Intel 320 series or OCZ Agility?

OOZMAN · Dec 25, 2011

So here's my situation, looking to get a 120GB SSD for OS/DAW. The agility 3 is a little (or quite a bit, depending on who you ask) faster than the intel 320 series, but I'm hearing alot of horror stories including random BSODs and freezes about the agility 3s, which I'm guessing wouldn't be covered by the warranty. In saying that, these claims might be exaggerated.

So what should I do?

Sacrifice some speed for reliability i.e. go for the intel, or take the risk and buy an Agility 3?

Would the speed difference even be noticeable in real-world scenarios?

Should I take an even bigger risk and buy two 60GB agility 3s for RAID0? (Doubling the chance of failure).

Both 120GB Intel and OCZ SSDs are about the same price where I live, while 2x 60GB OCZs adds about $10-$20 total cost.

Thanks in advance! :toast:

OOZMAN · Dec 25, 2011

The little demon on my left says two Agility 3s 60GB, and the angel on my right says Intel. I usually listen to the demon. Quick! Persuade me otherwise!

BrooksyX · Dec 25, 2011

I have 2x 64gb Samsung 830 ssds in raid 0. Thins are wicked fast and rock solid.

Might be worth checking out: SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC064D/AM 2.5" 64GB SATA II...

OOZMAN · Dec 25, 2011

The cheapest I could find for ONE 64GB Samsung 830 for my location is $179. :eek:

Thanks for the reply anyway

Super XP · Dec 25, 2011

BrooksyX said:
I have 2x 64gb Samsung 830 ssds in raid 0. Thins are wicked fast and rock solid.

Might be worth checking out: SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC064D/AM 2.5" 64GB SATA II...

Does your RAID 0 setup support TRIM?

bbmarley · Dec 25, 2011

i have agility3 60gb did have problems at start
but updated firmware no problems now and drive runs great
had since maybe a week or 2 after release
drive has been used heavily

BrooksyX · Dec 25, 2011

OOZMAN said:
The cheapest I could find for ONE 64GB Samsung 830 for my location is $179.

Thanks for the reply anyway

Oh sorry didn't see u were in Australia. My bad.

Super XP said:
Does your RAID 0 setup support TRIM?

Is that supposed to be a trick question? Ofcourse it doesn't but I am pretty sure pretty sure it will when Intel releases the updated support for it.

s{orpion · Dec 25, 2011

OCZ allllll the way!

i have two Agility 2 in Raid 0...

blistering fast and rock solid! :rockout:

OCZ support is amazing!

highly advise the 2nd or 3rd gen (sandforce)...
the original Indalinx had problems... including raid issues.

TheOne · Dec 25, 2011

OOZMAN said:
So here's my situation, looking to get a 120GB SSD for OS/DAW. The agility 3 is a little (or quite a bit, depending on who you ask) faster than the intel 320 series, but I'm hearing alot of horror stories including random BSODs and freezes about the agility 3s, which I'm guessing wouldn't be covered by the warranty. In saying that, these claims might be exaggerated.

So what should I do?

Sacrifice some speed for reliability i.e. go for the intel, or take the risk and buy an Agility 3?

Would the speed difference even be noticeable in real-world scenarios?

Should I take an even bigger risk and buy two 60GB agility 3s for RAID0? (Doubling the chance of failure).

Both 120GB Intel and OCZ SSDs are about the same price where I live, while 2x 60GB OCZs adds about $10-$20 total cost.

Thanks in advance!

They weren't, SandForce has had a pretty rough summer trying to make their latest controllers stable, fighting BSOD's, freezing, and drop outs, which affected a very wide variety of systems, fortunately their latest firmware is far more stable and seems to have addressed the issues for most users.

Of course even though the 320 series is supposed to be pretty stable, it had its own problems this summer with that 8MB bug that would limit the capacity of the drive to only 8MB, of course it has also been fixed.

As you pointed out this is speed vs reliability, would you notice a difference, keep in mind that the OCZ Agility 3 is a SATAIII (6Gbps) drive and that the Intel 320 is a SATAII (3Gbps) drive.

Here is a comparison of an Agility 3 120GB and an Intel 320 160GB using ANAND Tech's SSD Benchmark tool.

OCZ Agility 3 120GB (SATAIII) vs Intel 320 160GB - ANANDTech Benchmark Comparison

Personally I tried a Corsair Force 3 120GB this summer when they first came out, had to go through the recall and when I got the drive it would randomly drop from BIOS a few times a week, so I sent it back to Corsair for a full refund, and at the end of October Newegg had a deal on the OCZ Agility 3 120GB for $125 after a $30 MIR, and since SandForce had just released their latest firmware for the SF-2281 drives I decided to give it a shot, and so far I have had no problems running it with FW 2.15.

