OCZ Agility EX 60GB SSD Review

Conclusion

There is no getting around the fact that the OCZ Agility EX is one hell of a fast drive. So much so that there were very few competitors that could even touch it in most of our benchmarks and it even surpassed some of OCZ ‘s previously high-end drives. It is actually the first drive we have seen that ties the Intel X-25M in our IO Meter torture tests which is definitely saying a lot.

In the all important area of latency it is obvious that MLC NAND chips are really holding back the Indilinx drives since the SLC-equipped Agility EX really seems to pull away from its lower-end brethren in certain cases. The improved latency combined with the lowest stutter test results of ANY Solid State drive almost guarantees that your system is going to “feel” snappier even if you are replacing another SSD with this drive.

Even though the Agility EX can “only” be considered as part of OCZ’s mid-tier SLC lineup, we are positive it is going to last a heck of a lot longer than their premium MLC drives. The reason for this is that it uses Single Layer Cells which are supposed to have a ten times longer lifespan than Multi-Layer Cells (100,000 writes versus 10,000). This means you can literally abuse this drive day in day out for years and long after even a Vertex 120GB would have given up the ghost, the Agility EX will still be smiling and saying “Please Sir, may I have some more?”

There really is only one weakness here and that is the price premium it commands. Sure, this premium is less than that of the Vertex EX, but when you can buy a 120GB Vertex sans rebates and get nearly the same speeds with twice the amount of storage, you really have to ask yourself how much the Agility EX’s longer lifespan is really worth for you. If you plan on upgrading infrequently then yes, it really does make a lot of sense to make the jump to SLC as it is simply better from a longevity point of view. For everyone else, you may be better off with the more mundane MLC based Vertex. As time goes by we are sure that the price point will fall but for the time being, there are plenty of other drives on the market that will give you more storage space for your hard earned dollars.

Does this mean that we don’t think the Agility EX is worth the money? Hell no. If you want an SSD that is balls-to-the-wall fast while not retailing for the sky-high price of a Vertex EX, then the buck stops here. It even comes with latest firmware (at the time of this article) right out of the box which ensures optimal performance right out of the box. We can go on and on about why the Agility EX is so damn good but what should be said is that above all else is that its speed easily justifies its price premium. That is the highest accolade we can give any product.

The fact is that once again OCZ is pushing the envelope and not only talking about innovation (like so many companies do) but are actually moving ahead of the pack by releasing new and exciting products like the EX series. In addition to that, their warranty and RMA service are a cut above which is why they are considered one of the best customer orientated companies in the solid state drive market. If anyone can help get us off MLC drives and onto the SLC bandwagon, it will be OCZ. As such, this drive wins both our Dam Good and Dam Innovative awards.


Pros:
- Good looks
- Great packaging
- FAST
- SLC based Solid State Drive
- Native TRIM support
- Kick ass manufacturer’s support forum


Cons:
- Price
- “Only” three year warranty