Compatability for OCZ Vertex 3 SSD and Sager NP8150

Hello Clevo users,

I just purchased a Sager NP8150, the specifications are below. Are any of you aware of cases where the OCZ Vertex 3 SSD is having problems with this laptop? There seems to be a lot of noise regarding the compatibility of this HD and certain chipsets, lots of BSODs and freezing. If it requires me to jump through too many hoops to get working, I'll just opt for the Intel 510 SSD.

I'm still waiting for Sager to get their shipment of Radeon HD 6990Ms before they build my laptop, so it's not too late for me to switch to the Intel drive. Reliability is my greatest concern since I'm working in the Persian Gulf most of the time and I don't have a lot of time in the States to play with RMAs.

Thank you for your time.

Sager NP8150 - 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-2820QM, 2.3-3.4GHz - Radeon™ HD6990 2048MB - 16,384MB DDR3 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory - OCZ Vertex 3 240Gb SATA III - Intel® Ultimate-N 6300 - 802.11A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module

 

the Vertex 3s have been having reliability issues. You might want to look at the Crucial M4 SSD.

 

Lazard,

Thank you for your reply.

Based on your experience, why is the Crucial M4 more reliable than the OCZ Vertex 3? Pardon my ignorance, but doesn't Crucial place well below Intel 510 in many benchmark tests? If I'm looking to switch to the next slower but more reliable card, why would I consider Crucial?

 

I'd recommend Intel 510 if you want reliability, as that is the SSD I chose for my 8150 that I ordered a few days ago.

 

Thank for the input Swimmer1918.

Has anyone tried the OCZ Vertex 3 in the Clevo P150HM laptop? I'm still not convinced that the Intel is better. If there's anyone that has tried the Vertex 3 in this laptop configuration, I would like your opinion.

 

You can't go wrong with either Crucial M4 or the Intel 510. I recommended the M4 because its fairly cheaper than the 510. $277 for 120GB 510 vs $212 for 128GB M4.

 

Intel is 100% more reliable than the Vertex 3. You won't notice the speed difference unless you can tell the difference between nanoseconds =P Malibal and Xotic PC, along with OriginPC have all recommended Intel over the OCZ Vertex 3 for reliability. Speed isn't everything.

 

I own a 240gb Vertex 3 SSD and haven't had any issues with it what so ever. However I do not have a Clevo to test it with... hopefully sooner rather than later

 

There is a compatibility issue with most sandforce drives and the Clevo shells. We have / are working directly with Patriot on their Sandforce series (Wildfire and Pyro) and have special firmware on the drives that makes the better compatible with the Clevo line. We actually have a new firmware revision coming out soon for the drives that fixes one more very rare issue. We have also attempted to work with OCZ on this issue, however were met with no help. So that is why at this time thats the only sandforce powered SSD we have offered, as its unique in that it has the fixes needed to actually work.

 

So you're saying I couldn't use my brand new OCZ V3 SSD in a P150HM if I chose to do so?

 

I think you COULD, but it might not be the best idea.

 

You certainly could, and you could have no issues. But you would be a lucky one From our own testing we've found that there are issues, and so we've been working to fix those issues with the partners that we have. =)

I have an Agility 2 in a 1st gen core i Clevo (B5130) and it works 95% of the time, sometimes it freezes and I have to reboot. We wouldn't sell it, but if you can stand a little reboot every once in a while it might work fine.

 

I really wouldnt risk an OCZ in a Clevo. I tried initially with a Vertex 2 and it failed miserably. First attempt in ACHI the SSD constantly went "missing" in BIOS. Second attempt I installed in IDE mode (less than optimal) and that wen fine for a few hours until I got SSD "amnesia". In that I mean I would install a bunch of programs and dump a load of files on it...on a power cycle (shutdown) I'd boot back in to find that all the programs and files had disappeared and I'd returned to a random point in time with my system. So please, for the sake of saving yourself from pulling your hair out DO NOT go with any sandforce drive on the Clevos at the moment. OCZ have some serious reliability issues - just check their forums to see.

