OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SATA III VS Intel 510 120GB SATA III for the M17x R3

I am looking at getting a SSD for my M17x R3. I am undecided if I should go for the Intel 510 120GB SATA III or the OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SATA III. Looking at the speeds it looks like OCZ might be the way to go, however I want a SSD that is reliable and I have heard good things about the Intel 510.

OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SATA III

Sequential Access - Read up to 550 MB/s
Sequential Access - Write up to 500 MB/s
MTBF 2,000,000 hours

Intel 510 120GB SATA III

Sequential Access - Read Up to 450 MB/s (SATA 6Gb/s); 265 MB/s (SATA 3Gb/s)
Sequential Access - Write Up to 210 MB/s (SATA 6Gb/s); 200 MB/s (SATA 3Gb/s)
MTBF 1,200,000 hours

I would appreciate your thoughts and comments on these two options. I will be using the SSD for Windows 7, games and other programs. I will have an additional 750GB HDD for my multimedia files.

Edit: Here are links to newegg for both SSDs if you need more information. Thank you.

Intel 510 120GB SATA III

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...167042&cm_re=ssd_120gb-_-20-167-042-_-Product


OCZ Vertex 3 120GB SATA III

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227706

 

I studied both of these drives as well as a few other SATA III SSDs for my R3. I eventually decided on the OCZ Vertex 3. My primary deciding factor was the improved performance over all of the others including the Intel 510 series. I have a 240GB on pre-order with Amazon, it will likely arrive around the same time as my R3 does.

I also picked up a Seagate Momentus XT 500GB as a secondary data storage drive.

I know that the Intel drives are supposed to have a higher reliability rate, but when reviewing the forums of users for all of the drives, they all had issues with sudden death.

The Crucial C300 was another excellent contender.

 

Thanks for your comment. It will definitely help when I make my decision. I would appreciate if I could get more opinions before I make my final choice. Thanks for the help.

 

Holy crap!!! they have a 400gb model for $1800 bucks.....wow the price of SSD really needs to come down.

 

You won`t notice any difference between those two drives. I would order the Intel 510 because of OCZ history and because of Intel`s excellent reputation with SSDs

 

Haha ya. I think a 120GB at around $300 Canadian is the most I am willing to pay at this time. It is a new technology and early adopters always pay a premium.

 

If you thought that one was expensive check this one out

Newegg.ca - OCZ Z-Drive R2 P88 OCZSSDPX-ZD2P882T PCI-E 2 TB PCI Express MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

2TB Storage
Sequential Access - Read up to 1.4GB/s
Sequential Access - Write up to 1.4GB/s
$8,199.99 Canadian

 

If I was infinitely rich, I'd have 3 of those in raid 0 in a desktop

 

I wouldn't.

In benchmarks Intel's SSD came out to be the slowest in all except ONE test.

 

Who cares about benchmarks anyway? Real world tests show that there are minimal difference between all of the new generation SSDs, M4/Vertex3/510.
Even though Intel 510 is much slower in sequential read/write and random 4K, it beats Vertex 3 in some tests
Crucial m4 256GB SSD (C400) Review - Introduction

 

I agree with you I am not interested in benchmarking only real world results. I would only benchmark to make sure it is running properly.

 

This pretty much sums up Vertex 3 vs Intel 510.


I will give you a hint why Intel beats Vertex 3 in some tests:


You may also want to read this review to get a closer look:
Crucial's m4 solid-state drive - The Tech Report - Page 1

And to add more fuel to the fire. This is the CrystalDiskMark of what the 240 GB Vertex 3 got:


These are the speeds OCZ say on the official specifications:
Max Read: up to 550MB/s
Max Write: up to 520MB/s
You can see that Vertex do reach 425 MB/s with Write on the first picture in this post, but how does that even matter when it falls down like a brick to 250MB/s most of the time?!

Here is what Intel 510 250 GB got with CrystalDiskMark:


These are the speeds Intel say on the official specifications:
Max Read: up to 500 MB/s
Max Write: up to 315 MB/s

Now you tell me which one of those two drives who are steady and can WITHOLD these speeds? Which one of them actually perform what the specifications say? And look at the first picture in this post. Intel 510 can WITHOLD the speed and it is very close to what Intel say it should have.

So to all you who are reading this post. Please don`t ever say that Vertex 3 is the fastest drive again. It may be the SSD who can REACH the highest speed but that is an entirely different story. Truth is that Vertex and Intel switch positions with 1st and 2nd place with different tests. Vertex 3 is faster with 4K and 512K files, but like the HardwareHeaven review i posted earlier in this thread said, the differences in real world tests between Crucial M4, Intel 510 and Vertex 3 is so small that it does not matter which one you buy. In my opinion i would pick the SSD from the brand you know that is the most reliable, with good reputation and whom you feel most safe about. Or price if money is an issue. Cheers

 

thanks for the great info, now all that said, what would be your personal preference to buy if it was you making the purchase, which company would you feel safest with?

