Facebook Users … Attention
Attention , this links on Facebook are SPAM , don't click them.
Its probably infected your account.
Share this with your friends.
Network Activity Indicator - Indicator Network for Windows 7
Most of the proposals is limited to display an icon in the Notification Area of Windows and your image will alternate depending on network activity. The Network Activity Indicator is a new alternative, which gives you this basic information and it still adds additional information which is very useful.
I dare say that the Network Activity Indicator is what Microsoft should take as an example for future implementation of a function of gender. Not just for the simplicity with which it is constructed and presented, but also because it gives us much information.
Beyond the obvious activity of the network interfaces, Network Activity Indicator shows you a small window where they can view information on the traffic that goes through there. This window can be fixed on the desktop and thus have access directly to information that you provide. For that they should use the symbol on the upper right corner and know whether they are users of Windows 7.
Are present there, beyond the name of the interface that is being used, the number of packets sent and received.To add to it can still find information on the current bandwidth for uploading and downloading that are currently using.
The pearl gives this application its unique touch is the presentation of this window a graph that shows your use of bandwidth over time. Unfortunately, this graph can not be done in way of history and its data window is limited.Yet the data presented are extremely useful and can verify the use they have given to your network.
The icon that is in the Notification Area of Windows is being altered as they are sending or receiving data over the network interface.
The Network Activity Indicator is an excellent application to control the use of your network card and brings back a feature much appreciated in Windows and disappeared with the arrival on the scene of Windows Vista and later with 7. Maybe Microsoft will listen to the many users who want this function back and this will be incorporated back in the future Windows 8
Network Activity Indicator discharge and have it in use in your Windows. It is completely portable and runs it just to put it in operation and collecting data. Stay abreast of the speed that your PC is getting in contact with the network and screen for possible problems or constraints.
Download: Network Activity Indicator 0.7.0 [85.41KB]
Ferrari 458 Italia
The Ferrari 458 Italia, launched at the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show 2009, is an 8-cylinder two-seater berlinetta with a mid-rear mounted engine, and represents a genuine break with the past in terms of Maranello's previous high-performance sports cars.
Designed to fulfil the expectations and ambitions of our most passionate clients, the 458 Italia continues the Ferrari tradition of putting the thrill into driving as a result of track-derived technological innovations.
Maranello's racing experience can be felt not only in terms of pure technological transfer but also on a more emotional level, because of the strong emphasis on creating an almost symbiotic relationship between driver and car.
Link : http://www.ferrari.com/English/GT_Sport%20Cars/CurrentRange/458-Italia/Pages/458-Italia.aspx
Facebook worth 70 billion dollars
A group of shareholders wants to sell Facebook's billion dollars in shares in thesecondary market. A group of shareholders wants to sell Facebook's billion dollars inshares in the secondary market. This operation puts the market value of the companyat 70 billion dollars. This operation puts the market value of the company at 70 billiondollars.
The sellers had tried to sell the shares in a transaction that would value the companystood at 90 billion but, to date, did not appear interested. The sellers tried to sell the HAD shares in the transaction would value the company That Stood at 90 billion But, todate, did not applaud interested.
Now they want to unload billion dollars in an operation that puts the value of social network in 70 billion dollars. Now They Want to unload billion dollars in an operationThat puts the value of social network in 70 billion dollars.
The proposed transaction includes the shares held by company employees. TheProposed transaction includes the shares held by company employees. However, theoperation must be authorized by top executives. However, the operation Must BeAuthorized by top executives.
Until now, Facebook has not commented on the situation. Until now, Facebook has notcommented on the situation.
The sellers had tried to sell the shares in a transaction that would value the companystood at 90 billion but, to date, did not appear interested. The sellers tried to sell the HAD shares in the transaction would value the company That Stood at 90 billion But, todate, did not applaud interested.
Now they want to unload billion dollars in an operation that puts the value of social network in 70 billion dollars. Now They Want to unload billion dollars in an operationThat puts the value of social network in 70 billion dollars.
The proposed transaction includes the shares held by company employees. TheProposed transaction includes the shares held by company employees. However, theoperation must be authorized by top executives. However, the operation Must BeAuthorized by top executives.
Until now, Facebook has not commented on the situation. Until now, Facebook has notcommented on the situation.
