OCZ's Ryan Peterson Resigns
Subject: Editorial | September 17, 2012 - 06:32 PM | Josh Walrath
Tagged: ssd, Ryan Peterson, ocz, CMO, CEO, Alex Mei
OCZ started in a strip mall making heatsinks and fans in 2002. Not exactly an auspicious beginning to a company that now is a dominant force in the SSD industry. The guy that has helped the company make the massive jumps it has is Ryan Peterson. Today OCZ has announced his resignation. Alex Mei, current CMO (chief marketing officer) is taking over as interim CEO until a replacement can be found.
It is hard to believe that just 10 years ago OCZ sprang into existence. A few quick exposes from other tech sites revealed a small company that was situated in a strip mall. Back in those years there was some questionable marketing tactics that the company used to present themselves as a much larger organization than they actually were (their website showed large, modern buildings and automated memory manufacturing equipment- neither of which the company had). Through perseverance, decent technical support, and some really interesting products at a time where enthusiast style memory was starting to grow, the company thrived and expanded.
The memory market has softened, and seemingly OCZ was well aware of where the market was going. They transitioned from being a memory company to a full blown SSD manufacturer. Along the way they picked up Indilinx and are now finally starting to produce their first custom silicon. The company continued to grow, and at the head of it all was Ryan Peterson. Often known as a polarizing figure, he nonetheless helped to lead OCZ into a position of significance and authority when it came to SSD technology.
It seems that the recent downturn in the company’s profits, and the seeming failure of the sale to Seagate of the company, Ryan submitted his resignation and the board of OCZ accepted it. Not much else is included in the release, other than thanking Ryan for his dedication to the company and wishing him and his family the best of luck.
This must be a hard day for Ryan, as he was truly a driving force in taking OCZ from the strip mall to the high rise. Change is inevitable though, and rarely do we see CEO’s like AMD’s Jerry Sanders last for decades at the helm of a company. The market is changing, and perhaps OCZ needs a new vision. Still, OCZ is now synonymous with the growing SSD market, and their acquisition of Indilinx allows them some flexibility and differentiation in what is now a very crowded area. Their introduction of inexpensive “server” style PCI-E SSD devices was another milestone, and it provided an inexpensive (and powerful) solution that competed well with other much more costly products from companies such as FusionIO.
It will be very interesting to see where the company goes, but we wish Ryan the best of luck.
The entire press release can be found here.
OCZ Vector SSD Spotted - Indilinx Barefoot 3 Controller
Subject: Storage | September 11, 2012 - 09:48 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: ocz, idf, idf 2012, vector, ssd, Indilinx, barefoot 3
While wandering around San Francisco today, I was stopped by a stranger on the corner of Market and 4th to show me something he found outside the convention hall. It LOOKS like an SSD PCB but what do you think?
What you have here is a the internals of a new OCZ Technology SSD brand called Vector that will sit ABOVE the Vertex 4 in the product stack. This SSD uses the as yet unreleased Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller.
The drive should be available sometime in Q4 of this year and it marks the first complete Indilinx controller design - no Marvell or other third party intellectual property to be found.
That's all we know for now but you can be sure we'll have the details as they are released!!
Podcast #216 - GTX 660Ti Roundup, AMD Steamroller Details, Multi GPU Graphics Card Rumors and more!
Subject: General Tech | August 30, 2012 - 04:22 PM | Ken Addison
Tagged: zotac, Steamroller, ssd, revodrive, podcast, ocz, msi, MARS III, Intel, galaxy, evga, asus, arm, ARES II, amd, 7990, 690, 660ti
PC Perspective Podcast #216 - 08/30/2012
Join us this week as we talk about our GTX 660Ti Roundup, AMD Steamroller Details, Multi GPU Graphics Card Rumors and more!
You can subscribe to us through iTunes and you can still access it directly through the RSS page HERE.
The URL for the podcast is: http://pcper.com/podcast - Share with your friends!
- iTunes - Subscribe to the podcast directly through the iTunes Store
- RSS - Subscribe through your regular RSS reader
- MP3 - Direct download link to the MP3 file
Hosts: Ryan Shrout, Josh Walrath, Jeremy Hellstrom and Allyn Malvantano
This Podcast is brought to you by MSI!
