Has anyone actually got OCZ SSD hard drive to work?

[Mud]

I just don't think SSD overall is at a stage yet where its really a good idea to use it as a boot disk tbh - they work well for RAID if you need to work with large files, etc. and good for places where you need low power useage or shock proofing... but as a general replacement for a HDD I think your jumping too early.

Devil's advocate, but I've been happily on a MLC Samsung 32GB (PATA) SSD as an OS disk since shortly after they came out...I think it's just the OCZ fare is rubbish thus far. At the time the SATA SSDs were just PATA with a bodged interface conversion, so PATA seemed like the way to go.

 

[Mattus]

Sometimes you have to cut a customer lose as you will never win...this is one of those cases.

We are working on solutions for 64bit OS's, at this time we have a good solution for 32bit OS's and a ton of tweaks that actually do work if you spend time applying them.

So to finish here, we offered George a refund as he was unwilling to work with us, his post on our forum reflected his general attitude. It was not worth arguing with him when his mind was made up regarding the product.

If you go to our forum you will see many now have good experiences with our mid level drives. if you are willing to take time tweaking the OS a little you would see there is performance to be gained.

Just jumping in here... coming from someone whose views represent those of a major hardware company, I find this post unacceptable. The onus should not be on the customer to spend valuable time applying tweaks to a product which should work out of the box. No indication is given in the product description that the product needs to be 'tweaked' in order to get acceptable performance, and thus expecting the customer to do so having purchased the product in good faith is unreasonable. Your focus should be on ensuring that George is satisfied, not disparaging him through reference to your legions of happy customers.

I suggest that it is not George's attitude which is unhelpful here. Indeed, the first line of my quote lays bare that your focus is on saving yourself some effort rather than providing a good level of service to a customer who has put his faith in your product. I, for one, own several OCZ products but will now think twice about purchasing any more.

 

[Buttkicker]

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[Dee-27]

I feel i should address some of the comments made in this thread.

Firstly, these problems are not unique to OCZ MLC based SSD drives. Most of the MLC based SSD drives in this price range use the exact same configuration of Jmicron controller and Samsung MLC NANDflash memory.
As far as i have seen, only OCZ have given solutions to fix these problems, all be it workarounds. From my experience, OCZ competitors are actually guiding their customers to OCZ's support forum to find solutions, instead of coming up with solutions themselves.

Some other important points i would like to raise.

1, When one plans to make such an expensive purchase as buying an SSD, should they not do some research first?

2, When a company the size of Microsoft comes out with a statement that says. "Windows 7 will be more SSD friendly" does that not tell you something?

To answer the original poster.
I have two of these Core V2 SSD drives in RAID 0, they work fantastic (as you seen in the link that jbloggs provided). You need not get such an extravagant RAID card as the one i purchased if you only intend to use one of these SSD drives. A PCIE x1 hardware RAID card with onboard cache should be fine. Or apply the fixes on OCZ support forum should in most parts fix any problems you have, had you wanted to run the SSD from your onboard controller.

It saddens me that people are all to quick to start pointing the finger, at OCUK in the first place and now OCZ.

.

 

[Mattus]

Firstly, these problems are not unique to OCZ MLC based SSD drives. Most of the MLC based SSD drives in this price range use the exact same configuration of Jmicron controller and Samsung MLC NANDflash memory.

My complaint was not about the OCZ product, but rather about the poor attitude shown by Tony as a representative of OCZ.

As far as i have seen, only OCZ have given solutions to fix these problems, all be it workarounds. From my experience, OCZ competitors are actually guiding their customers to OCZ's support forum to find solutions, instead of coming up with solutions themselves.

That doesn't excuse the unwarranted criticism of somebody who should be a valued customer. Businesses who make a habit of having a go at their customers probably won't get many repeat buyers! Have you ever heard the expression 'the customer is always right'?

 

[Tute]

My complaint was not about the OCZ product, but rather about the poor attitude shown by Tony as a representative of OCZ.

I don't see the problem if it's true.