"Father" of the CD, Japanese Norio Ohga, dies aged 81
Currently, Norio Ohga was an honorary member of the board of Sony's business - with a record company - which sold the first CD in 1982. Five years later, in 1987, the format would outsell LP (vinyl) in Japan, and the CD is still the best selling musical support, though it will be faced with the increasingly tight competition format digital.
Ohga has always been enthusiastic about the CD format, highlighting your best sound quality. The former president of Sony since the 1970s was to anticipate the entry format in the market, although at the time the skeptics have doubted that this could be a replacement for the classic vinyl.
The current president of Sony, Howard Stringer, said the death of stressing Norio Ohga its "advanced view" that allowed Sony to an evolution in their products and audio video music, movies and games "and the consequent transformation of a brand leader global entertainment. "
In the process of creating a CD, Ohga invested in the format of 12 cm, which meant that it had sufficient capacity to support 75 minutes of uninterrupted recording, says Sony.
Norio Ohga, born January 29, 1930, died today in Tokyo.
SetPower - Power plans adjusted for hours
The hours that our computers are connected are increasing. Our dependence has forced us to stop having only one machine and probably already have the home PC, server and even the laptop work. As we have information spread by these various machines, they are required to be linked to long from anywhere can access it. Naturally, this requirement means that the energy consumption to shoot and see the bills go up to very high values. We can always use the the Windows power plans, but they must be applied by hand and face.
To circumvent the problem of having to apply power plans at certain hours was developed SetPower. This application lets you control the cost of energy very efficiently and have any concerns.
The SetPower will allow to determine the hours that your Windows will change the power plan you have in use and what switches to define. A use that can give this application is to have your machine to consume minimal energy resources during the night and early morning, when it is needed, the plan is changed to one more suitable for the job they want to perform.
Leave so you have to remember and think about applying the power plan you want. Simply indicate the hours and SetPower handles everything. SetPower the root has 2 plans available and that fit in most situations. The first, which is the simplest, has only two entries. One that indicates the start time of work and one that puts you at low power consumption.
The second plane, more complete, allows them to control 4 inputs. Thus the degree of configuration that can be thinner and in greater detail. Just to indicate the start times of each of the inputs and the configuration is finished.
If they wish can always create action plans by hand and then have more control over the actions to be taken. For each one must define the parameters necessary to conform to your will. Define then define the time of implementing the plan and the days of the week to be used. From that moment the plan is in use.
Create as many as requiring that your Windows is with the behavior they desire. The greater the detail that apply, able to be your biggest savings.
Falls below a short video made by the creators of SetPower. Look how he can help you save energy. See also simple as can configure and use.
The SetPower is an excellent application because it allows them to achieve power plans to apply to your Windows as a function of time. So go get your savings on electricity bills and relieve the components of your machine.
Put your machine to hibernate outside of work hours and d have it always ready to work the hours that usually begin your work. Chances are a lot of it depends solely on your need to implement the plans. Define the time and what must be done. The SetPower handles the rest.
Download: 1.3.0 SetPower [485.00KB]
PreUpgrade Fedora 14 to 15beta
Open Shell and run in “root”
yum update
yum install preupgrade
preupgrade
When program launch , click “Forward” , and click “Display unstable test …” and select “Fedora 15”
This process delay 30m ~ 1h
Screen Fedora 15
The Beta version contains a more refined prior to the latest technologies being developed by the Fedora Project, these technologies are available with greater stability to be re-tested by the community to identify and report errors.
More news of the release of Fedora 15 are:
- GNOME 3;
- Systemd;
- BoxGrinder;
- Stateful firewall;
- Maven 3;
- Python 3.2;
- Sugar .92;
- Support boot sector of the disk 4kB;
- Ecryptfs support in authconfig;
- Suite robotics.
See the complete list of resources: http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Releases/15/FeatureList
AVAST Software: Twenty years in pursuit of malware
PRAGUE, Czech Republic, April 21, 2011 – AVAST Software, developer of the world’s most popular antivirus program, is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Today’s AVAST Software was established as a partnership in April of 1991. Three of the initial AVAST crew are still active in the company: co-founders Eduard Kucera and Pavel Baudis together with Vladimir Cernik as the first employee.
“It began with just five or six people. In addition to antivirus programs, we worked on a number of computer tools for supporting Czech language, backup systems,” said Pavel Baudis. “One of our early successful products was SUP – that’s Czech for vulture – a management system for overseeing computers in a large environment used by organizations such as the Czech Post Office and the Prague Metro.”
