SSD problems with SandForce controller

[Phone Man]

It seems that OCZ and others are having problems with the new SandForce 2000 controller for their SSD's.

Tech Insidr

OCZ Vertex bashes users with Blue Screen of Death • The Register

Jim

 

[essenbe]

A Ferrari with training wheels.:roflmao:

 

[Kipper]

I had problems with two 6GB/s SSDs from OWC with the new SF controller myself. Had to RMA them both and picked up a new Crucial M4 SSD and it is working sweet.

 

[pooch]

Thanks for this Jim, it seems that waiting before buying new products is becoming the norm I am very happy with my vertex 2's tho

 

[Hopalong X]

Glad I went with my Intel 320 a few weeks ago!

 

[essenbe]

Well, I have both a Vertex2 and a X25 M. They are both good drives. The vertex has the older controller. I can't tell you why but it just seems to me that the Intel is faster. Others who have both, like WHS, prefer the vertex. I guess it just means they are both very good and it comes down to personal preference. But, I have read some pretty bad reviews about the new OCZ 2000 controllers.

 

[GeneO]

Glad I went with my Intel 320 a few weeks ago!

Ditto here on my Crucial M4. I considered the OCZ and Sandforce but saw these issues and steered away! The way it is playing out, the firmware fix for the bad firmware slows the performance down pretty close to the M4.

Two lessons to be carried away I think:

1. Never upgrade firmware unless you have a problem that you know it addresses. You cannot revert to an earlier version. Of course this doesn't help those that bought the OCZ drives with the problematic firmware. This has always been a principle for me.

2. Before making a buying decision, visit the forums of the vendor you are considering. For instance, the Corsair forums would tell you they had a hardware recall on their 120GB F3 and the OCZ forum would have revealed the firmware mess on their 3 series SSD and will reveal the quality of support of each vendor (and you should assume some will re-arrange or delete postings that are detrimental to their sales).