OCZ Technology Announces the Agility 3 and Solid 3 SATA III Solid State Drives

[btarunr]

OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today unveiled the Agility 3 and Solid 3 SATA III SSD product lines. The Agility 3 and Solid 3 are designed to cater to speed-seeking enthusiasts in search of the best value for performance. Using the latest technology, these new series deliver nearly double the performance of the previous generation and offer a more cost-effective alternative to current SATA 6Gbps SSDs on the market.

“With increased availability of SATA III platforms, the demand for the latest generation SSDs has grown rapidly,” said Ryan Petersen, CEO of OCZ technology Group. “We are addressing this demand with new products that offer both the best performance and value for consumers. The new Agility 3 and Solid 3 SSDs make it easier than ever for consumers take advantage of the new SATA III interface. When coupled with the speed and reliability benefits that our SSDs offer over traditional hard drives, it makes the two new series the ideal choices for mobile and desktop applications.”



Agility 3 and Solid 3 SSDs feature the leading-edge SandForce SF-2200 SSD processor and help improve the overall computing experience compared to traditional mechanical hard drives and SATA II SSDs. The Agility 3 delivers up to 525MB/s reads, 500MB/s writes, and up to 60,000 4KB random write IOPS while the value-oriented Solid 3 features 500MB/s reads, 450MB/s writes, and 20,000 4KB random write IOPS.

Available in a new boot-drive size 60GB capacity as well as 120GB and 240GB options, Agility 3 and Solid 3 SSDs feature TRIM support to optimize performance over the drive’s lifespan. Both solutions come backed by a 3-year warranty for ultimate customer satisfaction and peace of mind.

For more information, visit the product pages of Agility 3 and Solid 3.

[btarunr]

• Agility 3: 525 MB/s read, 475 MB/s write, 60/120/240 GB variants
• Solid 3: 500 MB/s read, 450 MB/s write, 60/120 GB variants
• Both 2.5" SATA form factor, both need SATA 6 Gb/s to cross 280 MB/s speeds
• Both will need SATA host controllers to have over PCI-Express 2.0 x1 bandwidth with system to cross 500 MB/s

[Completely Bonkers]

What is very confusing from OCZ is the number of models they have... with all "on paper" very similar performance statistics... and via online retailer very similar pricing. I'm sure real-world performance is quite different otherwise there wouldnt be a need to create product confusion.

Benchmarks needed. Whether done by OCZ or independent... there is a serious lack of knowledge/info across their product spectrum. (It makes me buy a different brand rather than making the wrong purchase decision and regret getting a OCZ)

[TheLaughingMan]

These must not be available just yet. At least 2 of the pictures on their site are renderings and not pictures of the actual drive. But there are real pictures as well. A interesting mix.

[dieterd]

so what would be the ocs hirearchy? like: vertex3 > Agility3 > solid3 ?

[RejZoR]

What's the difference between Agility 3 and Vertex 3 then? They look the same specs wise...

[damric]

I'm happy with my 120GB Agility 2 SSD. I shopped forever until finally I caught it on sale for $140

SSD's are about the only product that OCZ has that is worth a damn anymore.

[DanishDevil]

W1zzard needs to do some real-world and synthetic benches of these two drives as well as the Vertex 3 in a 120GB form

[LAN_deRf_HA]

They need to work on their photoshop skillz. That perspective is pretty skewed.

[deleted]

In all likelihood, there will be no practical performance difference between these. If you look at real-world benchmarks (which are hard to find for SSDs, usually you just see some IOPS and sequential throughput numbers), you will see that all SSDs perform pretty much the same, from ancient Indilinx drives to the pinnacle of PCIe SSDs. The main difference between SSDs is lifespan, and even that is moot since anything with an Intel, Sandforce, or Marvell controller will outlive its useful life by a huge margin.

So there's no practical difference between these except for the price. As for the theoretical performance difference between them, that's most likely just a result of firmware throttling. Sandforce provides firmware with fully unlocked performance to OCZ, and that's the firmware they use in their Vertex line. Agility gets the same throttled firmware all of the other manufacturers on the market use.

I'm not sure on the Solid, though. As I recall, Solid 1 used the JMicron controller and Solid 2 used the Indilinx controller. Now that there's three drives with the same controller, there might be three different firmware revisions, but I think it's more likely that the Solid series will end up using the subprime NAND that was causing all of the fuss with the Vertex 2 a month or two back. It shouldn't have a significant effect on practical performance or lifespan, but if the price were the same, the Agility and Vertex would certainly be better drives.

[bbmarley]

i have a 60G agility3 on pre-order from overclockers there ETA: 18/05/11

[Robotguts]

Hi all,
I also have one on Order @ PCCG for $165.00 60gb Agillity 3. arrive in shop today.
I have been wanting a ssd for while now .almost bought the vertex 2, not that anything is wrong with that. but Obviously this is much much Faster.
Looking forward to real boot up times now. going from a "5400rpm 2TB Samsung" to this fast
Drive will certainly make a difference to me.

[DanishDevil]

You will probably soil yourself at the difference in speeds