OCZ Vertex 3 SSD

[Filliam H. Muffman]

I wonder what Apple did to the SATA port for the optical drive. Sandy Bridge is supposed to have two native SATA III ports, and the other SATA ports are the ones that were affected by the Intel chipset recall. If Apple is really using a SATA II port, it may fail at a later date.

[john dough]

Do you know why it would fail? I see that others have said that as well but with no explanation of why. In the past, Apple has put in tweaked hardware that no one else has, and this may be the case with this model.

As long as it lasts at least 3 years (I have Apple Care), I am not too concerned. If Apple truly has a architecture flaw on its hands, I would imagine that it gets resolved, even out of warranty (like other issues in the past).

[space-time]

I have not read a lot on this topic, but I think that I read(about a month ago?) that those SATA buses on Sandybridge controllers could fail in about 1-2 years. I assume that was the case when using a hard drive (lots of read-write). Maybe Apple expects that the Optical drive is not used that much, and the SATA bus should last much longer?

Still, if there were 2 good SATA III buses, why didn't Apple use both of them?

[Jimmypoo]

Apple didn't use the first generation Sandy Bridge - that was my understanding. The 2/24/11 release
was already in the midst of the recall, and since we didn't hear about it, chances are Gen 1 never made
it soldered to the boards.

[sekker]

bazookaman wrote:
does anyone make an optical/hd replacement thing for my old MacBook 2,1?

Check out the OptiBay - that's what I used for this 2007 MBP.

http://store.mcetech.com/Merchant2/merch...creen=CTGY&Category_Code=STORHDOPTIBAY

Oh, and keep in mind that not all SSDs are the same. For example, OWC SSDs have 7% capacity reserved for performance optimization and long-term reliability. Not sure about the OCZ lineup, but they have a good reputation right now in the field.

[john dough]

I very, very much doubt that Apple would knowingly put out anything that would have a high probability of failure within 2 years of purchase. I think that some are jumping to conclusions.

Years ago, I spoke with a hardware engineer and he said that not only what you read online is often not close to reality, but that companies would rather not ship than to ship first and repair later (even though you may think that shipping trumps all). It is very costly, in more ways than one, for companies to repair something that can be avoided.

I have read that Apple pushed back this model to address the issue of failing Sandy Bridge hardware. I am not concerned as most of this is guessing at this point. If the bus fails, I will take my computer to Apple and get it resolved.

[OWC Larry]

I don't pretend to like OCZ - I disagree strongly with a lot of the crap they pull out there and seem to get away with... we're calling them on something though that I thought was even below them. - the use of SPECTEK parts (these are parts that are not to spec) in their VERTEX 2 (the current shipping Sandforce based product) SSD models. It's no wonder they are so cheap out there - that is cheap flash that is recommended for low level applications like toys - not for data storage.

we will be blogging about this at blog.macsales.com tomorrow or Thursday complete with full photos.

It was said that they 'are brave to use Spectek' in an SSD drive.. well be brave or a risk taker to intentionally put your data on such a well IMHO.

There are various uses for Spectek where such appears... but using Micron Flash modules that Micron flagged as bad/not-spec in a storage device - let alone what is arguable OCZ's top end (currently) model vs. the lower end Agility line, etc (which is another story...) - I honestly found it shocking.

Vertex 3 pre-orders. LOL and good luck. We try to avoid this kind of game.. and further, unlike OCZ and most others - we also publish as a true specification our utilization of only the best, top tier branded flash in our drives. No OEM blank and absolutely no spectek. If we EVER were to introduce a lower end/lower cost product to use such - we'd be clear about it. That Spectek could be 'lurking' inside OCZ brand SSDs and without any knowledge of those trusting their date thereon - it's unbelievable that they'd do such. Really good for their bottom line.... not so much for reliability and stability, imho, of data placed in trust on.

[Lew Zealand]

Some other OCZ strategeries:

OCZ Vertex 2 25nm NAND review @storagereview

[sekker]

Hey, Larry. I have a clearly defective RunCore SSD drive - want to take it apart and look for Spectek parts? It is certainly a candidate for using subpar components (was a very, very flaky SSD).

[OWC Larry]

I don't have familiarity with the RunCore SSD noted. FWIW, the Sandforce processor is uniquely able to deal the use of subpar flash as it has the over provisioning control. Now - this, to my understanding, isn't there/designed for the benefit of using sub-par flash - but would enable such since it will real-time map around areas that may be bad or fail (in this case I'd say prematurely) with such flash. In my opinion and understanding, the use of sub-par flash - which may offer the ability to short term reduce cost (substantially), it bodes very poorly for the longer term reliability and general lifespan - and not something I'd blindly stick my data on if I knew.

For the record - OWC specifically publishes in our advertised specifications the utilization of only top tier, true spec/major brand flash components in our SSD drives. Given what being seen, I'd be darn wary of any brand that doesn't publish the same.

I don't think RunCore has Sandforce processors in their product... and if the SSD is acting flaky, might just be a defective unit? Or was this after a period of use.... in which case that is more likely to do with the general lack of block management and degradation that happens where TRIM control is required/but not present on a drive. It might be possible to 'recondition' that RunCore SSD and get back some normality.

sekker wrote:
Hey, Larry. I have a clearly defective RunCore SSD drive - want to take it apart and look for Spectek parts? It is certainly a candidate for using subpar components (was a very, very flaky SSD).