommendations in recent months, I'm considering a couple of OCZ Vertex 4 SSDs. Newegg has the 256GB drives on for a great deal right now.

Anyone else here using these? Any experiences good, bad or ugly?

From what I've read they have an innovative performance mode that uses the dual cell MLC NAND like single cell SLC NAND until the drive gets to 50% and then it utilizes some garbage collection to try and maintain this in increasingly smaller 50% chunks until the drive is full. Seems like a nice idea.

I'm wondering about failure rates in particular, but I suspect the population here is probably too small to gauge that accurately.

Any opinions or experiences are welcome!

If you're thinking of using these for your 2720SGL I'd instead get agility 3's (not 4) Crucial M4 or Samsung 830.

The Vertex 4 write and read are slower than the above.

beto2k7 · Nov 22, 2012, 07:33 PM

I have two 128GB. Three words: fast, reliable.... fast? haha. I've had no problems with them.

radiohed · Nov 22, 2012, 08:37 PM

I saw the same deal today and plan to order one of these for my mini. They have a five year warranty and the price is great so it's a good time to upgrade the mini to SSD.

VirtualRain · Nov 22, 2012, 10:11 PM

Thanks, glad I'm not the only one here going this route

BTW, I found an even better deal on Amazon.com but they won't ship to Canada (if you live in the US, that's probably your best bet). Amazon.ca was more expensive than Newegg... so I went with Newegg.

As far as performance, they appear consistently near the top of the chart with the latest drives and in some respects blow away my existing M4 on Sequential Writes which should speed up RAW/TIFF conversion for photo processing.

Reliability and support is my only real concern given OCZ's reputation but I'm hoping most of that was due to the widespread use of SandForce controllers in their last gen drives. Since these ones use Marvell (Same as Crucial M4) I'm hopeful the reliability will be just as good.

Loa · Nov 23, 2012, 06:50 AM

Hello,

I got a 512gb vertex 4: no issues whatsoever.

As for kworking with RAW files, I compared my old Intel G2 with this vertex when saving big files in PS (always in ps format though, not TIFF). Basically, if you're using huge files in 8bit, it's worth the investment. But if you're using files in 16bits, then the CPU is the bottleneck, and using a faster drive didn't help.

Loa

xav8tor · 07:43 PM

Vertex 4's are FAST, esp. writes. I run them hard and no problems at all. My older Vertex 2 has worked well for two years without a hitch. I'd buy four more V4's if I could afford them right now. Read the reviews on reputable websites. The Vertex 4 is a great value. Is there something better? Maybe, but you'll pay more for not much more, if any, performance/reliability.

slater-k · Nov 24, 2012, 06:08 AM

Hi Guys,

I've just bought one, and i was a bit apprehensive when i saw posts saying that the update was difficult / impossible on a mac ... however, i've just updated the firmware, and it was very straight forward by following the instructions here: http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/fo...ox-Mac-Edition

So don't let that put you off if you're thinking of buying one!

cheers

VirtualRain · Nov 24, 2012, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slater-k

Hi Guys,

I've just bought one, and i was a bit apprehensive when i saw posts saying that the update was difficult / impossible on a mac ... however, i've just updated the firmware, and it was very straight forward by following the instructions here: http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/fo...ox-Mac-Edition

So don't let that put you off if you're thinking of buying one!

cheers

I'm surprised you would have to update the firmware on a recently purchased drive... The latest 1.5 firmware has been out for months. I would have expected shipping drives to already be running this version.

When/where did you purchase? What version was on it?

slater-k · Nov 24, 2012, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VirtualRain

I'm surprised you would have to update the firmware on a recently purchased drive... The latest 1.5 firmware has been out for months. I would have expected shipping drives to already be running this version.

When/where did you purchase? What version was on it?

Just now. From dabs.com which is a uk company, and it was 1.3.something as I remember ... I would have used scan or amazon but they were out of stock ... hmmm!

VirtualRain · Nov 24, 2012, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slater-k

Just now. From dabs.com which is a uk company, and it was 1.3.something as I remember ... I would have used scan or amazon but they were out of stock ... hmmm!

I guess it was just in their inventory for awhile. Anyway thanks for the firmware update instructions. I'm hoping I don't need them, but good to have anyway.

slater-k · Nov 24, 2012, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VirtualRain

I guess it was just in their inventory for awhile. Anyway thanks for the firmware update instructions. I'm hoping I don't need them, but good to have anyway.