Program length: 1:01:56
Program Schedule:
- Introduction
- PCPer moving to pcper.com/live
- 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
- http://pcper.com/podcast
- http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
Podcast topics of discussion:
-
Week in Reviews:
- 0:02:15 GeForce GTX 660 Ti Roundup
- 0:16:00 AMD Steamroller details from HotChips
- 0:27:30 ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A Review
- 0:29:45 This Podcast is brought to you by MSI!
-
News items of interest:
- 0:30:25 EVGA 1500 watt power supply
- 0:34:30 Powercolor HD 7990 Devil 13 graphics card
- 0:37:26 AMD releases FX-4130 and lowers prices
- 0:39:24 Synology refreshes DiskStation
- 0:40:50 ASUS MARS III GTX 680 - dreamers only
- 0:43:17 EVGA Mini ITX Z77 motherboard
- 0:45:15 NVIDIA shows Unreal Engine 3 on Tegra 3
-
Closing:
- 0:51:11 Hardware / Software Pick of the Week
- 1-888-38-PCPER or podcast@pcper.com
- http://pcper.com/podcast
- http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
- Closing/outro
OCZ Technology to Showcase Its Latest Enterprise Storage Solutions at Flash Memory Summit 2012
Subject: Storage | August 20, 2012 - 06:00 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: z-drive R4 CloudServ, talos 2, ssd, PCIe SSD, ocz, Intrepid 3, indilinx everest 2, flash memory
If you can get out of work and make it to Santa Clara, OCZ has some enterprise level SSDs to show you, in both standard drive format as well as PCIe SSDs. They are showing off performance under Linux as well as Windows, so no matter what your infrastructure is based off of you should be able to find something to accelerate your businesses data. All the information to get you there can be found on their Flash Memory Summit post.
SAN JOSE, CA—August 20, 2012—OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:OCZ), a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, will showcase its latest storage products, encompassing a mix of both solid state drives and software solutions, at this year’s Flash Memory Summit, Booth #208, Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, California, from August 21st through August 23rd.
Demonstrating SSD products along with recent partner implementations, OCZ will showcase a comprehensive lineup of innovative solutions for business, server, and OEM clients. This includes product presentations of both the impending Intrepid 3 SATA III-based SSD solution based on the company’s Indilinx Everest 2 architecture, along with the company’s leading PCI Express (PCIe)-based Z-Drive R4 featuring new Linux Acceleration software (LXL) that unleashes the full performance potential of infrastructures that use this popular open source operating system. Live technical demos of LXL and Z-Drive R4 SSDs will include a VDI boot storm, efficient SQL CPU utilization, and vMotion and Fault Tolerance support.
Additional booth demonstrations will include OCZ’s acceleration of SQL Server 2012 databases using its leading Z-Drive R4 PCIe SSD with VXL Cache and Virtualization software. This combined hardware/software solution dramatically increases SQL Server 2012 transactional IOPS performance, reduces database read latencies, and improves query completion times. OCZ will also demonstrate Talos 2 Series SAS-based drives showcasing the performance advantages of a true full duplex, dual-port SAS 6Gb/s SSD in a Microsoft Cluster in a Box (CiB) solution, further leveraging the strengths of OCZ’s storage drives when paired with leading partner systems.
As a complete solution provider for the enterprise, offering both leading edge storage hardware and complementary software products,, OCZ continues to deliver enterprise-class solid-state solutions with higher endurance, cutting edge performance, increased reliability, unparalleled security and reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) for large scale data centers and IT infrastructures worldwide. Join OCZ Technology at this week’s FMS 2012 to see the latest drives, software, and partner solutions designed for enterprise server and storage customers.
Deals for August 20th - 240GB OCZ Agility 3 for $140
Subject: Editorial, Storage | August 20, 2012 - 11:34 AM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: deal of the day, ocz, ssd
These deals on SSDs just keep getting more and more insane. With today's top deal you can get a 240GB OCZ Agility 3 SATA 6G SSD for $140 after a $20 MIR. That is $0.58/GB - close to a record in our books!
