The OCZ Vertex 3 Thread

Cosimo · 5 Apr 2011 at 14:31

Put your benchmarks, firmware and other bits and pieces in here.

The man from DPD delivered a small parcel today

:

Time permitting I will do a clean install and post some benchmarks tomorrow.

Cosimo · 7 Apr 2011 at 20:13

First run on an Asus Rampage III Extreme (Win 7 x64 i7 980X 4.2GHz) using the Marvell 6GBs controller:

Cosimo · 9 Apr 2011 at 09:38

Euphoria said:
Does anyone have the power consumption and heat of this drive when at load?

Cosimo · 10 Apr 2011 at 11:47

VortX said:
I've got the same set up as you, they look like pretty good results considering its the Marvell. What driver are you using? Is TRIM working? (Only some drivers seem to support TRIM with Marvell).

I think that they are fairly good for Marvell on an X58 board. I’m certainly not ditching a great system to get better results on Sandy Bridge. I’ve given up with the TRIM argument with Marvell drivers, some say they support TRIM and others not. The only drivers to have given consistent results on my RE3 with my previous SSD were the original Marvell 1.0.0.1034 and I am using these with the Vertex 3. I will experiment with a few others later in the week. What are you using?

Cosimo · 10 Apr 2011 at 17:48

Vlad Drac said:
Hi simulatorman

Did you try the newer 1.0.0.1036 drivers listed on the Asus site??

Not on this drive. I suspect that drivers won't help and that the Marvell controller bandwidth is being limited its implementation on this and other X58 boards. I will try it and possibly a SATA 3 controller card as well.

Cosimo · 11 Apr 2011 at 09:02

VortX said:
On another note, do these drives need/have a firmware update? Or do they come with the latest firmware?

They were shipped with the latest firmware, 2.02 (240GB).

Cosimo · 11 Apr 2011 at 19:38

VortX said:
Thanks for the link! However I would like to point out it's actually version 1.2.0.1002.

Here is a Google Translation from the website:

"After version 1.0.0.1051 WHQL version, here today version 1.2.0.1002 WHQL 88SE91xx Marvell chipsets (eg: 9128.9123), not Raid Raid XP/Vista/7 Windows 32 or 64bit.
No information about the improvements but he first saw an improvement in startup.
For information, TRIM and supported since version 1.0.0.1051."

At least we know it supports TRIM!

The 1051 drivers look good to me and I'm sticking with them.

Cosimo · 11 Apr 2011 at 21:52

HappyChimp said:
Installed Win7 and run a quick benchmark in ATTO, results look fairly respectable for a 120 (I think)

Lol respectable, they are excellent.

Cosimo · 14 Apr 2011 at 11:41

Matt_Hirst said:
Just looked at the Vertex 3 drive on the website and in the specifications it mentions Compatible with Windows 7, Vista, XP 32-bit/64-bit, Mac OSX but there is no mention of Linux.

Do these drives work with Linux or not?

Matt

I would have thought that they do. (OCZ have a Guide). Why not ask in here to confirm:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=116

Cosimo · 15 Apr 2011 at 09:51

Craig321 said:
Looks about right?

LOL It is right, nice one.

Cosimo · 17 Apr 2011 at 14:41

Craig321 said:
Is there any way to disable the Marvell controller if I'm not using it? So it doesn't post?

You should be able to do it in the bios. On the R3E its Advanced/Onboard Devices Config/ Marvell9xxx Controller then disable.

Cosimo · 23 Apr 2011 at 10:22

wolvers said:
Looking at the images online I think that could be with a Marvell controller. Are you able to access the card easily to check?

It's got a Marvel 9123 controller.

Cosimo · 24 Apr 2011 at 09:07

Vlad Drac said:
What is the latest firmware on the Vertex 3? Has there been an update yet or is the latest firmware still the one that comes on the drive.

They were shipped with the latest firmware, 2.02 (240GB).

Cosimo · 11 May 2011 at 17:13

I'm quite happy with the performance I'm getting from the V3 on my R3E board. Out of interest has anyone found a controller card which will give full Sata 3 performance on a X58 motherboard for the V3?

Cosimo · 15 May 2011 at 16:33

They are joking aren’t they, alternative windows drives or Linux boot sticks. Nothing like making it easy with a CD ISO to burn. Don’t have any problems so I’m not going to bother at the moment.

The firmware is here if you want to do it:

http://www.ocztechnology.com/ssd_to...ex_3_Max_IOPS,_Agility_3,_and_Solid_3_series/

Cosimo · 25 May 2011 at 09:30

Vlad Drac said:
Hi simulatorman.
Any chance you can drop me a link for those Marvell 1.0.0.1051 drivers.
Cheers

I got them from here:

http://www.techspot.com/drivers/driver/file/information/14787/

But I never got consistent benchmarks so I have gone back to the 1034 since then. Let us know how you get on.

Cosimo · 25 May 2011 at 14:09

Izi said:
Mine kept freezing. Does the firmware update help with this?

These are the release notes:

Issues resolved since version 2.02
Fixed a rare corner case issue where a STOP error may occur during Windows OS 7 installation on a small number of platforms using Intel’s P67 Sandy bridge chipset
Improved boot up time during typical operation
Improved the drive’s power consumption when it was in an idle mode

Probably not but you should have a look/ask on OCZ forums:

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...rtex2-Agility2-EX-Drives-REVO-and-HSDL-drives

The update thread is here:

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...ilable-using-toolbox-to-update-vertex3-drives

Cosimo · 25 May 2011 at 15:56

Although I wasn't going to go through the hassle of fiddling around with drives and making a windows boot disc to do the firmware upgrade I found this:

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...vertex3-drives&p=638016&viewfull=1#post638016

A ready to go Linux ISO toolbox.. A 137MB download and the ISO takes a minute to burn.

Boot with the CD and leave your PC with a network connection. Let the CD load and then reboot itself with the first option. The screen will give you some options including Secure Erase and Firmware Update. Select Firmware Update and job done in a few seconds. Reset your PC to boot from your Vertex drive and you are ready to resume business.

It really is quick and painless and I am now on firmware 2.06.

Note: You never know so backup any important data before you start.

Cosimo · 25 May 2011 at 16:40

beh* said:
Do you know if you can roll back? I assume once it is updated as aboce, you can reboot and then boot from a windows install disk.

Firmware updates aren't reversible. I should have added that when you are done just set your windows disk (Vertex 3) to be the bootable drive again in your bios and away you go.

Cosimo · 31 May 2011 at 08:41

Vlad Drac said:
How have gone around Uninstalling the Marvell 9128 Sata drivers in the past? Did you use the Device Manager or uninstall using the Control Panel > Uninstall Programs utility and then rebooting?
I think the 1.0.0.1051 drivers are causing Windows to freeze for a min or so every now and again.
Any chance you can let me now what you done?

Just an uninstall from control panel uninstall.