The company soon focused on one product with the code name of ‘Anti-virus – Advanced Set‘. “The name was shortened to ‘avast’ and from 1995, we have worked only on antivirus products,” remarked Mr. Baudis. In 2010, the company changed its name to AVAST Software from the previous ALWIL Software.
“We started out in one room, up on the fifth floor just under the roof,” said Vladimir Cernik, co-head of the avast! Virus Lab. “This was a long time ago, but at early trade shows, we even went dressed as doctors and soldiers. There are some interesting photos of this.”
From this small group of dedicated people, AVAST Software has grown to where it now protects over 150 million computer users around the globe with its avast! antivirus program. “From the beginning, AVAST has been a place for people that want to make a difference,” said Eduard Kucera, co-founder and chairman of the AVAST Software board of directors.
“It is hard to imagine that a little local firm that officially started 20 years ago – and unofficially over 23 years ago – is now the World’s most popular consumer antivirus,” said Vince Steckler, CEO of AVAST Software. “This is due to the dedicated efforts of many people—our founders, long-term employees, newer staff, and to our supporters around the globe.”
Detect Virus and Spyware in Emails/Websites with Online Link Scan
This is a known fact that Emails cause the spreading of more than half of Virus and Spyware. The bad links, wrapped and disguised in seemingly un-harmful and innocent emails, create havoc with your internet security.
Savvy Internet users can detect the un-harmful links from those with malicious intents easily. But some times it becomes extremely difficult for them also to detect these bad links, which sometimes point you to rogue websites, which are meant for the distribution of malware.
I have just come across an online service, which is able to tell you, whether a particular link is safe for your visit or not. It uses several services like Google Safe Browsing, AVG database, SiteTruth database and PhishTank database to base its opinion about the character of a website or web link.
How to find Virus and Spyware in Emails?
Now, whenever you get tempted to click on a link given in an email or a website, and you are in doubt whether the link is safe to visit or not, then you can copy the link and head straight to Online Link Scan. Here you just paste the link and check it whether it is safe to visit or not.
Online Link Scan will scan the various services and give you its recommendations.
But how accurately it detects Virus and Spyware in Emails
I tried the service on a few known websites, which freely distribute the malware. However the results were mixed. I will not publish the names of all of these websites, but one of them was http://www.stalkdaily.com, which is the recent threat affecting many Twitter users.
Online Virus Scan failed to recongnize the true character of this link and gave it a clean chit. However, if you Google about stalkdaily.com, you can easily know the true character of this link.
In yet another instance, I tried the home of the known Rogue Security Software www.spyprotect2009.com. This tool was not able to correctly report the true character of this website also.
All in all, there may be some instances, where it gets failed to detect Virus and Spyware Threats accurately in Emails and websites, but it doesn’t mean that the service is not useful. However, we advice not to solely rely on it. This may be one of the tools in your Internet Security Kit.
Cinema Europa
It was inaugurated in the 1930s of the twentieth century, designed by architect Raul Martinez .
In 1958 a second draft was amended by the architect Antero Ferreira and its facade included a high-relief carving of the sculptor Cunha Vaz .
Integrates Inventory of modern Portuguese architecture of the Portuguese Institute of Architectural Heritage (IPPAR, now referred to as IGESPAR ).
Worked as a cinema until 1981 .
It was demolished in 2010 .
Microsoft and Nokia formalize partnership
The partnership between Nokia and Microsoft in the area of telecommunications, which provides for the introduction of the Windows platform Phone smartphones in Finland was made official today
In a statement Microsoft reveals that today's agreement with Nokia"will result in a new mobile ecosystem, through the means of two complementary businesses."
The signing comes the official announcement made jointly last February, when Nokia and Microsoft have revealed a joint effort in this segment, whose most visible aspect is the integration of Windows OS Phone in Nokia devices.
For Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, "our agreement is good for the industry."
The successor to Bill Gates emphasized that "together, Nokia and Microsoft will innovate faster and deliver better opportunities for consumers and partners to benefit from the success of our ecosystem."
On that note Microsoft states that the first Nokia devices with Windows phone will reach the market in 2012.
Already the Finnish manufacturer states that "in the coming years we will work aggressively to bring products from Nokia Phone with Windows to new geographies, with new prices and share new experiences with consumers."
