Source for OCZ Vertex 60GB?

[TheMainMan]

I was waiting for the OCZ 60Gb Vertex to come back into stock at my local computer store (Canada Computers) and I went into the store today to make another purchase and off-hand inquired about when they would be getting more and they have discontinued sales. I was hoping that someone here had a lead on a sub $100 price for this drive as Canada Computers had it for $78 after savings vs. Newegg at $125 and Tigerdirect at $214.
I know there are cheaper SSDs out there but I have this one from an RMA and want a second for RAID 0. The model number is OCZSSD2-1VTX60G.
Thanks for the help!

[DrkSide]

I think they had it that cheap to clear out stock. The vertex series was replaced by the vertex 2. Buy.com has it for 109.99 (http://www.buy.com/prod/ocz-technology-vertex-60-gb-internal-solid-state-drive-retail-serial/q/sellerid/31064376/loc/111/210657608.html) but I don't know if the 3.99 shipping applies to up north or not.

[x88x]

If I were you, I would sell the one you have and get a Vertex 2 instead, then add another if you want, for RAID-0. The Sandforce controller in the Vertex 2 gives it a HUGE performance edge over the original.

[DrkSide]

+1 - Sell that Vertex on Ebay (going for about 110 right now) throw in some extra money with it and pick up on of these bad mofos (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148357&cm_re=crucial_realssd-_-20-148-357-_-Product). I just built a desktop for a customer with this one and it was blazing fast.

[x88x]

The C300 does have phenomenal read speeds, but the write speeds are pretty crap on the 64GB model. It gets better with the larger drives, but even the 256GB model doesn't even get close to the Vertex 2 write speeds.

C300 64GB (link is pdf) (http://www.crucial.com/pdf/Tech_specs-letter_Crucial_RealSSD_C300_v9-16-10_online.pdf):
Max read:
-SATA 3Gbps : 265 MB/s
-SATA 6Gbps : 355 MB/s
Max write:
-SATA 3Gbps : 75 MB/s
-SATA 6Gbps : 75 MB/s
Random write (4K): 15,000 IOPS

Vertex 2 60GB (http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/solid-state-drives/sata-ii/2-5--sata-ii/performance-enterprise-solid-state-drives/ocz-vertex-2-sata-ii-2-5--ssd.html):
Max read: 285 MB/s
Max write: 275 MB/s
Sustained write: 250 MB/s
Random write (4K): 50,000 IOPS

Trust me, the amazing read speeds will not make up for the abysmal write speeds...especially the random write speeds. Heck, a high-performance platter HDD will do better than 75 MB/s write!

It really is a shame...idk if Corsair just needs better NAND chips or what, but until they up those write speeds I really can't recommend the C300 line. :(

BTW, Vertex 2 60GB:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227550

[DrkSide]

Hmm....guess I should have looked a little harder. I have one of the Vertex 2s in my gaming desktop though. With what little I got to mess with the one I built I could not tell a difference in the C300 and the Vertex 2.

Maybe I can test it out some more. I think he is bringing the computer back in for some cable sleeving.

[x88x]

The biggest difference comes when you actually use it regularly, especially which it comes to the random writes. When you're setting a system up, you expect half the stuff to take a long time, plus most writing that happens is sequential writes, which are usually the fastest. Then, it's just lots and lots of reading. It's when you're actually using it, day to day, and various programs are writing all over the place, that you start to see the difference. For example, during install the SSDs in my desktop and the SSD in my laptop seemed about the same. But after a couple weeks of use I started to notice that the laptop was noticeably slower.

[TheMainMan]

Thanks for the great info everyone. The hassel of selling the drive may not be worth the perfomance gain of buying a Vertex 2 for me. The one I have I got from an RMA from someone I've helped a lot but I haven't installed it yet. I may consider selling it here but I'll have to think about how much I want to spend on upgrades. +rep to you all!