Top Deal
240GB OCZ Agility 3 2.5" SATA III Internal SSD AGT3-25SAT3-240G) for $140 with free shipping (normally $250).
Laptops
18.4" Alienware M18x Core i7-2670QM Quad-core 1080p Gaming Laptop w/4GB RAM, 750GB HDD & Dual 2GB GeForce GTX 580M NVIDIA SLI for $2,068 with free shipping (normally $3,018 - use coupon code on LogicBuy).
17.3" Dell Inspiron 17R (5720) 3rd Gen Core i7-3612QM 2.1GHz Quad-core Ivy Bridge Laptop w/8GB RAM, 1TB HDD for $750 with free shipping (normally $1,039 - use coupon code on LogicBuy).
15.6" HP ENVY 6t Core i5-2467M 1.4GHz Dual-core Ultrabook w/4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, 32GB mSSD for $675 with free shipping (normally $900 - use coupon code on LogicBuy).
14" HP ENVY 4t Core i3-2367M 1.3GHz Dual-core Sleekbook w/4GB RAM, 500GB HDD for $575 with free shipping (normally $800 - use coupon code on LogicBuy).
Desktops
Dell Inspiron 620 Intel G630 2.7GHz Dual-core Mini Tower w/4GB RAM, 1TB HDD for $330 with free shipping (normally $524 - use coupon code on LogicBuy).
Dell Vostro 260s Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Dual-core Slim Tower w/4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, 21.5" LCD Monitor, Wireless Keyboard + Mouse and $100 Gift Card for $499 with free shipping (normally $699 - use coupon code on LogicBuy).
Dell XPS 8500 Core i7-3770 3.4GHz Quad-core Ivy Bridge Desktop w/8GB RAM, 1TB HDD, Radeon HD 7570 1GB Graphics & 24" UltraSharp U2412M LCD Monitor for $980 with free shipping (normally $1,319 - use coupon code on LogicBuy).
23" HP ENVY 23-1050t Core i5-3450S 2.8GHz Quad-core Ivy Bridge 1080p All-in-one PC w/8GB RAM, 1TB HDD & Blu-ray for $900 with free shipping (normally $1,100 - use coupon code on LogicBuy).
Monitors
23.6" Hanns-G HK241DPB 5ms 1080p LCD Monitor for $140 (normally $170).
21.5" HP L2201X Ultra-slim 1080p LED-backlit LCD Monitor for $122 (normally $150).
Peripherals
240GB OCZ Agility 3 2.5" SATA III Internal SSD AGT3-25SAT3-240G) for $140 with free shipping (normally $250).
64GB Centon DataStick Waterproof USB 2.0 Flash Drive for $30 (normally $40)
Kodak P570 Personal Photo Scanner for $39 with free shipping (normally $70).
Ooma Telo VoIP Phone System w/ Bluetooth Adapter for $185 with free shipping (normally $250 - use coupon code on LogicBuy).
Dell 1250c Laser Printer/Toner/Cable Bundle for $383 with free shipping (normally $480).
Gaming:
24" Sony PlayStation 1080p 3D LCD Monitor Bundle (includes 3D Glasses, HDMI cable, MotorStorm Apocalypse) for $200 with free shipping (normally $300).
Home Entertainment:
55" Samsung UN55EH6000 120Hz 1080p LED HDTV for $1,170 with free shipping (normally $1,600).
46" Samsung UN46ES7500 1080p 240Hz 3D LED HDTV + Wall Mount for $1,483 with free shipping (normally $1,999).
46" Samsung UN46EH5300 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV + $200 Gift Card for $850 with free shipping (normally $930).
D-Link MovieNite Streaming Player for $38.00 (normally $60).
Panasonic DMP-BDT220 Integrated Wi-Fi 3D Blu-ray Player for $105 with free shipping (normally $145 - use coupon code on LogicBuy).
Podcast #212 - Live from QuakeCon 2012!
Subject: General Tech | August 4, 2012 - 12:54 PM | Ken Addison
Tagged: VR, ssd, Seagate, quakecon, podcast, ocz, oculus rift, nvidia, Intel, carmack, amd
PC Perspective Podcast #212 - 08/03/2012
In this special live edition of the PC Perspective Podcast, we discuss QuakeCon 2012 and other news of the week!