1215B Eee PC: netbook with a performance notebook
After the exhibition at CeBIT, Asus announced the arrival on the market now the Eee PC 1215B, presented as a "netbook with a performance notebook, which has the use of AMD's new platform Brazos one of their main arguments.
The new platform includes the Fusion Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) and E-350, by combining CPU and GPU into a single unit, it promises a higher speed transfer of data between these components, with additional benefits in reducing energy consumption.
The "machine" itself has LED backlitscreen WXGA (1366x768) of 12.1 inches and weighs 1.45 kg The drive offers 500GB of storage anddual core AMD processor E-350 runs at 1.6GHz.
In terms of graphics performance Eee PC 1215B integrates an AMD Radeon HD6310 and supports DirectX 11, with the aim of providing "the best gaming and multimedia experiences." It also includes an HDMI port, allowing playback in full HD 1080p display higher dimensions.
Besides the HDMI port, the new PC from Asus has connections for USB 3.0, VGA and input cards, providing connectivity Bluetooth 3.0 and Wi-Fi 802.11n.
The technology itself ASUS Super Hybrid Engine combined with low power consumption of the AMD Fusion APU promises to extend the battery life of thenetbook in use up to eight hours.
In the Portuguese market the Eee PC 1215B is available in black, gray and red and has a retail selling price of 499 euros.
Intel promises Android 3.0 for x86 later this year
Intel CEO Paul Otellini revealed that the company is working on a home version of Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) designed to run on x86 architecture.
Otellini also said Intel is in talks with notebook manufacturers to produce tablets with Atom processors with a wide variety of operating systems, such MeeGo, Android and Windows 3.0, before the end of 2011. Last week, the company launched the platform Oak Trail, designed specifically for tablets.
The smartphone market, which is also dominated by ARM processors, should also receive products from Intel in the coming months. "It would be very disappointing if we did not see phones with Intel processors for sale over the next 12 months," Otellini said.
Twitter Feed !
We now use Twitter Feed , to send Twitter and Facebook Account Automatically wish make a publish
Parkdale - Measure the speed of your Hard Disk
One of the variables that can influence the performance of our computers is the speed of reading and writing disk data and various peripherals. Discs with lower speeds canrestrict the performance of an operating system because they are not able to make the information available at the same time other components.
The Parkdale is an application that will allow you to find out what the speed of writingand reading your devices. With these data will be able to determine any problems ordetect them in advance.
The Parkdale can measure speed in a wide range of devices. Disks, optical drives orUSB sticks and discs are scanned without any problems. It also has the distinction ofachieving the same measurements made on network drives and to know the realtransfer speed.
Its interface is divided into three distinct areas. The first is where they can test forreading and writing fast. Simply define the size of the file being created, the size of the blocks of writing and the process can be started.
The results are displayed after the test finished and there you can see the speedreading and writing of drive chosen.
The second zone allows the trials using the file system, using a file that there are anypresent. There may also set some parameters for the test result from the way they want.
In the last area available, they will be able to make the tests more raw. Will be able totest the disk more directly, without using the filesystem.
Use the Parkdale to test your discs. Know your real speed reading and writing, gettingmislead any problems on your computer.
It is a portable application and indispensable in your PEN screening problems. Just runthe Parkdale and testing.
Download: Parkdale 2.72 [605.55KB]
Portuguese that created illegal sharing site goes on judgment
The si te author torrents Btuga be brought to trial, ruled the Court of Appeal of Lisbon, in a ruling dated April 14 and now known, which repeal the decision of the court of inquiry presented in July 2010.
The Portuguese site file-sharing had been completed in July 2007, following an operation carried out by the PJ and the ASAE, prompted by complaints from the Portuguese Phonographic Association (AFP) and the Federation of Editors of videos (FEVIP) representing the music industry and video in Portugal.
Luis Ferreira will now be tried for the crime of theft of copyright, "writes the public, citing portions of the above, according to which" the defendant used the P2P network and the BitTorrent protocol for the sole and exclusive purpose of making or using the same changes were made to let / sharing of content / files protected by copyright. "
The defendant also sent to service users who wanted through this to exchange / to share / disclose / use films, music, games, videos of more recent authors of [that] were in possession "benefiting all users of the network because "the change would not cost anything monetarily to none," adds up.