OOZMAN said:
The little demon on my left says two Agility 3s 60GB, and the angel on my right says Intel. I usually listen to the demon. Quick! Persuade me otherwise!

Which one is usually right?

Steevo · Dec 25, 2011

I'm rocking two Agility 120's on a controller card and after a bit of a tweak and new firmware they are rock solid.

You might have to add the no power management line to the inf of your drive controller.

OOZMAN · Dec 25, 2011

Steevo said:
I'm rocking two Agility 120's on a controller card and after a bit of a tweak and new firmware they are rock solid.

You might have to add the no power management line to the inf of your drive controller.

According to OCZ's website:

Updating firmware is not supported on drives (Vertex 3, Vertex 3 Max IOPS, Agility 3, Solid 3, RevoDrive
3, and RevoDrive 3 X2) running as the boot drive. Please install the SSD as a secondary drive when
updating the firmware. An alternative way is using a standalone Linux distribution (booting off the CD) to
update the primary boot SSD. See “Updating your firmware with a drive that can not updated as a primary
drive” section for more details.

This is a pain. How did you update your firmware? Clone the contents of the drive to a HDD and boot from that? Don't really wanna do it the Linux way, but if I have to...

Or do you not use your Agility as the boot drive? :wtf:

Bo$$ · Dec 26, 2011

Look, I have a agility in my brother's pc and it is perfectly fine,fast,stable,reliable.
BUT as a rule Intel drives are more stable than OCZ

OCZ have a rock solid warranty

Steevo · Dec 26, 2011

OOZMAN said:
According to OCZ's website:

Updating firmware is not supported on drives (Vertex 3, Vertex 3 Max IOPS, Agility 3, Solid 3, RevoDrive
3, and RevoDrive 3 X2) running as the boot drive. Please install the SSD as a secondary drive when
updating the firmware. An alternative way is using a standalone Linux distribution (booting off the CD) to
update the primary boot SSD. See “Updating your firmware with a drive that can not updated as a primary
drive” section for more details.

This is a pain. How did you update your firmware? Clone the contents of the drive to a HDD and boot from that? Don't really wanna do it the Linux way, but if I have to...

Or do you not use your Agility as the boot drive?

Moved them to a on-board controller and flashed it, moved it back and it was operational.

Not their suggested way, but it works 99% of the time.

DM3K · Dec 27, 2011

Dm3k is going to recommend the Intel. Intel has a rock solid reputation and recently raised the warranty to 5 years on some models. In the real world the performance difference between the drives may not matter depending on what you are doing with these. If you are gaming it probably won't matter, if this is for a workstation with high I/O operations then it matters.

OOZMAN · Dec 27, 2011

DM3K said:
Dm3k is going to recommend the Intel. Intel has a rock solid reputation and recently raised the warranty to 5 years on some models. In the real world the performance difference between the drives may not matter depending on what you are doing with these. If you are gaming it probably won't matter, if this is for a workstation with high I/O operations then it matters.

It's pretty much just for my OS and my audio recording stuff. Then just filled up with other less important things. Not sure if they involve lots of I/O operations. Excuse my noobness. :nutkick:

mrsdnf · Dec 27, 2011

If its any help I've been running the Agility 120 gb since they came out. With every firmware update it got better to the point it's good now. Would buy another if I was in the market. Firmware update is a pain though as suggested.

System Name	Gaming Rig + Digital Audio Workstation.
Processor	i5 2500k @ 4.7ghz 1.4V (max 5.0)
Motherboard	ASUS P8Z68-V Pro
Cooling	Noctua NH-D14 with single Antec Tri-Cool fan, 3 more Tri-cools for the case
Memory	8GB G.Skill Ripjaws X 1866mhz 9-9-9-24
Video Card(s)	HIS HD6950 2GB, 930/1500mhz stable. CFX with 6970 eventually
Storage	Intel 320 series 120GB SSD. 2.7TB generic HDD storage.
Display(s)	32" Sony Bravia LCD TV 1920x1080. Yeah baby!
Case	Blue Raidmax Raptor.
Audio Device(s)	Phonic 302+ 1394 interface, + 2x Behringer 9" 225W studio monitors. Cant buy better for under $600!
Power Supply	Corsair TX750W
Software	Dual boot: Win 7 Ultimate x64 SP1/Mac OSX Lion (not really used), Cubase 5 for DAW.
Benchmark Scores	3DMark Vantage- P22288 :\|: Furmark 720 preset- 3644 frames, 1080 preset- 2347 :\|: Skyrims max everyt