You can subscribe to us through iTunes and you can still access it directly through the RSS page HERE.
The URL for the podcast is: http://pcper.com/podcast - Share with your friends!
- iTunes - Subscribe to the podcast directly through the iTunes Store
- RSS - Subscribe through your regular RSS reader
- MP3 - Direct download link to the MP3 file
Hosts: Ryan Shrout Josh Walrath, Allyn Malvantano and Steve Grever
This Podcast is brought to you by MSI!
Program length: 49:04
Program Schedule:
In this special live edition of the PC Perspective Podcast, we discuss QuakeCon 2012 and other news of the week!
A selection of parts
AMD is without a doubt going through some very tough times with massive personnel issues as well as some problems with products and profitability. But that doesn’t mean the current product line from AMD is without merit and that you can’t build a great system for various environments, including those users looking for a mainstream and small form factor gaming and home theater PC.
While preparing for Quakecon 2012 we needed to build a system to take on the road for some minor editing and presentation control purposes. We wanted the PC to be small and compact, yet still powerful enough to take on some basic computing and gaming tasks. I happen to have some AMD Llano APUs in the office and thought they would fit perfectly.
If you are on the hunt for a small PC that can do some modest gaming and serve as an HTPC, then you might find our build here interesting. And while it isn't nearly as exciting as building a Llano PC while blindfolded - it's pretty close.
Case: Lian-Li PC-Q08B
Remember the OCZ Vertex 4? The 256GB model is less than $1/GB!
Subject: Storage | July 4, 2012 - 03:53 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: Vertex 4, vertex, ocz, Indilinx, ssd
It has been a while since Allan first reviewed the Indilinx Everest 2 powered OCZ Vertex 4 so it seems like a good time to refresh your memory. That is not just because newer firmware is increasing the performance of this drive but also because the 256GB model can be had for under $1/GB! You can see the performance against over a dozen other SSDs of varying prices at TechSpot, where it might not hold the top spot for overall performance it fares very well when you consider the price to performance ratio. That is not to say it is the least expensive drive available but it deserves to be in your list when you are considering a new SSD for your system.
"Although SandForce controllers have powered much of OCZ's solid-state lineup, the company is shifting to its own solutions after purchasing Indilinx early last year. The "Octane" flash drives were the first to use the Indilinx Everest controller last holiday season and now that its SF-2281-based drives are over a year old, OCZ has begun phasing Everest into the rest of its offerings, including the Vertex series.
The Vertex 4 series is aimed at performance buffs, with initial Indilinx Everest 2 based models offering capacities of 64GB, 128GB, 256GB and 512GB. Performance is the name of the game here and OCZ doesn't disappoint."
Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:
- OCZ Vertex 4 240GB SATA 6Gbit/s SSD Review @ Techgage
- OCZ Vertex 4 128GB Solid State Drive Review @ eTeknix
- OCZ Vertex 4 128GB Solid State Drive @ Pro-Clockers
- Crucial M4 SSD 128GB @ Computing on Demand
- Plextor M3 Pro (256GB) @ AnandTech
- Kingston HyperX 3k 240GB Solid State Drive @ Pro-Clockers
- CZ Vertex 4 256GB Solid State Drive Firmware 1.4.1.5 Testing @ Tweaktown
- LSI SAS 9207-8i PCIe 3.0 HBA Overview - Eight Crucial M4 SSDs Pushed to 4.1GB/s Performance @ SSD Review
- ADATA 500 Series S510 120GB SSD Review @ eTeknix
- 48 SATA 600 SSDs round-up @ Hardware.Info
- Intel 330 Series SSD 120GB Review @ HardwareHeaven
- Crucial Adrenaline Caching SSD Review @ HardwareLOOK
- MyDigitalSSD BulletProof 3 mSATA 256GB @ SSD Review
