* Do not buy: OCz Vertex 2 and Agility 2 - Beware!

[I.M.O.G.]

Thanks for your comments. A few related (and unrelated) thoughts:
First, most organization have some very good people (cool folks) in them. And that will certainly be true of OCZ.

Second, it is a little beyond "poor judgment" nearer to dishonest as far as the product they delivered versus their advertised specs. I guess the FTC could get involved if someone bothered to fill a complaint but I doubt it.

Third, if they had stepped up to the plate from day one to address the problem as Intel and the mobo makers for the Sandybridge quickly did, while there might have been some grumbling most would have worked through the issues. However that hasn't been the case, instead OCZ has retreated to their current position -- the one they should have taken to start with.

I agree for the most part. I guess I discount published specs universally and haven't thought much about that, but you are right there that it can be misleading. From the specification tab here:

50-240GB Max Performance
Max Read: up to 285MB/s
Max Write: up to 275MB/s
Sustained Write: up to 250MB/s
Random Write 4KB (Aligned): 50,000 IOPS

The "up to" stats don't have any semblance of accuracy in regards to the actual performance for this revision - and putting it under the same previously STRONG product line doesn't help.

Then again, stuff like that is the reason sites like ours have flourished. It takes a lot of insight and sifting to separate the marketing from the exact performance numbers.

 

[Mr Alpha]

Maybe I should point this out again... It is NOT the NAND size (24nm vs 34nm) that makes the difference here. It is the amount of IC's used. It is possible that other companies made 8 IC SSD's and these would be experiencing the same decrease in performance. SSD's with SandForce SF1200 controllers have a max 16 memory lanes and only SSD's with 16 IC's will have the max performance.

No, the SandForce only has 8 channels, even when using 16 ICs. IF they were fancy enough in their toggling between chips on the same lane the drop on performance can still be attributed to the loss of ICs.

 

[deeppow]

I agree for the most part. I guess I discount published specs universally and haven't thought much about that, but you are right there that it can be misleading. From the specification tab here:



The "up to" stats don't have any semblance of accuracy in regards to the actual performance for this revision - and putting it under the same previously STRONG product line doesn't help.

Then again, stuff like that is the reason sites like ours have flourished. It takes a lot of insight and sifting to separate the marketing from the exact performance numbers.

I agree fully with your comment about specs. I don't figure I'll EVER see them for any product in real life.

Also as you point out, selling them as the same product creates the problem. Renaming them Vertex2b or Agility2b might have defused the whole problem. Just changing the part number as they did doesn't help most of us realize a change has occurred. Goodness knows I never pay attention to the part number.

 

[DSM4Life]

I have an older vertex2 drive. Are these defective to ?

 

[Janus67]

I have an older vertex2 drive. Are these defective to ?

highly doubtful unless you purchased it in the last few months.

 

[DSM4Life]

highly doubtful unless you purchased it in the last few months.

Nope its been longer than that. Thanks

 

[Marshmallow64]

I wouldn't call it defective, its just a change in the manufacturing process and hardware they are using now that causes the drive to have decreased performance compared to it's older brother.

 

[Xaotic]

I have an older vertex2 drive. Are these defective to ?

Just to clarify, the new drives are not defective, unless DOA or infant mortality. Other questions abound, but different yes, defective no.

 

[DSM4Life]

I wouldn't call it defective, its just a change in the manufacturing process and hardware they are using now that causes the drive to have decreased performance compared to it's older brother.

K. I did some googlin but couldn't find what was wrong with them.

 

[Dooms101]

No, the SandForce only has 8 channels, even when using 16 ICs. IF they were fancy enough in their toggling between chips on the same lane the drop on performance can still be attributed to the loss of ICs.

I think I got the number 16 for the channels from a OCZ admin posting something. Do you have any links about the exact specs of the SF1200 controller? I can't find anywhere that says or even hints at it only having 8. Then again I am no SSD expert.

 

[kayson]

Well it seems like after a royal f*** up, they're doing a decent job of handling it now.

 

[Marshmallow64]

I agree, plus I am sure the new generation of drives they have coming soon will perform very well.

 

[ratbuddy]

Well it seems like after a royal f*** up, they're doing a decent job of handling it now.

Just standard damage control, I think they finally realized arrogance wasn't working.

 

[kayson]

Just standard damage control, I think they finally realized arrogance wasn't working.

Yeah, but OCZ has a pretty damn good track record as far as CS goes. Particularly with getting to know the enthusiast community. I was really surprised when they took the arrogant route as this developed.

 

[87dtna]

Regardless of how they handle this situation, I will not buy OCZ again. They were caught with their pants down, and thats the only reason they are kissing *** now.

 

[Rotary]

This is what im getting on my OCZ Agility 2, i dont think this is slow do you?

 

[kayson]

Regardless of how they handle this situation, I will not buy OCZ again. They were caught with their pants down, and thats the only reason they are kissing *** now.

I really don't understand this mentality. If they have a good product, I'm still going to buy it. History shows that they have great CS most of the time, and if something like this happens again (it won't), I know I'll get a full refund at worst.

 

[Nycatt]

WHICH ONE?

I'm looking to purchase a SSD in the next few days. I'm looking at the OCZ Vertex 2 200GB or the Corsair 256GB.......Any suggestions

 

[Marshmallow64]

^ If you looking at 200 gigs or higher I suggest the Crucial C300.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148363

But out of those two, I would still stick with the OCZ Vertex 2.

 

[87dtna]

I really don't understand this mentality. If they have a good product, I'm still going to buy it. History shows that they have great CS most of the time, and if something like this happens again (it won't), I know I'll get a full refund at worst.

If you got no problem with false advertising than good for you. I really don't understand THAT mentality.
I don't buy anything from any company that replaces a known good product with an inferior product and doesn't say anything.