System Name	Gaming Rig + Digital Audio Workstation.
Processor	i5 2500k @ 4.7ghz 1.4V (max 5.0)
Motherboard	ASUS P8Z68-V Pro
Cooling	Noctua NH-D14 with single Antec Tri-Cool fan, 3 more Tri-cools for the case
Memory	8GB G.Skill Ripjaws X 1866mhz 9-9-9-24
Video Card(s)	HIS HD6950 2GB, 930/1500mhz stable. CFX with 6970 eventually
Storage	Intel 320 series 120GB SSD. 2.7TB generic HDD storage.
Display(s)	32" Sony Bravia LCD TV 1920x1080. Yeah baby!
Case	Blue Raidmax Raptor.
Audio Device(s)	Phonic 302+ 1394 interface, + 2x Behringer 9" 225W studio monitors. Cant buy better for under $600!
Power Supply	Corsair TX750W
Software	Dual boot: Win 7 Ultimate x64 SP1/Mac OSX Lion (not really used), Cubase 5 for DAW.
Benchmark Scores	3DMark Vantage- P22288 :\|: Furmark 720 preset- 3644 frames, 1080 preset- 2347 :\|: Skyrims max everyt

System Name	Main / Home Media Serever
Processor	Intel i5 2500k @ 4.75ghz / AMD AM3 5200+ x2
Motherboard	ASRock Fatal1ty P67 Performance / Biostar 790GX
Cooling	Xigmatek Dark Knight / XIGMATEK Apache
Memory	12gb of G.Skill Value Series DDR3 / 4x 1gb DDR2
Video Card(s)	XFX Radeon 6870 1gb / Asus Radeon 5450 512mb
Storage	2x Samsung 830 64gb SSD Raid 0 & 750gb WD Blue HDD / OCZ Vertex II 80GB & 10TB of HDD Space
Display(s)	2x Acer 24" LED / Samsung 50" LED
Case	Xigmatek Asgard II / APEX PC-389-C
Power Supply	Rosewill 750w / Antec EArthwatts 380w
Software	Windows 7 Professional x64 SP1 / Ubuntu 14.04

System Name	Gaming Rig + Digital Audio Workstation.
Processor	i5 2500k @ 4.7ghz 1.4V (max 5.0)
Motherboard	ASUS P8Z68-V Pro
Cooling	Noctua NH-D14 with single Antec Tri-Cool fan, 3 more Tri-cools for the case
Memory	8GB G.Skill Ripjaws X 1866mhz 9-9-9-24
Video Card(s)	HIS HD6950 2GB, 930/1500mhz stable. CFX with 6970 eventually
Storage	Intel 320 series 120GB SSD. 2.7TB generic HDD storage.
Display(s)	32" Sony Bravia LCD TV 1920x1080. Yeah baby!
Case	Blue Raidmax Raptor.
Audio Device(s)	Phonic 302+ 1394 interface, + 2x Behringer 9" 225W studio monitors. Cant buy better for under $600!
Power Supply	Corsair TX750W
Software	Dual boot: Win 7 Ultimate x64 SP1/Mac OSX Lion (not really used), Cubase 5 for DAW.
Benchmark Scores	3DMark Vantage- P22288 :\|: Furmark 720 preset- 3644 frames, 1080 preset- 2347 :\|: Skyrims max everyt

System Name	RiseZEN Gaming PC
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5800X @ Auto
Motherboard	Asus ROG Strix X570-E Gaming ATX Motherboard
Cooling	Corsair H115i Elite Capellix AIO, 280mm Radiator, Dual RGB 140mm ML Series PWM Fans
Memory	G.Skill TridentZ 64GB (4 x 16GB) DDR4 3200
Video Card(s)	ASUS DUAL RX 6700 XT DUAL-RX6700XT-12G
Storage	Corsair Force MP500 480GB M.2 & MP510 480GB M.2 - 2 x WD_BLACK 1TB SN850X NVMe 1TB
Display(s)	ASUS ROG Strix 34” XG349C 180Hz 1440p + Asus ROG 27" MG278Q 144Hz WQHD 1440p
Case	Corsair Obsidian Series 450D Gaming Case
Audio Device(s)	SteelSeries 5Hv2 w/ Sound Blaster Z SE
Power Supply	Corsair RM750x Power Supply
Mouse	Razer Death-Adder + Viper 8K HZ Ambidextrous Gaming Mouse - Ergonomic Left Hand Edition
Keyboard	Logitech G910 Orion Spectrum RGB Gaming Keyboard
Software	Windows 11 Pro - 64-Bit Edition
Benchmark Scores	I'm the Doctor, Doctor Who. The Definition of Gaming is PC Gaming...

Intel 320 series or OCZ Agility?