But saying what Ive said, I have two other Vertex 2s - one in a i5 2500K desktop and the other in my DV6T - 6100 and they work fine. My new Crucial C300 work fantastic in my Clevo too (tho I has some stuttering issues at first but it was a matter of disabling LPM in the registry).

And lastly, I have an Intel X25 M G1 for over three years. It's as good if not better than the day I got it. Intel is by far the most reliable by all accounts and you pay a little premium for it. You dont need the fastest speeds...all these SSDs are super fast, even my G1 is orders of magnitude faster than a HDD. Don't get sucked in by the hype - buy for reliability.

 

so anything that has a marvell controller is good, correct? are there any other good brands? in fact could some one post a list of ssds that work with clevos, without having to do wierd stuff.

 

I think Marvell drives also have some minor issues too, but not showstoppers like the Sandforce drives. I'm not 100% but I think in the Intel line of SSDs only the Intel 510s use Marvell controllers...the rest of the models use Intel's own.

So in order of riskiness: Sandforce -> Marvell -> Intel

 

Crucial M4 is Marvel, too.

 

Sorry I meant in the Intel line of SSDs, only the 510s use Marvell controllers

 

I used a 60GB Vertex2 for boot in my P150HM, and it disappeared in BIOS too (easily fixed by Ctrl-Alt-Del when it went to the next boot device); however, it got pretty annoying plus write performance was disappointing (197MB read, but only 60MB write). Too bad because I really liked my Vertex2 in my last laptop with R/W of 200MB/180MB.

I haven't seen the Intel 510 with a decent price, but I did find 2 other Marvell based SSD's on sale this week:
Plextor M2 128GB for $180 at Newegg
Corsair P3-128GB for $165 AR at Frys

I *just* rebuilt my P150HM (haven't even updated my SIG yet) with the Corsair P3-128 and ran CrystalDisk with R/W of 360MB/200MB, and BIOS hasn't missed detection of the drive yet so I'm pretty happy so far.

 

So any of you has actually tried to use a Vertex3 but you go as far as to say he will have problems (notice the lack of the word "might")

well maybe you are all wrong.


Firmware 2.11 is out and most users are without any freeze's or BSOD's and before that 2.09 did the same at the cost of some performance... how about so facts for information instead of previous SSD's examples... just saying...

Anyway that said i regret having a Vertex3 if issues do come up if i could go back in time i would have corrected some mistakes that led to being stuck with a Vertex3 and no laptop... but if you want to be sure buy Intel, if not i will get my Clevo P150HM this week and will try it out and can report back...

 

Comprehension fail on my part. Reading forums too late.

I think you're right, that only the 510 is marvel.

 

See, the problems with Sandforce drives and our Clevos arent BSODs or freezes. As you can see from two experiences thus far in this thread, it indicates BIOS dropping problems and my drive "amnesia" problem. We may be wrong but we're just sharing our experiences. Even a Clevo builder in this thread has said there are problems with Sandforce drives and has even gone as far as to try to work with OCZ on the issue but they are non responsive.

In the end, OCZ dont have the capabilities of an Intel, or even a Crucial, when it comes to testing their products across a almost unlimited spectrum of configurations. Intel has more resources than other SSD makers combined hence their drives are more reliable as there's more thorough testing. And as our chipsets in our Clevos are Intel, you best bet that Intel would make sure their drives work with their own products.

So in the end its up to you buddy - depends how much you want to gamble - but I wish you the best of luck with your Vertex 3. For me I wish I hadnt bought my Vertex 2 for my Clevo.

 

the BSOD i meant can be followed by the disappearance of the drive from the BIOS (which a CMOS clearence will help resolve).. that's the issue that you mean right?


again i wish i had bought a Crucial/Intel but i may not be anymore if this latest OCZ FW solves the problem.. i know and it's a fact that SandForce means trouble at the moment but it may work flawlessly for some.. i'll be testing monday if all goes according to plan on a Clevo P150HM so not a long wait to check the results..