The decision now rendered determines, therefore, that, contrary to the court of inquiry concluded, "the defendant made use lawful means to accomplish an unlawful end completely allowing the exchange / use / disclosure of the most varied videographic works, phonographic and others subject to the regime of copyright. "
The court also observed that service users also "commit the crime of copyright theft," because they are "exploiters and users of protected works."
The Btuga is the oldest of the three sites and used in the operation closed in 2007. A 2005 study of Marktest indicated that the site led the national rankings for the number of hours spent surfing - 478,000 hours - and was third in the number of pages viewed by ISPs Portuguese - with 12, 5 million hits. The latest data presented by the system administrator, and quoted in the statement of the AFP and FEVIP, gave account of assets and 134,500 registered users www.btuga.pt site was visited daily by about 110,000 users.
Windows 7 Becomes Microsoft’s Fastest Selling OS in History!
Microsoft has just made it official. They have sold a remarkable 100 million licenses of Windows 7 since it’s launch, making it the fastest selling operating system of Microsoft to date.
Just six months after its release, Windows 7 is now installed on one in 10 of the world’s PCs, Microsoft has confirmed.
Windows 7 "continues to be a growth engine" for Microsoft, with Windows revenue up 28 per cent year-on-year for the last financial quarter which ended on March 31st. According to the report published by Microsoft, one in every ten PC’s around the world is running Windows 7 in just under 6 months since launch. Now that is one impressive feat no matter which way you look at it.
Windows 7 is the latest client version of Microsoft Windows for PCs and is the successor to Windows Vista. Windows 7 RTM was announced back in July 2009. It is publicly available since the official launch, which was held on October 22nd 2009. Check out our Windows 7 Center for the complete coverage on the latest client version of Windows. [via Silicon]
You can follow us on twitter or join our facebook fanpage to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google and Apple.
HouseBox.PT
Housebox Presentation
Housebox® is a dream come true and a project still in expansion, fruit of its main mentor and administrator’s, João Sousa, willpower and ambition.
Noticing the problems with similar projects, he had the idea of creating this one, which became a national and international reference, with thousands of listeners and working professionals brought together by a common passion: electronic music.
Through a continuous search of the best platform, João Sousa starts what would become the most important partnership of this project, connecting with service provider Dotsi (www.dotsi.pt). With this connivance, all that was needed to kickstart the project was available. On the 4th of August of 2005, Housebox® was announced as the new and alternative online radio.
Its evolution was a natural process; regular listeners became a reality and kept growing daily. As a result of this growth and the constant concern for improvement, an info website, available for all listeners, was created (again as a partnership with Dotsi). The need to provide a place for House Music lovers to share their experiences and knowledge would take us to our next step: opening up a web forum that would, in no time, become essential for many newcomers to DJing, allowing them to have their work & art recognized by publishing on this online space.
Since the 19th February, 2008, the Housebox® project is a credible trademark in the market, having been registered in the INPI (Instituto Nacional de
Propriedade Industrial, National Institute for Industrial Property). New horizons were furthered and it no longer is a project aimed exclusively at an internal market, it is now transmitting beyond Portuguese borders and featuring big names of the international electronic dance scene.
Four years after its first broadcast, Housebox® is today a solid project, a respected symbol for all professionals and listeners, considered by the critics one of the best national online radios, a great platform for showcasing new talents, tomorrow’s hit singles and the latest DJ gear through regular exhaustive reviews.
Housebox® won’t stop here, more projects and ideas are taking their course, enriching what already exists and expanding horizons for new challenges, focusing on the same will to write history with all the quality that distinguishes it.
Housebox
The box that plays house music louder than ever.
Chatroulette
Chatroulette is a website that pairs random strangers from around the world together for webcam-based conversations. Visitors to the website randomly begin an online chat (video, audio and text) with another visitor. At any point, either user may leave the current chat by initiating another random connection. After offering an experimental "localized" version which paired people by state or country, the website went offline briefly in August 2010, but returned to service on September 1.
Husband Store / Shop Wives
Husband Store
It was inaugurated in New York, The Husband Store, a new and exciting store, where the ladies will choose a husband.
At the entrance, the customer receives instructions on how the store operates:
You can visit the store ONLY ONCE!
There are six floors and the attributes of their husbands on sale get better as you go up the floors.
But there is one restriction - you can buy the husband of their choice on a floor or climb one more.