- SuperSSpeed S301 Hyper SLC 120GB Solid State Drive @ Tweaktown
- MyDigitalSSD Bullet Proof 3 256GB mSATA Solid State Drive @ Tweaktown
- Intel 910 800GB and 400GB PCI Express Solid State Drive @ Tweaktown
- Solid State Drive Performance Comparison Guide @ TechARP
- Western Digital VelociRaptor 1TB 10K RPM Hard Drive Review @ Techgage
- Better Power Management for your NAS @ Computing on Demand
- Thecus N4800 @ Bjorn3D
- Thecus N4800 4-Bay Battery Backup NAS @ Tweaktown
- QNAP TS-412 review: an affordable NAS @ Hardware.info
- Icy Dock MB559U3S Ultra Slim 3.5in USB 3.0 and eSATA Enclosure Review @ Hi Tech Legion
- QNAP TS-669 Pro @ techPowerUp
- Netgear ReadyNAS Duo V2: Fast and affordable @ Hardware.info
- QNAP vs Thecus @ Computing on Demand
- LaCie 2big Thunderbolt 4TB @ Hardware.info
OCZ returns to Indilinx for the Vertex 4
Subject: Storage | June 21, 2012 - 06:37 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: Vertex 4, vertex, ocz, Indilinx
Just in case you didn't believe Al's review of the new OCZ Vertex 4 or because you want to see the difference between the 512GB version he reviewed and the 128GB version that costs a lot less, you can check out what OCIA thinks right here. AS you would expect, the lower capacity results in lower performance thanks to the reduction in the amount of channels but at a tested 511.51MB on Sandra and an IOPS score of 99514 slow is a relative term. If you are going to pick up this drive update to the newest firmware, OCIA tested with 1.4.1.3 and saw a big performance difference from the previous firmware version.
“The Everest 2 platform comes as a result of OCZ’s acquisition of Indilinx in early 2011 but it isn’t the first time we have seen the Indilinx brand stamped on a Vertex drive. The company launched the original Vertex SSD as one of the pioneering flash storage solutions for mainstream users with an Indilinx controller under the hood. OCZ jumped on the SandForce bandwagon with the Vertex 2 and Vertex 3 but have come full circle back to an Indilinx solution with the Vertex 4... well, sort of. But we’ll get to that in just a bit.”
Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:
- OCZ Vertex 4 Solid State Drive @ Benchmark Reviews
- Crucial Adrenaline Cache SSD @ XSReviews
- MyDigitalSSD SMART 256GB mSATA Solid State Drive @ Tweaktown
- Western Digital VelociRaptor 1TB Hard Drive Review @ Hardware Canucks
- MemoRight MS-701 240GB mSATA Solid State Drive @ Kitguru
- Corsair Accelerator Series 30GB Cache SSD @ SSD Review
- MyDigitalSSD SMART Series 256GB SSD @ SSD Review
- Western Digital Scorpio 1TB (9.5mm) review @ Hardware.Info
- OCZ improves Vertex 4 with firmware 1.4 @ Hardware.Info
- Adaptec 6805TQ maxCache RAID controller @ TechwareLabs
- Western Digital Sentinel DX4000 @ TechwareLabs
- StarTech.com USB 3.0 to SATA IDE HDD Docking Station @ AnandTech
- Thecus N5550 5-Bay NAS Review @ eTeknix
- NZXT Aperture M Card Reader @ Kitguru
- NAP Updates Firmware to 3.7 | New Features! @ Computing on Demand
- Synology DiskStation DS412+ @ Legion Hardware
- Seagate GoFlex Satellite @ LanOC Reviews
Deals for June 8th - OCZ Vertex 3 240GB SSD for $194
Subject: General Tech | June 8, 2012 - 02:58 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: vertex 3, ssd, ocz, deal of the day
Today's deal is one that might interest a lot of PC Perspective readers - an OCZ Vertex 3 SSD for about $0.80/GB!
If you are one of the 95% of PC Perspective readers interested in upgrading your storage system or you have another computer sitting around that could use the benefits of an SSD inside, this is a great opportunity to get one at a nice price.
You can check out our review of the OCZ Vertex 3 SSD right here, if you need a bit of a refresher.
Head on over to LogicBuy to get this OCZ Vertex 3 240GB SSD for $194!!
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