 

When we say we've tested the OCZ drives, that includes the latest firmware which helps the problem for sure, but there are still some issues with it, specifically its more on the Clevo side of things with their implementation of the HM65/HM67 chipset. We've raised the issue with them and gotten no where with it, we've also raised it with OCZ who also didn't go anywhere with it, thats why we only (sandforce wise) recommend the Patriot drives that we have, as we actually have our hardware out there that they are testing and fixing the issues with them in their firmware. The sandforce issues can either be fixed on the BIOS side or the drive firmware side, our goal is just to fix it using the quickest way possible, and that means on the drive firmware side =)

Patriot also has the Pyro line of SSD's we'll be putting up soon which are more value oriented, like dirt cheap value oriented and still sandforce powered

For the rest of the SSD's, my personal recommendation is Intel all day long, they are bulletproof. As 99.9% of all issues with SSD's are not the controllers fault but the firmware on the controller. So while the Crucial M4, Corsair P3, and Intel 510 all use the same controller, I'll trust intel's firmware over all of that. The 320 series uses Intels own controller which is also pretty good (They did have one firmware issue which I think has been fixed).

 

Thank you everyone for your in depth replies, I appreciate you sharing your expertise and research into this issue. Based on what you've said, I will add the Intel 510 series SSD to my order. As I've mentioned before, I simply can't afford to spend too much time fixing problems with my SSD before I ship out

It's a real shame OCZ has these problems. Here's a company that undoubtedly has the fastest drive, but it doesn't have the resources to spend on extensive quality control. I trust they'll do better in the future, but for right now their forums just look like a minefield of damage control.

 

Just to add in that we also have had alot of problems with the OCZ drives and have withdrawn them from sale (was reported on here a while back).

We also attempted to resolve the matter with OCZ but received zero help and to this day I have a pile of OCZ drives I cant do anything with...

 

what issues have you guys experienced with FirmWare 2.11 on OCZ's 3 (SATA6GB/s) drives?

a guy from a hardware forum of my country said his Agility3 is running fine now with FW 2.09 on his clevo (which is a P150 or a P170,can't remember) just today... and he had problems before.



PS:we all know fw 2.09 has lower performance so i'll be trying 2.11 tonight if all goes well and if it's unstable i'll then downgrade to 2.09 to check. since it's better to have a stable slower drive than to crash randomly. meh a guy can hope..

 

You and me both Got a whole bunch of OCZ drives that I wish I could return for a credit, or at this point a sandwhich lol.

 

Ok, stay away from ocz ssd drives. Actually, i would recommend to stay away from any sandforce ssd. I have used 3!!! ocz drives with my p151hm1 lately (and 2 more a friend of mine, one agility 3 and one vertex 2) and all agility 3 drives went into panic lock, which means "dead", at least for the user, while the vertex 2 was a pain in the @ss with all these bsod and missing from bios situations. Stay away. It doesn't matter whether you use 2.09 or 2.11 firmware version, none of them will help you.

 

I will mail you a sandwich. Maybe someday they'll work out the issues.

You said Intel was bulletproof. What differences have you seen between the 510 and the Crucial M4?

 

its too bad that ocz drives dont work with clevo's, i was going to get the agility 3, but now that i see all of these issues i guess i will have to save a little more to get the intel 510, and by that time the next gen will probably be available.

 

We've had a couple of M4's do dumb things, also they have LPM (Power Management Issues) like the C300's did. But they are fast.

 

What kind of dumb things? That can be mitigted by disabling LPM in registry, though. Correct?

 

We had a couple die, and yea even with the new Firmware 002 you still have to do the LPM fix.

 

the Vertex3 is a funny oh so funny drive.. it let's me install windows 7 no problem. after the install windows reboots before i can install anything else and then i can't boot.... i get stuck at the windows logo forever.

the worst part is not knowing if i can get a refund since it's been almost 4 months since i bought it...

well if i can't the retailer is going to spend a lot on endless RMA since i can keep "killing" the drive xD

 

I am in the exact same position here! I bought my Vertex 3 ahead of time, assuming no complications would happen, we should really bring up a storm at the OCZ forum so they actually pay attention.