BUT CAN NOT GET OFF, except to leave the store, directly to the street.
So, a woman went to the store to choose a husband.
On the first floor the sign on the door:
the Floor 1 - These men have jobs.
Not content, he went up another floor ....
The second floor sign reads:
the Floor 2 - These men have jobs and love kids.
The third floor sign reads:
The Floor 3 - These men have jobs, love kids, are extremely good looking.
'Wow,' she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.
On the floor sign reads:
the Floor 4 - These men have jobs, love kids, are cute and love to help with the housework.
'Oh my God,' said the woman, but continued to rise.
On the floor sign reads:
the Floor 5 - These men have jobs, love kids, are extremely good looking, love to help with the housework, and still are
extremely romantic.
She insisted, and went up to the sixth floor and found the following warning:
the Floor 6 - You are visitor number 31,456,012 to this floor.
There are no men on this floor.
This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please.
Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store.
* The store Wives
Later, he opened a store across the street, shop Wives, also with six floors and identical rules for
male buyers.
On Floor 1,
women who love sex.
On Floor 2,
women who love sex and are very beautiful.
The Floors 3, 4, 5 and 6 were never visited.
==..==
O race to settle for so little !!!!!
Facebook Account Temporarily Unavailable – Problem and Solution
Are you worried that you can’t access your Facebook profile and seeing an error like,
Facebook Account Temporarily Unavailable
Your account is temporarily unavailable due to site maintenance. It should be available again within a few hours. We apologize for the inconvenience
Account temporarily unavailable
Your account is currently unavailable due to a site issue. We expect this to be resolved shortly. Please try again in a few minutes.
Sorry, this profile is not available at the moment. Please try again shortly.
If your Facebook account is not available and you are seeing any of the above messages when you open Facebook, than there is nothing to worry.
As the messages say, your Facebook account is temporarily unavailable because either Facebook is doing some site maintenance, or it is facing bandwidth issues. In any case, your Facebook profile should be up and running within an hour or less.
If you can’t access your Facebook profile even after an hour, then ask around to your local friends if they can open their Facebook accounts. If they can’t then probably its a bigger site maintenance task, so try again after some time.
However, if all your local friends can open their Facebook profile and only you are seeing the Facebook Account Temporarily Unavailable message, then try clearing your browser’s cache and cookies to fix the issue.
If your Facebook profile is still unavailable after many days, then send an email to info@facebook.com, appeals@facebook.com or disabled@facebook.com and explain them the issue. Once you send them an email, your account will be available again soon.
StreetViewFun
View the best street view images at StreetViewFun.com. Updated daily with new funny and interesting Google Maps Street View photos. Find bloopers and other funny stuff. We also cover funny images from similar services such as the new Microsoft Bing StreetSide and Mapjack. This is a collection of thousands of images from StreetView, with the best listed in a Toplist.
Link : http://www.streetviewfun.com
eeePC 1001PX - Hack
When Buy :
Memory : 1 GB DDR2
Hard Disk : 160 GB
S.O : Windows XP
Now :
Memory : 2 GB DDR2
Hard Disk : 500 GB
S.O : Linux Fedora 14
Why Instaled Linux ?
Because its very fast, and its good for test network,
Can play 720p videos
Micro does’t work
My Kanguru Internet doesn’t ( yet )
Batery only up to 3h
OCZ Vertex 3 240GB SSD Review
About a year ago OCZ released the Vertex 2 solid state drive, a major follow up to their popular Vertex series. The drive hit the market to become one of the first to make use of the yet unheard of SandForce SF-1222 controller. OCZ was quick to jump on this new controller and they were happy to sample pre-production versions to get the word out quickly.
Shortly after the Vertex 2, there were countless other SSDs using the same SandForce controller, and yet for many the Vertex 2 remained the best as OCZ led the pack with firmware updates and warranty support.
With this sudden initial success, SandForce announced the SF-2000 series in early 2011. The consumer-level performance controller known as the SF-2281 includes support for the SATA 6Gb/s interface, while boasting read and write speeds of 500MB/s+, a mind blowing figure when compared to the previous generation chip. The Vertex 2's SF-1222 controller was limited to SATA 3Gb/s and offered read and write speeds of less than 300MB/s.
