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Do people prefer intel 320 over the vertex 3?

Which SSD do you prefer?

  • Intel 320 SSD

    Votes: 21 51.2%

  • Vertex 3 SSD

    Votes: 19 46.3%

  • Other - please explain

    Votes: 1 2.4%
  • Total voters
    41
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
Original poster
May 3, 2009
74,862
45,210
I see a lot of posts here (and the macpro forum) about the vertex 3 and given the faster benchmarks. I'm wonder if any folks here prefer the intel 320.

personally, I'm leaning towards the intel model because of the stability. Seeing some people complain about controller type stuff on the vertex 3 (nothing major AFAIK) keeps me from pulling the trigger.
 
I got a 320...

I think that the speed difference wouldn't be that big... I mean, I don't really care if my SSD starts apps in 1.5 seconds instead of 1 second (just an example) :D


oh yeah, and I also didn't need 120gb of storage, 80gb is more than enough for Mac OS + Apps and Windows 7 on bootcamp ;)
 
You can get sucked into benchmark-itus. Just look at what AnandTech did with its reviews and you see a clear difference in benchmarks, but yeah I know what you mean. In real world work what is the difference.
 
TRIM works just fine on my Intel... but since the Sandforce controller of the Vertex 3 has built-in Garbage Collection, you don't really need TRIM that much
 
I put a Intel 320 in my mac mini. Mostly because it was available at bestbuy the day my mini's old HD decided to crap out.

Overall i've been extremely happy with the intel SSD. I'd buy another one.
 
I just installed a Vertex 3 and it's blazing fast; unsurprisingly, it gets my vote.

Your poll is a bit odd: Do you like "slower" better than "faster"?

People seem to have issues with all available drives. YMMV.
 
JasonH42 said:
Your poll is a bit odd: Do you like "slower" better than "faster"?
Click to expand...
I don't see why its odd. Performance is but one metric to decide which drive to purchase. As others stated, there seems to be issues with the vertex controller and TRIM. I've not really heard of any issues with the intel 320.

I'm curious to know why some folks opted for the intel over the vertex because the vertex can be faster. How much faster in real world performance is my other question. 1.5 seconds vs. 2.0 seconds to open a word document, etc.
 
I've actually been contemplating this issue myself. I want to upgrade my standard 320Gb 5400rpm drive to an ssd but I absolutely need the drive to be stable/bulletproof. I am writing my dissertation on this computer, so it CANNOT fail. One side of my brain is saying go for stability (Intel 320) and the other side of my brain is saying go for speed (OCZ Vertex 3). I go back and forth every day on which to get. Newegg seems to have upped the price on the 160Gb Intel 320 overnight from $299 to $419 so that might help make my decision for me (I have been deciding between the 160Gb Intel 320 vs. the 120Gb OCZ Vertex 3).
 
There is no bullet proof drive, my suggestion is to save your document in a dropbox folder so it syncs with any other computer of yours and is stored on the dropbox servers.

Save often, backup often and use dropbox. Your data will be safe then.
 
Don't trust OCZ any longer, and I do trust the Intel product. Not having a crash when I'm away from home is more important than some extra performance I probably won't notice.

I also don't want to futz with the Sandforce routine for firmware upgrades.
 
maflynn said:
I don't see why its odd. Performance is but one metric to decide which drive to purchase. As others stated, there seems to be issues with the vertex controller and TRIM. I've not really heard of any issues with the intel 320.

I'm curious to know why some folks opted for the intel over the vertex because the vertex can be faster. How much faster in real world performance is my other question. 1.5 seconds vs. 2.0 seconds to open a word document, etc.
Click to expand...

Well don't use TRIM then. It has built-in garbage collection? My C300 didn't have TRIM, used it for over a year and filled it and had no issues at all.

Everything is faster. One can only decide for oneself whether the price premium is worthwhile.
 
maflynn said:
There is no bullet proof drive, my suggestion is to save your document in a dropbox folder so it syncs with any other computer of yours and is stored on the dropbox servers.

Save often, backup often and use dropbox. Your data will be safe then.
Click to expand...

True, but we're playing the odds here. Also, it's not just about data loss. It's also about being set back to a position of needing to restore functionality at a critical time.

I know there's always a chance, but I really don't want to carry an extra internal hard drive.. or have to plan to work from an external drive if I'm on a business trip.
 
How can you even COMPARE?

Vertex 3 has 500+ Read/Write, 320 has barely over 200 for read.