 

Intel.

Reasons?

- OCZ with it`s previous NAND scam. Selling 25nm NANDs as 32nm NANDs. Meaning less capacity for the same price as 32nm and shorter life expectansy. Read about it here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/solid-state-drives-ssds-flash-storage/555242-ocz-shipping-25nm-ssds-customers-not-happy-over-lack-change.html
It should be noted that they have admitted it and that it should never happen again according to Anandtech.

- OCZ Vertex 2 have a lot of unhappy owners. Drives suddenly dying, BSODs etc. 20% of Newegg customers who have bought the Vertex 2 gave it 1/5.
That is a lot. 55% gave it 5/5. Newegg.com - OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Intel have shown that its SSDs are very reliable and with little issues. Intel X25-M G2 SSD have 3% 1/5 in newegg. Intel`s own data show the same. You have to look really hard to find any unhappy G2 owners.
Newegg.com - Intel X25-M SSDSA2MH120G2K5 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
It is fair to say that i really don`t know how good Intel 510 will be in comparison to G2 though. G2 have Intel controller, while 510 have a Marvel controller. However it is Intel who make the firmware for the 510. So who knows. 510 is brand new and have not been in the market so long. Right now it has 10% 1/5 in newegg and 72% 5/5. 3 people have voted it 1/5. 2 of those people are the same XXXXX saying it won`t work with Macbook. So the ratings are better than 10% http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167042
Crucial C300 which also use a Marvel controller have 3% 1/5 in newegg. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148348&cm_re=crucial_c300-_-20-148-348-_-Product So the Intel 510 with a Marvel controller should be much safer choice than Vertex 3.

- Intel drives have the same speed as specifications say. OCZ Vertex 3 do not like mentioned. Neither did Vertex 2.

They cost just about the same too. This is my personal opinion.

 

Nice. I think that was very good reasoning and a good choice
How is it working for you? Any problems with it? It stands between 510 and M4 for me when i buy the R3 next month. 510 is probably my choice

 

yeah im about to cancel my pre-order on my vertex 3 and just have a 510 intel 250gb shipped to me lol

 

Thank you Cloudfire for taking the time to inform us about the two different SSDs. You have helped me make my decision and I will be going with the Intel 510 120GB SSD.

 

After reading the techreport review it looks as though Vertex 3 > Intel 510. Most of the results show that the Vertex 3 has equivalent or slightly better speeds. According to the "real life" tests they have, Vertex 3 is generally better. The chart you have in your post shows that the Write speeds are sporadic but, averaged with the slightly lower sustained write speeds, it is probably equivalent to the 510.

 

I'm not sure how you did test your Vertex, but here you'll find totally different results for Vertex 3. You can see write speed goes to 480MB/s, and not 298MB/s as your test shows.
OCZ OCZ Vertex 3 240GB SATA 3 SSD Review – Initial Benchmarks | The SSD Review

 

It wasn`t my test. It is the results every single reviewer got from the Vertex 3. They tested it with 0x00 which is something we users will never experience. If you read the next page of the same review where they tested it with random data, you will see the same result as what i posted. Random data is what is happening in all scenarios in everyday use.

 

Fanboys are coming out! Btw I'm not a fanboy of either OCZ or Intel, just don't like the bashing.

Intel is like a mac, you pay a lot to make sure it works and won't break on you.

OCZ is like windows, potentially fantastic speed, but possible disaster at every turn.

Yes benchmarks are generally completely useless IMO. Anybody who bases their choice off of it is a moron. Real world test is everything, because how else do we use our drives? The vertex 3 does generally beat the 510, in nearly all tests, real world or not. The vertex 3 isn't living up to advertised speeds, but this is nothing new from OCZ (sad though). It still beats out the 510 in those comparisons, or looses slightly. However, as noted, the difference is usually negligible in the end.

I do stand by the fact that the vertex 3 is the fastest, because it is not just the sequential read/write or 4k random read/write you have to take in account, but the whole package that translates to real world performance. Intel is pretty weak in random 4k read/write, whereas OCZ is not. If someone from NBR got both drives, and used them equally, that would be the best way to determine, but I'm sure that lacking in one department will affect real world performance.

Reliability is a big factor. I wouldn't call newegg the most reliable source for this test, but it is a good start. Intel does have realiable firmware, even if they are using a marvel controller. OCZ history is a complete kaboosh when it comes to that, you either sink or float.

In the end, choose what you personally think is right and stick with it. Intel probably would be the best choice for you, as it is not much slower than the vertex 3, and the reliability is something that you seem to place a premium on.

 

Might want to fix your sentence, "Yes benchmarks are completely useless". Sorry about being a grammar nazi, but that and the next sentence confused me haha.

Back on topic, I agree you with to an extent. I find that people shouldn't base their entire purchase on benchmarks, but it is a useful comparison tool.