Pleasure, and as long as you've gt the USB stick, it's all quite quick.

Nov 22, 2012, 05:18 PM	#1
VirtualRain macrumors 68040 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Vancouver, BC	Opinions on Vertex 4 SSDs? Contrary to my own recommendations in recent months, I'm considering a couple of OCZ Vertex 4 SSDs. Newegg has the 256GB drives on for a great deal right now. Anyone else here using these? Any experiences good, bad or ugly? From what I've read they have an innovative performance mode that uses the dual cell MLC NAND like single cell SLC NAND until the drive gets to 50% and then it utilizes some garbage collection to try and maintain this in increasingly smaller 50% chunks until the drive is full. Seems like a nice idea. I'm wondering about failure rates in particular, but I suspect the population here is probably too small to gauge that accurately. Any opinions or experiences are welcome! __________________ tools: Mac Pro for creating, MBA for working, iPad for surfing, iPhone for communicating, Apple TV for entertaining Canon tools: 5D Mark III 24-105L/70-300L/35L/85L for capturing
	0

Nov 22, 2012, 07:33 PM	#3
beto2k7 macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: ::1	I have two 128GB. Three words: fast, reliable.... fast? haha. I've had no problems with them. __________________ 2010 Mac Pro \| 2 x 2.40 GHz\| 24Gb RAM \| 3x2TB RAID0 \| GTX 570 \| 27" ALCD \| iPad 2 16Gb wifi+3G \| iPhone 4S 32Gb Unlocked \|
	0

Nov 22, 2012, 08:37 PM	#4
radiohed macrumors regular Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Portland, ME	I saw the same deal today and plan to order one of these for my mini. They have a five year warranty and the price is great so it's a good time to upgrade the mini to SSD. __________________ Mini Server 2.66 running ML Client, 8gb, 756gb Fusion Drive, 23" IPS HD Display Time Capsule iPod Shuffle iPod 6G nano iPad Retina 16 4g
	0

Nov 22, 2012, 10:11 PM	#5
VirtualRain Thread Starter macrumors 68040 Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Vancouver, BC	Thanks, glad I'm not the only one here going this route BTW, I found an even better deal on Amazon.com but they won't ship to Canada (if you live in the US, that's probably your best bet). Amazon.ca was more expensive than Newegg... so I went with Newegg. As far as performance, they appear consistently near the top of the chart with the latest drives and in some respects blow away my existing M4 on Sequential Writes which should speed up RAW/TIFF conversion for photo processing. Reliability and support is my only real concern given OCZ's reputation but I'm hoping most of that was due to the widespread use of SandForce controllers in their last gen drives. Since these ones use Marvell (Same as Crucial M4) I'm hopeful the reliability will be just as good. __________________ tools: Mac Pro for creating, MBA for working, iPad for surfing, iPhone for communicating, Apple TV for entertaining Canon tools: 5D Mark III 24-105L/70-300L/35L/85L for capturing
	0

Nov 23, 2012, 06:27 PM	#7
xav8tor macrumors 6502 Join Date: Mar 2011	Vertex 4's are FAST, esp. writes. I run them hard and no problems at all. My older Vertex 2 has worked well for two years without a hitch. I'd buy four more V4's if I could afford them right now. Read the reviews on reputable websites. The Vertex 4 is a great value. Is there something better? Maybe, but you'll pay more for not much more, if any, performance/reliability. Last edited by xav8tor; Nov 23, 2012 at 07:43 PM.
	0

Nov 23, 2012, 06:50 AM	#6
Loa macrumors 65816 Join Date: May 2003 Location: Québec	Hello, I got a 512gb vertex 4: no issues whatsoever. As for kworking with RAW files, I compared my old Intel G2 with this vertex when saving big files in PS (always in ps format though, not TIFF). Basically, if you're using huge files in 8bit, it's worth the investment. But if you're using files in 16bits, then the CPU is the bottleneck, and using a faster drive didn't help. Loa
	0

Nov 24, 2012, 06:08 AM	#8
slater-k macrumors regular Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: London	Hi Guys, I've just bought one, and i was a bit apprehensive when i saw posts saying that the update was difficult / impossible on a mac ... however, i've just updated the firmware, and it was very straight forward by following the instructions here: http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/fo...ox-Mac-Edition So don't let that put you off if you're thinking of buying one! cheers
	0

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