Vertex 3 firmware

[x_kzy_xd]

I've noticed general sluggishness with my computer for the past few weeks, and much of the snappiness that came when I first installed the Vertex 3 seems to be gone. And the effect has been dramatic - when I open 3-4 tabs at once in Chrome, those tabs don't load for 2-3 minutes (even if they load during that time, I can't scroll down on those pages).

I thought it was a TRIM problem in that I do not have TRIM enabled (OS X 10.6.8) but when I browsed this forum, I noticed that others users have been reporting problems as well - hardware problems even.

I'm not too much of an SSD expert, so can somebody describe to me what is wrong with the Vertex 3 in plain language? I gather it's some sort of design/fabrication problem that is being address by throttling the performance in firmware 2.09 - is this so? If so, is what am I experiencing congruent with what other users have been reporting?

1. Does 2.09 decrease performance by a lot? Are there benchmarks?
2. And does it fix the problems noted?
3. I am running 2.02. What issues do 2.06 and 2.08 address?

Many thanks for answering my questions!

 

[squick3n]

You should probably update to the newest firmware. 2.06 and 2.08 were minor fixes that didn't really solve anything. 2.09 does have a performance impact on some systems, but also solved most of the outstanding issues. I'd rather have a drive that is a bit slower but doesn't cause the system freeze.

 

[x_kzy_xd]

You should probably update to the newest firmware. 2.06 and 2.08 were minor fixes that didn't really solve anything. 2.09 does have a performance impact on some systems, but also solved most of the outstanding issues. I'd rather have a drive that is a bit slower but doesn't cause the system freeze.

really? I heard it was the other way around. 2.06 and 2.08 provided a lot of fixes and improvements while people aren't even supposed to go to 2.09 unless they have problems with 2.08 or 2.06.

What does 2.08 and 2.06 fix anyways?

 

[squick3n]

It seems things have changed since I last looked. I guess they pulled 2.09 unless absolutely neccesary. Back when I had the drives, neither 2.06 or 2.08 helped me. I never tried 2.09 before returning them.

Both 2.06 and 2.08 were basically shots in the dark by OCZ to fix all the issues people were having. They admitted on their forums they had no idea what was causing all the issues (BSOD, system freezes, drives not recognized).

They finally figured it out, and released 2.09. Some people still have problems, but it was the first fw release that actually helped a lot of people. It also throttled the speed of the drives. I guess that's why they pulled it

If you are having problems, I can't see a reason not to try and update your fw. Try 2.08 and hope it works. Then try 2.09 if that doesn't work. But for the best information on everything, you should try the official forums for your drive

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...-Agility3-Solid3-support-and-discussion-forum

Here's the official fw thread

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...lash-this-FW-if-you-have-issues-with-other-FW.

 

[=Wendy=]

If it is not broken, then don't try and fix it.
Are you haven't problems with the firmware already on the SSD?

 

[curlysir]

I've noticed general sluggishness with my computer for the past few weeks, and much of the snappiness that came when I first installed the Vertex 3 seems to be gone. And the effect has been dramatic - when I open 3-4 tabs at once in Chrome, those tabs don't load for 2-3 minutes (even if they load during that time, I can't scroll down on those pages).

I thought it was a TRIM problem in that I do not have TRIM enabled (OS X 10.6.8) but when I browsed this forum, I noticed that others users have been reporting problems as well - hardware problems even.

I'm not too much of an SSD expert, so can somebody describe to me what is wrong with the Vertex 3 in plain language? I gather it's some sort of design/fabrication problem that is being address by throttling the performance in firmware 2.09 - is this so? If so, is what am I experiencing congruent with what other users have been reporting?

1. Does 2.09 decrease performance by a lot? Are there benchmarks?
2. And does it fix the problems noted?
3. I am running 2.02. What issues do 2.06 and 2.08 address?

Many thanks for answering my questions!

1. For me 2.09 reduced my ATTO benchmarks by about 4%.

2. It (2.09) allowed me to use my Vertex 3 Max in my hot swap bays, whereas I could not before. System would hang at boot with previous firmware. I had to connect directly to the motherboard and bypass the hot swap bays. I will gladly give up a small amount of performance for stability and functionality.

3. I believe there is a list of what the firmware addressed somewhere on the OCZ forum.

From my experience with the Vertex 3. If you get a "good" one that works performance is great and will not give any of the reported problems. The first Vertex 3 Max I got was not right from the day I received it and gave me nothing but problems until it locked up and froze after 2 days and had to be returned. The replacement has worked flawlessly for almost 2 months. I set up both of them the same way in the same system, one worked and the other didn't. And good quality SATA cables are a must with the Vertex 3.

 

[x_kzy_xd]

If it is not broken, then don't try and fix it.
Are you haven't problems with the firmware already on the SSD?

Actually, I'm not sure if I have a problem. My system has been showing strange signs lately - as I'm writing this very post, the text lags behind my typing for some reason. Upgrading might help, but I also read that upgrading to these new firmwares also gave people new issues to deal with.

BTW, can I downgrade back to 2.02 if higher versions don't work?

 

[groberts101]

no you can't backflash beyond 2.08 firmware as the previous firmware versions are no longer available and the code is changed from 2.02.

The issues you have seem more related to OS, app, or file corruption and would likely have little to do with the firmware, bios, driver related issues that some are going on about.

2.09 has caused VERY few "new issues" with speed losses being the most commonly mentioned. Not very many see it though and a fresh secure erase followed by fresh install clears that up for even more that do see it.

If the machine is working decent enough?.. I would stick with 2.02 until anothe revision or 2 and maybe try a secure erase/reinstallation. Could also just try to cheat and do a secure erase and copy a saved backup back over to the SSD.. but if there is in fact some type of corruption involved?.. it would need to be an older "good known" image that did not exhibit the same issues as the current install.

Is why it pays to keep good backups since you can just reverse the clock a bit and refresh the drive if a problem crops up.

 

[x_kzy_xd]

no you can't backflash beyond 2.08 firmware as the previous firmware versions are no longer available and the code is changed from 2.02.

So I can downgrade from 2.08 or 2.06 to 2.02 if need be? I just can't downgrade from 2.09? So 2.09 is the point of no return?