Even though OCZ recently acquired Indilinx, another well-known memory controller maker, the company has wasted no time jumping on SandForce's latest SF-2281. As was the case with the Vertex 2 series, OCZ sent us a pre-production version of the Vertex 3 for a hands-on evaluation of what's to come.
Although this version of the drive is technically a beta unit, we believe it will be very close to the real thing, which started shipping to retail outlets just recently. We will update our results with a production version of the drive in a couple of weeks as needed, but in the meantime we can anticipate today's results will give you a perfect idea of what to expect from the final product.
Before we proceed to testing, a word on pricing. For now it appears solid state drives will continue to get faster, but not any cheaper. OCZ has set the list price for the Vertex 3 120GB version at $249, while the 240GB version will cost $499. Compared to the current Vertex 2 models - 120GB ($229) and 240GB ($429) - it translates in a small price premium for the smaller drive while the larger model is getting hit a bit harder for a noticeable performance increase.
Vertex 3 240GB Features & Design
The Vertex 3 series is aimed at performance buffs with initial SF-2281-based models offering capacities of 120GB, 240GB and 480GB. The Vertex 3 has a slim 2.5" design, measuring 99.8 x 69.63 x 9.3mm and weighing just 77 grams. The drive consumes two watts of power when in use and just 0.5 watts in standby, which is the same as the Vertex 2 series.
The 120GB model packs read and write speeds of 550MB/s - 500MB/s while the larger 240GB version is slightly faster with 550MB/s reads 520MB/s writes. The largest model offers 480GB of storage and is actually the slowest, rated at 530MB/s reads and 450MB/s writes.
Naturally, using the SATA 6Gb/s interface is essential to achieving those speeds. The only issue with this is that Intel's new Sandy Bridge platform is the only one to provide native SATA 6Gb/s support -- and it does so with only two ports.
Third party embedded solutions such as the Marvell 88SE9128 can provide motherboards with SATA 6Gb/s support, but offer very poor results compared to Intel's implementation. That said, there is a new Marvell 88SE9182 controller that can mimic the performance of Intel's 6 series chipsets, so support for the 6Gb/s SATA is improving.
All three Vertex 3 models are loaded with MLC NAND (25nm) flash memory. Our review sample has sixteen 16GB Micron 29D128G08CFAAB NAND ICs for a total capacity of 256GB. The reason this is marketed as a 240GB SSD is because 16GB is reserved for data parity (8GB for RAISE), garbage collection, and block replacement.
Once formatted in Windows, the original 240GB drops to 224GiB, meaning you lose roughly 7% from the GB to GiB conversion. With an MSRP of $499, the Vertex 3 240GB costs $2 per gigabyte, which is actually pretty decent for SSD standards.
Like the original SF-1222 controller, the second-generation SF-2281 uses data compression technology called DuraWrite. This technology is designed to help lower write amplification and extend the drive's life by using fewer program-erase cycles. The upside is that this doesn't require a memory buffer, while the downside is that it uses more storage space on the drive.
The same Tensilica DC_570T CPU we mentioned in our Vertex 2 review is being used in the SF-2281. Although the CPU remains the same, the compression engine has improved. The second-generation SandForce controllers have a bigger block of silicon dedicated to DuraWrite technology while the garbage collection algorithms have also been improved.
OCZ has given the Vertex 3 the same two-million-hour MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) rating as the Vertex 2 series. This figure essentially means nothing to the consumer and we really have no idea how reliable these drives are going to be in the very long run.
However, the Vertex 3's three-year warranty should let customers sleep comfortably at night knowing they're covered for a reasonable timeframe. We'd like to drop a friendly reminder here that this won't protect your data, so be diligent about backups.
How We Test, System Specs
The OCZ Vertex 3 and Crucial RealSSD C300 were tested using SATA 6Gb/s, requiring us to use the Sandy Bridge (LGA1155) platform. All other 3Gb/s drives were tested on our older LGA1366 platform but this shouldn't affect the results. A few select SATA 3Gb/s drives were tested on our newer LGA1155 test system to check for testing accuracy, both synthetic and real-world performance was much the same.
In addition to our featured storage devices, the Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM hard drive has been included for comparison's sake. Other SSDs used for comparison feature controllers such as the SandForce SF-1200, JMicron JMF616, Intel PC29AS218A, Marvell 88SS9174, Toshiba TC58NCF618GBT and Samsung S3C29MAX01. Our testing suite consists of four synthetic benchmark programs and our own file copying and load time tests.