That doesn't excuse the unwarranted criticism of somebody who should be a valued customer. Businesses who make a habit of having a go at their customers probably won't get many repeat buyers!

If it was me i'd be a bit irritated at someone who bought the drive, and then when it doesn't work, won't even attempt to try some of the things that the "free" tech support suggest.

Not everything works first time. There are plenty of people who run these drives without fault.

Have you ever heard the expression 'the customer is always right'?

It's just something that the companies tell ignorant customers to make them feel like they're in control. I'm yet to come across a situation where it's true.

 

[Mattus]

If it was me i'd be a bit irritated at someone who bought the drive, and then when it doesn't work, won't even attempt to try some of the things that the "free" tech support suggest.

You might well be a bit irritated. But coming on a public forum representing your company and bitching about your customers just isn't cricket.

It's just something that the companies tell ignorant customers to make them feel like they're in control. I'm yet to come across a situation where it's true.

I'm not really sure you understand what the saying means. The entire point is that you treat your customers with respect, however ignorant they appear to be.

 

[JackRegan]

Is the drive fit for purpose? Does it do what it is advertised to do?

If to satisfy the the above you need work arounds and tweaks from the manufacturer I would say not, unless there you are advised of this prior within the description.

Vista 64 today is hardly new OS, I would think more of OCZ if they stopped blaming others and took responsibility.


Jack

 

[1kiwi]

1, When one plans to make such an expensive purchase as buying an SSD, should they not do some research first?

2, When a company the size of Microsoft comes out with a statement that says. "Windows 7 will be more SSD friendly" does that not tell you something?

Hi Dee, i always do my research when purchasing anything electronic but i think when you buy something like an SSD, Graphics Card or Monitor there should be very little configuration needed to ensure that the device works to the standards promosed within the advertising material that perhaps "sucked you in" in the first place. The fact that Micorosoft or many of the onboard controllers that reside within many common motheboards have issues with this technology is irrlevant - the products should not be sold as Vista/XP/JMicron ready in the first place.

I can approcate that there are simple methods to ensure that this technology works very well on any setup but this is far from clear at the POS.

I'm not really sure you understand what the saying means. The entire point is that you treat your customers with respect, however ignorant they appear to be.

Yep, if you start screwing your customers over, they will eventually screw you over. Creative is a perfect example of that.

 

[Tute]

You might well be a bit irritated. But coming on a public forum representing your company and bitching about your customers just isn't cricket.

He's not even really "*****ing" - he's just saying that he's giving the customer a refund as he refused to work with them.

If what he said was untrue, then fair enough. But if it is, then I think he's entitled to say that. Has anyone bothered to look at the forum post for example? Or is it just "on the bandwagon we go!"?

I'm not really sure you understand what the saying means. The entire point is that you treat your customers with respect, however ignorant they appear to be.

That's just not true. What if a customer was to swing for you? Would you just let them smash you in the face because they "must be right"?

It's a saying put there to make customers feel like they have power over the shop. It's not meant to be taken at face value, and if any company is to function, it can't be.

 

[^JP^]

To answer the thread title, Yes mine work great.
Have not followed any guide or advice to get them working.

Just plug them in, setup raid and good to go.



Only thing I have disabled is defrag scheduler and on boot up.

No 3rd party software or anything and on Vista 64.

If they die in a year I will buy the new Intel SLC drives as the price will be fine by then.

These are V1 drives that I bought in August to replace my 4x Raptor X 150s.
These are a lot faster...

 

[gsport george]

I feel i should address some of the comments made in this thread.

Firstly, these problems are not unique to OCZ MLC based SSD drives. Most of the MLC based SSD drives in this price range use the exact same configuration of Jmicron controller and Samsung MLC NANDflash memory.
As far as i have seen, only OCZ have given solutions to fix these problems, all be it workarounds. From my experience, OCZ competitors are actually guiding their customers to OCZ's support forum to find solutions, instead of coming up with solutions themselves.

Some other important points i would like to raise.

1, When one plans to make such an expensive purchase as buying an SSD, should they not do some research first?