 

I dont know...if you check on their forums, noone seems to care. The first thing they get you to do is to fill out a bunch of stuff about your system specs. To be honest theyre just collecting data points to address the issues...fine. BUT they shouldve done this before releasing their drives. As I said, I have two functioning Vertex 2 drives, and for that Im grateful. But I will never buy OCZ again until their reputation gets better.

Look at it this way - if my Vertex 2 cant work with Clevos, and its been out for more than a year, what are the chances of you getting your Vertex 3s to work?

 

no need, they listen. PMed about it and they "woke up". PMed you the link..

well i "feel you" but i know someone who has an agility 3 working with no problems in a clevo so if he could do it, why can't we? xD

 

Well if you do get anywhere pls let us know. I cant be bothered to RMA unless something will be fixed, which at this point it's not happening. Cant refund, same as you.

 

of course.. i'm struggling atm as was expected but i'm really more bothered right now that some guy got it right i i'm not being able too (as a lot of other guys just like the 2 of you)

 

FINALY! IT'S ALIVE!

now let's hope no BSODs or Freeze's come my way... will benchmark later on..
WEI is looking good ^^

 

just ran ATTO and it went 556-521 !
Alright! when it works, it WORKS!

 

I sure wish I had known about this problem before I ordered my Solid3 a month or 2 ago. Oh well lets hope it works if not ill just buy an intel.

 

so far so good.. no issues at all but until a month has passed it could still be just lurking around... i saw some guys mad about BSOD's apearing 3 weeks after the update xD

that said i'm fairly confident that it's gona keep stable since i'm not the first to achieve this nirvana.. then again i was fairly confident too when i bought this and didn't return it when the laptop got delayed and look where that got me =x

 

well I got it all together and working and have gotten one random bsod which is enough for me to buy an intel drive.

edit: further testing has revealed an error generating stick of ram. Problems solved so far after removing it seems.

 

Hey just bought a brand new NP8150 and bought a 120GB Vertex 3 with it.

Just want to add that I managed to install windows 7 x64 pro with absolutely no problems (or having to load extra drivers) and have not had a single BSOD at all yet (only been a few days though).

I upgraded the firmware to 2.11 on a different computer before even putting it into the sager to make sure it was latest and hasn't given me problems yet. It's been running at full SATA 3 rated speeds too (ATTO benchmark).

Just for reference my bios is 1.01.011bLS1
KBC/EC firmware is 1.00.11SA2

Thanks this machine is great!

 

Prices for the Agility 3 in my local computer shop are ridiculously low... 128GB for $160 CAD. It's very very tempting (my first custom-built computer back in ~2001 had a 200GB 7200RPM Maxtor that went for $200, so I am a sucker for buying new storage at $1/GB), but I keep reading these horror stories, and I believe SSDs are sold as-is. sum18223, your post does put me from "never OCZ" to "on the fence" once again.

 

I did alot of reading before I bought the vertex 3 and found that for some people, the latest fw 2.11 solved their issues.

I also found that it was noted that after updating users should clear their CMOS because some parameters from the old fw's were still kept. That is why I upgraded it outside the system before installing it and it seemed to work well. Who knows I could just be a lucky one.

Best of luck to anyone trying. I will post back after about a month whether it is still running stable. There is hope for these drives after all it seems which is good as they perform quite nicely (I love it when the computer boots before the 4 orbs fully turn into the windows logo in windows 7).

 

when it works, it works brilliantly. Unfortunately, not everyone is as lucky as you are.

 

I'm JEALOUS. I passed on the Vertex3 for a Corsair Performance Series 3.

The Corsair P3 has been flawless for the past month of ownership if anyone asks.

 

Hi everyone,
I'm considering on buying OCZ Agility 3 240Gb, for P150HM but the issues reported are making me think more than twice
Does anyone tried the latest update (2.15):

AnandTech - SandForce Identifies Firmware Bug Causing BSOD Issue, Fix Available Today

Did It fix any issues with P150HM?

Thank you,
Best Regards to All