Review-OCZ Agility 3 SSD: SandForce 2 Goes Mainstream

Conclusions

Need a speedy storage device? With its SandForce 2 controller and SATA 6 Gbps interface, OCZ Agility 3 is perhaps one of the fastest drives available today. Although it’s still not quite as fast as OCZ’s flagship model, the Vertex 3, this drive would still give you tremendous performance increase over any hard disk drives or even previous generation SSDs.
About its performance, Agility 3 could really run at 500 MB/s, but that only happens when you transfer compressible files. For files that are already compressed, either with lossy (MP4, MP3, MKV, JPG) or lossless (Zip, RAR, PNG) compression, it won’t perform as good. Even then, the Agility 3 is still a very fast drive.
As for the price, in the international market (that is, outside Indonesia) Agility 3 SSD sells around US$ 90 cheaper than its Vertex 3 counterpart. This applies to the 240 GB versions of the two drives.
As with the other, speedy storage solutions, this SSD is best suited to professionals demanding ultra-fast performance from their systems. Agility 3 could help them reduce the amount of time needed to finish work. That’s not to say that this drive isn’t suitable for any other type of user. Gamers will benefit massively from its fast application-loading times, while enthusiasts could enjoy a nice improvement of their overall system performance. Of course, the speed crown still belongs tp Vertex 3, but this Agility 3 definitely deserves to be in your shortlist when shopping for an SSD, especially considering its lower price.

Pros:

+ Slightly more affordable than the Vertex 3.
+ Equipped with the super-fast SandForce 2 controller.
+ Sports the latest SATA III/ 6 Gbps interface.
+ Very high performance in certain situations.

Cons:

– ONFi 1.0 asynchronous specification limits performance.
– Sub-optimal TRIM implementation.

Technical Data

Manufacturer	OCZ
Info	http://www.ocztechnology.com/
Price	–
Distributor in Indonesia	Spectrum
Phone	021 612 5505
Memory Type	Multi Level Cell
Capacity	240 GB
Interface	SATA 6 Gbps