2, When a company the size of Microsoft comes out with a statement that says. "Windows 7 will be more SSD friendly" does that not tell you something?

To answer the original poster.
I have two of these Core V2 SSD drives in RAID 0, they work fantastic (as you seen in the link that jbloggs provided). You need not get such an extravagant RAID card as the one i purchased if you only intend to use one of these SSD drives. A PCIE x1 hardware RAID card with onboard cache should be fine. Or apply the fixes on OCZ support forum should in most parts fix any problems you have, had you wanted to run the SSD from your onboard controller.

It saddens me that people are all to quick to start pointing the finger, at OCUK in the first place and now OCZ.

.

In my defence:-

1. I did do research, and found SOME evidence that the drive had some issues, but the vast majority refered to the V1 drive. Since I was looking at the V2 drive, I assumed that the revision would have fixed this issue. But to to be SAFE, I phoned Overclockers, told them what drive and MB I planned to use and asked if there would be any problems. I got a simple "no" as a response, thinking this a very short answer I asked if the problems had been fixed or if there never really had been any problems and was told that there never really were problems.... SO I thought, fair enough, I trust Overclockers, I am sure it will be plug and play like any other drive....


2. I am CLEARLY actively seeking help, as I was in the first thread on OCZs forums, but for some reason the questions I ask, like if a certain RAID card will fix my issue, get ignored and a sht storm ensues. As far as I can make out, using a PCIE card will slow down my 16x graphics card to 8x... is that correct?

3. I DID try a lot of the tweaks on the OCZ board and only after they had failed (or I had skipped them because they were not compatible with my OS) did I ask for more help. I also DID begin the process of writing a detailed break down of my new machine and trying to document the slow downs, but I was told by PM to return the drive within minutes of being asked for this data... And the thread was closed...

4. I obviously LIKE the drive. I WANT to get it working, because being silent and low power is very attractive and IF the stalls could be prevented I would be happy, IF I could further get the actual hope for speed increase over a spinning disc I would be ecstatic.

 

[Spyhop]

Sorry for the Hijack - but Slacksworth, how many posts have you got !!!!!

2^31 + 467

 

[Aurhinius]

Can I just say as a user of the OCZ forum in the past the guys over there make HUGE effort to talk to customers to help resolve their issues and do take everything people say seriously.

I have had nothing but help from them whenever I have asked for it and they are very quick to offer an RMA or whatever when one is requested.

Sorry but I call that GOOD customer service. Tony came on here and gave you his opinion now you all want to burn him at the stake. Get a grip people.

It takes super human patience and understanding to do any kind of tech support. I know because I work in tech support as I am sure many others do here. Answering pages of forum posts with bitching and moaning is a drain on anyone. You can usually tell who are the people that want help, genuine help and those that just want to moan and really are after a refund. Tony probably made a judgement call in this respect which may not have been the right one. I don't know because I am not directly involved.

Yes in some respects there is an argument that these products should not be on sale if they do not work properly. The problem here does not lie with OCZ does it? It relies with a crappy jmicron controller. To blame? Jmicron. Lets remember though that these devices are working well in many peoples computers. Not all people will be effected by these issues and when they are OCZ are offering a refund, RMA or tech support to get it up and running.

That is a hell of a lot more than you get from some other companies.

I think it is time we start respecting these people for the good service they offer and being constructive with any criticism. If you want to just bitch, go else where.

If you are wondering why Tony hasn't said any more? I wouldn't post here again if I was him simply because there is some that have already decided to burn him as a heretic regardless of what he says simply by your reactions to his original post.

My 2 pence.

 

[Mattus]

Ask yourself this. If you were the MD of OCZ, would you be happy about the impression that is given of your company when someone representing the company comes on a public forum criticising the attitude of your customers, and talking about 'cutting customers loose' because you'll 'never win'?

If you think that's the way to keep customers, I hope you never run a company!

 

[Tute]

Ask yourself this. If you were the MD of OCZ, would you be happy about the impression that is given of your company when someone representing the company comes on a public forum criticising the attitude of your customers, and talking about 'cutting customers loose' because you'll 'never win'?