 

People still argue about that? Vertex 3 MAX IOPS slaughter intel 510
Intel was able to compete with Vertex 3 but nothing can compete with the max iops edition yet.

 

And they're about the same price, the 240 gig vertex being cheaper even.

 

Fixed, thanks for catching my error. I sounded real stupid before that.

I'm not downing benchmarks completely, I just feel there is a place for them. However, we should place a premium on real world performance, and that is difficult to siphon from the benchmark results.

 

Benchmarks when related to performance on hard drive/ solid state drive actually show real world performance. No matter what it WILL be fast, but based on the benchmarks and speeds showing in the Vertex 3, it will be that much faster.

 

I was going to give you rep just for this comparison but then...

I DO base my choice on benchmarks because how else can I choose and based on what? Maybe based on so called "Reviews" of buyers who usually write smth like that: "Ohhh it's FAST!" "Ohh, it's FLYING!" "Ohhh My MS Word opens in a second!" And every previous sentence was about different SSDs.

I do need to know 4K random speeds to know how fast it is going to boot Windows and other.

On the other hand I agree with almost all you wrote after that.

 

i'll keep my M4. nice balance between speed and price

 

I initially had an OCZ Vertex 3 120GB in my M17x R3 but switched now to the Intel 510 120GB for stability reasons.

Even though I had updated the Vertex 3 to the latest firmware 2.11 prior to installing Win 7 the Vertex 3 would still cause a complete system crash (BSOD) from time to time.

While the Vertex 3 might be somewhat faster in some situations I first and foremost needed a stable and reliable system.

You may want to google "OCZ Vertex 3 BSOD" to find out that this is a pretty common problem with the Vertex 3 which ist not yet solved with firmware 2.11.

 

Crucial M4. Stable AND Fast. And cheap.

 

Patriot Wildfire is the best SSD you can buy for the money right now...OR Vertex 3 MAX IOPS edition...both of these don't suffer from the same issues the other sandforce drives do.

 

I second the M4. Great performance and reliability on par with the Intels. But cheaper.

 

90$ on Newegg now http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441
With no rebate

 

Some people say things like stay away from SandForce and OCZ but apparently (correct me if I'm wrong) the newer super quick SandForce drives: the Max IOPs and the Patriot Wildfire use 32nm toshiba flash instead of the 25nm ones. Despite older tech with the newer SnadForce controller, this does increase stability. I have heard far less complaints from the users with the Max IOPs compared with ones with the Vertex 3 and virtually none from users with the Patriot Wildfire. The perform on par with each other according to reviews.

I do however also think that the M4 is a great SSD, despite lower sequential speeds, the M4 performs better a random so better for real life performance.

 

Am I missing something here? I asked Dell if the R3 had a SATA 3 interface for the HDD and their reply was 'No. They use SATA 2.' The reason I was asking was I was interested in upgrading from the R2 but decided not to until they upgrade the HDD interface.

If my information is correct then fitting a SATA 3 HDD will not give you the benefit you think. Or is my information incorrect?

 

The HDD Dell uses is SATA2, the ports however are SATA3.

 

I think I will wait until the HDD interface is upgraded to SATA3.

 

There is no point. HDDs won't be fast enough to even reach the Sata3 speeds. The only way you can get Sata3 6GBPs speeds is to use a current gen SSD. The ports on the M17x R3 are Sata3.

 

I apologise for confusing the issue but intention is to fit a SATA3 SSD, not a conventional platter drive . But I will wait before I replace my computer until the internal interface is SATA3. That way I won't have to carry an external drive with me. Don't you think it a bit odd that the R3 can use an external drive (SATA3) that is faster than the built-in drives, which are only SATA2.

 

Oh right but still you are mistaken. The ports in the M17x R3 are SATA3 not SATA2. Recently there have been a few issues with port 0 not staying at SATA3 but port 1 is solid at SATA3 speeds. Check the benchmarks. Great for 6Gbps SSDs.

 

I am not sure what I am mistaken about. By ports I assume you are talking about the USB ports which means you are still talking about an external USB drive. I am talking about drives C and D where my operating system and most of my files will be installed. These are still operating using SATA2. Aren't they?

 

By ports we mean the ports where you install the HDD/SSD.

Those ports are SATA3.

 

I queried Dell last week and was told that the internal drive interface is SATA2 not SATA3. That was the question in my original post in this thread. So they are SATA3 and the Del rep didn't know what he was talking about?

 

Brabostaan I just reread your original reply to my post. Okay so the Dell rep is confused as well as me Thanks.

 

Sorry but if DELL reps understand English or tech language the same as you then I am not surprised you all are confused.

I don't know anything specific about M17x R3 but I guess I heard that they do have SATA rev. 3 ports inside. However you may put inside even SATAI HDD because they are like USB. You can put any USB drive in any USB port and they will work