[Kevin OBrien]

OWC has quietly rolled out a significant improvement to their Mercury Extreme Pro 6G family of SSDs. Previously OWC was using 25nm IMFT synchronous NAND in these drives. Now the entire line has migrated to 32nm Toshiba toggle NAND, the same high quality and high performance NAND found in the OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS and the Patriot Wildfire.

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[arklab]

I can't seem to find this new version on the OWC website.
Is it released for sale yet?

[Brian]

It's not a new model number, they just upgraded the current drives in place.

Since we have one of each of the new 120GB and 240GB they are definitely shipping.

[arklab]

WOW!
This is just plain nuts!
Confirmed with OWC that all 120GB and 240GB are now indeed Toggle ram - you can tell by the part number now ending in "T".
The "specs" tab for these drives don't yet reflect the changes, as the website guy is on vacation.

So.... lets see now:
Toggle ram
FIVE year guarantee (not three year)
Price on 240GB - $50 less than the cheapest I could find on OCZ Max IOPS.
New (better?) 2282 controller on 240GB.
30 day return policy from manufacture.

Result: One very happy camper with one 120GB and two 240GB drives being shipped overnight (for only $13)!

I think OCZ is about to find both a rock and a hard place in just one day!

And one last thing - a special shout out for OWC salesman Mike (X 412), who did a LOT of research on this and is super nice and helpful.


I'll be spending all my time checking for the (always great) storage review review (and looking out the front door for the FedEx guy)

This post has been edited by arklab: 03 August 2011 - 11:05 AM

[Brian]

I echo the sentiment that OWC has done a very good thing here and is making a good value prop for buyers. Their biggest issues have been lack of brand awareness and pricing. Now that the features and pricing match up better against the competition, I think they're going to find new buyers and more brand awareness.

[arklab]

Yea, too true.

I also forgot to mention that there drives are assembled in the USA, giving somebody a job.
Maybe not that important to some, but it makes me feel a little better.

[Brian]

We note that in the reviews

If only the US could manufacture silicon parts here in a cost effective way. I think most people would prefer to buy local, or at least within their own nation all other things being equal.

[Beenthere]

Brian, on 03 August 2011 - 02:17 PM, said:

We note that in the reviews

If only the US could manufacture silicon parts here in a cost effective way. I think most people would prefer to buy local, or at least within their own nation all other things being equal.

If certain countries eliminated sweatshops, child labor and paid fair wages and benefits, then the U.S. could compete with anyone.

[Brian]

Yeah well...we're getting off topic, maybe we should migrate to the bar and grill, but I hear you. Some world problems are beyond our solving here...

[arklab]

Now I'm really looking forward to the review, as all three drives were just delivered.

It occurs to me that a nice addition to the review might be what "tools" are available for use with this drive, as OCZ has accumulated quite a collection.
While trim is a Windows 7 thing, what other advice would be suitable for use with these?

For example, OCZ recommends installing Intel Rapid Store v10.6 or later, as they claim a "bug" has been discovered in earlier versions that directly impacts SSD performance.
All help in these areas would be great, but I'm mindfull that we have a new controller here and don't want to do anything stupid.

Thanks for all the help you give to the "helpless" like me.

This post has been edited by arklab: 04 August 2011 - 06:37 PM