If you think that's the way to keep customers, I hope you never run a company!

Do you think the MD wants to keep a customer who won't accept help when it's offered to him, and instead bashes the company and swears a lot?

 

[ocztony]

We offered him a refund based on his attitude to the help we offered, I did not say his attitude was bad, i said it was obvious to me what we were offering was not helping. I have to judge each case as they come along...George was furious about the product he had bought...we tried to offer some help which he clearly explained was not doing the trick for him so i moved to get him happy.

I can only help customers so far...if its not working why should i prolong the agony for the customer? i see no point.

I don't want to mess people around here..the UK is bad enough for customer service already..hence i moved to get George happy and put the funds in his hands to buy another drive.

I hope this clears up this situation...George was offered a refund based on his situation. I am still confident however that with some simple OS tweaks I could have had his SSD working fine...

 

[ocztony]

This is Georges last post on our forum that lead me to instruct support to offer a refund.

THanks for the reply, I do appreciate the time taken to respond.

However, (if you are really saying that the ENORMOUS stutters of several tens of SECONDS that I am seeing are "normal") this information SHOULD be provided BEFORE customers spend money and more importantly TIME setting up this POS.

I have tried MANY of the "tweaks" suggested. Used the registry "tweak" to turn off pre-fetch (which I really wasnt happy doing), turned off caching, then on again to enable advanced performance, then back off again. And spent many hours looking at other possible "fixes" with no success either because they are incompatible with my OS or seem too risky.

WHat I dont understand is why there isnt ONE definintive "tweak" that would bring the delays down to more modest one or two second stutters.

I feel absolutely let down by this product AND the product support. IF this device is really so ******* hopeless (with the existing OS's) then it OUGHT to be made clear UP FRONT.

Now his attitude here is one of a very ****** off customer...i closed the thread..had Support PM him and offer him his money back.

I did not do any wrong here, he shouts at me several times here..im just glad this was not over the phone etc.

You guys can not see this post as we are cleaning up the forum...

 

[Ol!ver]

Ooook, I'm going to regret posting this as people seem convinced I'm making it up, but here goes:


I've read a few horror stories about the OCZ SSD, particularly the Core series. However, a bit of research said they work well with MacBooks and considering that was what I was wanting to stick the drive in I gave it a go.

The outcome is here: http://www.the-iblog.com/2008/11/11/who-needs-to-spend-500-on-an-ssd/

Basically, it works like a charm. I know the drive's got a bit of a bad reputation, but if you look around it seems to very from SATA chipset to SATA chipset. The MacBooks use an Intel solution, and it obviously plays nice. Are the people having problems running Nvida, or a different Intel chipset?

The other possibility is OSX. Does Vista handle writing to disk differently? I honestly don't know, which is why I'm asking.

What I DO know though, is that the SSD does work, but has some considerable compatibility problems with certain hardware. Fancy that, hardware that doesn't like other hardware. That's never happened before has it ! Oh, wait......

 

[gsport george]

I am sorry if capitalising the odd word came out as shouting, I guess that is the general way it is considered.

However, I was using it more to emphasise My frustration mainly stems from continually asking questions and not getting answers, such as will a controller card fix things...


Now. If we are all relaxed and happy again.


1. Given that I am running Windows XP X64 (the capitalisations are Microsofts not mine I am not shouting)... would Tony be so kind as to tell me if he has had any success using the 32 bit patch on this OS?

2. Will a hardware controller card (with some decent cache) fix the problem? If so will it be at the expense of the speed of my 16x graphics card?

3. If neither of the above options is likely to help me, will I be able to "copy" the SSD disc to a conventional drive and boot from that or will I need to reinstall everything?


If anyone can help with this I will be most grateful, see the ???? things, those indicate the question parts.



As to the more controversial aspect of the issue. I still believe, that IF the drives now being sold suffer from the same likely (shall we say) "limitations" then it would be beneficial to everyone concerned (manufacturer, re-seller, and customer) to make this clear up-front. Surely?


Many thanks in advance for any help with the questions.