Both are reliable, same price range per size, ect.
 
Dwalls90 said:
How can you even COMPARE?
Click to expand...

Intel has a more proven track record than OCZ and has generally accepted lower AFR (average failure rate): http://www.hardware.fr/articles/810-6/taux-pannes-composants.html

OCZ Vertex 3 has proven issues (beachballing) with the TRIM hack - just take a look round these forums!

Intel 320 is cheaper than Vertex 3 in most places (at least in europe).

---

While the Vertex 3 is faster, it's debatable whether it's the "best".
 
C-DAWG said:
I've actually been contemplating this issue myself. I want to upgrade my standard 320Gb 5400rpm drive to an ssd but I absolutely need the drive to be stable/bulletproof. I am writing my dissertation on this computer, so it CANNOT fail. One side of my brain is saying go for stability (Intel 320) and the other side of my brain is saying go for speed (OCZ Vertex 3). I go back and forth every day on which to get. Newegg seems to have upped the price on the 160Gb Intel 320 overnight from $299 to $419 so that might help make my decision for me (I have been deciding between the 160Gb Intel 320 vs. the 120Gb OCZ Vertex 3).
Click to expand...

Here's a saying I've seen around here before. There are two kinds of people in the world, those who've experienced data loss, and those who will.

If you've got highly important data on your computer, then you should probably have a backup solution ready. It can be something as expensive as a Time Capsule or as cheap as a flash drive. Whatever you do, do something. You may end up regretting it later if you don't.
 
Tough poll because 99% will only have used one. So can only give opinion not comparison.

That said, having used intel I'd lean towards them. I never used OCZ, but I've read a lot about OCZ SSds failing after a short period, company being shady, beachball, etc.. Could very well be false, or isolated.

With intel I heard quality, not as fast, great CS. At the end of the day, after all factors I went with availability which was intel.
 
Well, I have both drives coming to try out in my Macbook Pro 2011 17". If I can get the Vertex to work reliably, I will probably go with it, but I don't have high hopes. As most of you probably know, just about everybody who has tried to install a SATA 3 SSD in this laptop has had nothing but trouble. I have a 128GB Crucial C300 that I just couldn't get to work. I even swapped out the cable like some have done, and I did finally manage to install OS X on it, but it kept freezing up on me. I'm going to try to get the Vertex to work, but will probably end up going with the Intel 320 since I know that will work.

I'm a speed freak and I want my 6GB/s :D
 
JasonH42 said:
Your poll is a bit odd: Do you like "slower" better than "faster"?
Click to expand...
As I stated performance is but one metric, but it seems that the people choosing a "slower" drive is nearly the same for those that opted for the vertex 3.

I'm not slamming or against the vertex 3, in fact I'm on the fence on which one to buy but given the threads here, the price and the track record. I'm leaning towards the intel.
 
maflynn said:
As I stated performance is but one metric, but it seems that the people choosing a "slower" drive is nearly the same for those that opted for the vertex 3.

I'm not slamming or against the vertex 3, in fact I'm on the fence on which one to buy but given the threads here, the price and the track record. I'm leaning towards the intel.
Click to expand...

Don't forget that Intel have switched to the Marvell controller used by Crucial and that the C300 gets endlessly kicked on these forums, mostly by people who haven't owned one though. My C300 was fine. :)
 
Is this a joke?

Intel lost their crown the moment the SF-1200 controllers were out.

Yes, the X25-M G1 & G2 were kings of their time, but the 320 isn't even royalty at this point.

The Vertex 3 is the king of SSD performance. It performs in some cases nearly three times faster.
 
phpmaven said:
Well, I have both drives coming to try out in my Macbook Pro 2011 17". If I can get the Vertex to work reliably, I will probably go with it, but I don't have high hopes. As most of you probably know, just about everybody who has tried to install a SATA 3 SSD in this laptop has had nothing but trouble. I have a 128GB Crucial C300 that I just couldn't get to work. I even swapped out the cable like some have done, and I did finally manage to install OS X on it, but it kept freezing up on me. I'm going to try to get the Vertex to work, but will probably end up going with the Intel 320 since I know that will work.

I'm a speed freak and I want my 6GB/s :D
Click to expand...

Just to follow up, I installed the Vertex 3 and it's working great! It absolutely screams and I haven't had any issues yet. I did replace the drive cable when I was trying to get my Crucial C300 to work, so I don't know if that made a difference. Now I'm trying to decide if I want to get the 240GB version and return this one.
 
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