OOZMAN

New Member

OOZMAN

New Member

BrooksyX

OOZMAN

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Super XP

bbmarley

BrooksyX

s{orpion

New Member

TheOne

Steevo

OOZMAN

New Member

Bo$$

Lab Extraordinaire

Steevo

DM3K

OOZMAN

New Member

mrsdnf

Processor	2500k
Motherboard	Asrock Extreme3 Gen3
Cooling	CM Hyper 212 EVO
Memory	16G Corsair Vengence
Video Card(s)	XFX 390 DD BE
Storage	OCZ Agility3 / F1 1tb
Display(s)	Hazro HZ27WC 2560x1440 / x3 BenQ G2222HDL Eyefinity - 5760x1080
Case	Fractal Design Define XL
Audio Device(s)	Onboard / Edifier RT1600
Power Supply	Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 700W

System Name	Desktop
Processor	AMD Ryzen 5 5600X [3.7GHz/4.6GHz][6C/12T]
Motherboard	ASUS TUF Gaming X570-PRO [X570]
Cooling	Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB Black Edition
Memory	G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 32GB [DDR4 3600][2x16GB][16-19-19-39@1.35V]
Video Card(s)	ASUS KO GeForce RTX 3060 Ti V2 OC Edition 8GB GDDR6 [511.65]
Storage	[OS] Samsung 970 Evo 500GB \| [Storage] 980 1TB \| 860 Evo 1TB \| 850 Evo 500GB \| Seagate Firecuda 2TB
Display(s)	LG 27GL850 [27"][2560x1440@144Hz][Nano IPS][LED][G-SYNC Compatible][DP]
Case	Corsair Obsidian 750D
Audio Device(s)	Realtek ALC S1200A High Definition Audio CODEC
Power Supply	EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G1+ [+12V: 83.3A 999.6W][80 Plus Gold]
Mouse	Logitech M570 Trackball
Keyboard	Corsair Gaming K55 RGB
Software	Microsoft Windows 10 Pro [21H1][64-bit]

System Name	Compy 386
Processor	7800X3D
Motherboard	Asus
Cooling	Air for now.....
Memory	64 GB DDR5 6400Mhz
Video Card(s)	7900XTX 310 Merc
Storage	Samsung 990 2TB, 2 SP 2TB SSDs and over 10TB spinning
Display(s)	56" Samsung 4K HDR
Audio Device(s)	ATI HDMI
Mouse	Logitech MX518
Keyboard	Razer
Software	A lot.
Benchmark Scores	Its fast. Enough.

System Name	Desktop \| Server
Processor	Intel i7 2700k @ 4.6GHZ \| AMD 5350 @ 2500MHZ
Motherboard	Asus P7Z77-V Pro \| Asus AM1I-A
Cooling	Corsair H60v2 \| Stock Air
Memory	Crucial Ballistix 2x8GB CL8 1600MHZ \| Corsair Vengence 2x4GB CL9 1600MHZ
Video Card(s)	EVGA GTX 1060 6GB \| PNY GTX 750Ti
Storage	Samsung 840 EVO 250GB + 4TB WD Red \| 2x Seagate Barracuda 2TB
Display(s)	Samsung S27D390H + Asus VE276Q \| Headless
Case	Fractal Design R5 \| CM Elite 110
Audio Device(s)	Asus Xonar D1 w/Otone Stilo 5.1 and Creative Fatal1ty headset
Power Supply	EVGA Supernova 850 G2\| Corsair CX430M
Mouse	Razer Imperator 2012
Keyboard	Corsair K90
Software	Windows 7 SP1 X64 \| Ubuntu 16.04LTS

System Name	Nerd 7
Processor	Phenom II 980 x4
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-990-FXA-UD5
Cooling	Coolermaster TX2
Memory	16gb PC3-10700
Video Card(s)	Radeon 6950
Storage	512gb SSD, 2x 2TB Raid 1, 1.5tb Caviar black
Display(s)	Benq V2400w, HP w1907, Dell E193FP, Dell 1704FPV
Case	Lanboy Air
Power Supply	Corsair 750W
Software	Mint 13 x64 / Win 7 Ultimate x64
Benchmark Scores	I put a small scratch in my workbench when I moved it.

System Name	Mad Moose 2600K
Processor	2600k OC4600
Motherboard	Asrock Z68 Extreme 4
Cooling	Megahalems 2 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon 1850rpm
Memory	2 x 4Gig Gskill Sniper
Video Card(s)	Was Gigabyte 6850OC. Now in kids pc :-( 9800GT
Storage	OCZ Agility 3 120, WD 1 TB
Display(s)	Benq 22.5
Case	NZXT H2
Audio Device(s)	Onboard. Logitech Z4 speakers
Power Supply	OCZ Fatal1ty 750W
Software	W7 Ultimate