As you should know by now, while manufacturers claim impressive peak I/O performance out of the box, this performance can diminish over time. Unlike a conventional hard drive, any write operation made to an SSD is a two-step process: a data block must be erased and then written to. Obviously if the drive is brand new and unused there will be nothing to erase and therefore the first step can be bypassed, but this only happens once unless the drive is trimmed.
Considering this, we'll test how much performance you can expect to lose from each SSD over time. We'll test all drives in their clean unused state, and then run the HD Tach full benchmark several times which fills the entire drive. This simulates heavy usage and gives us a clear indication of how performance will be affected in normal long-term use.
All drives in this roundup support the Windows 7 TRIM function, which is meant to counteract these negative effects.
SATA 6Gb/s System Specs
- Intel Core i7-2600K (LGA1155)
- x2 2GB DDR3-1600 G.Skill (CAS 8-8-8-20)
- Asus P8P67 Deluxe (Intel P67)
- OCZ ZX Series (1250w)
- Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB
- OCZ Vertex 3 240GB
- Asus GeForce GTX 580 (1536MB)
Software
- Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit)
- Nvidia Forceware 270.51
SATA 3Gb/s System Specs
- Intel Core i7-965 EE (LGA1366)
- x3 2GB DDR3-1600 G.Skill (CAS 8-8-8-20)
- Asus P6T Deluxe (Intel X58)
- OCZ ZX Series (1250w)
- Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB
- Kingston SSDNow V+ 100 256GB
- Kingston SSDNow V 100 256GB
- OCZ RevoDrive X2 240GB
- OCZ Vertex 2 Pro 100GB
- OCZ Vertex 120GB
- Intel SSD 320 Series 300GB
- Samsung 470 Series 256GB
- Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB
- Asus GeForce GTX 580 (1536MB)
Software
- Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit)
- Nvidia Forceware 270.51
Benchmarks: File Copy Test
Although the SandForce controllers struggle with compressed files like what's used in our 6GB ISO test, the Vertex 3 240GB is still remarkably fast. It was 37% faster than the Samsung 470 256GB and outpaced the Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB by 45%. With a throughput of 157.8MB/s, the Vertex 3 240GB was also more than twice as fast as the original Vertex 2 Pro 100GB in this test.
The program copy test is comprised of many small non-compressed files (6104 files totaling 2.75GB). As you can see, the Vertex 3 prefers uncompressed data, becoming 24% faster when compared to the 6GB ISO test. This made OCZ's new drive 77% faster than the RealSSD C300 256GB and 50% faster than the new Intel SSD 320 Series 300GB.
The game copy evaluation is a mixture of small and large, compressed and non-compressed files. There are 1336 files in this test for a total size of 2.70GB. Interestingly, the Intel 320 Series 300GB, Samsung 470 Series 256GB and Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB became much faster, while the Vertex 3 lost speed over the previous test. Again, we believe the compressed files are slowing the Vertex 3 down.
Benchmarks: Real-World Applications
The Windows 7 boot time test is measured from the moment the OS loading screen appears to the time the Windows desktop is fully loaded.
The Vertex 3 is extremely fast to load Windows 7, clocking 8.8 seconds from an average of three runs. In fact, OCZ's new drive didn't let us see the Windows logo in full on the load screen -- we just saw four dots, what a shame.
For the application load test, we launch the following applications on Windows' startup: Internet Explorer, Outlook 2007, Access 2007, Excel 2007, PowerPoint 2007, Publisher 2007, Word 2007 and Photoshop CS4. The test starts when the Windows 7 startup sound loads to the time the final application is loaded.
All the SSDs perform exceptionally well here and there is very little difference between them. The OCZ Vertex 2 Pro 100GB is the fastest SSD we have clocked from an average of three runs taking just 4.7 seconds. The new Vertex 3 240GB was equally impressive taking 4.8 seconds, while the Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB took 5.1 seconds.
This test measures the time it takes to launch Adobe Photoshop CS4. This used to be an excellent test for SSDs in the early days, but with so many drives loading in roughly one second it's hard to tell them apart now. The OCZ Vertex 3 240GB matched the Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB and Samsung 470 Series 256GB.
The next batch of results was recorded while loading the last level of StarCraft II's single player campaign. The test begins as the loading screen appears and stops once the "click to play" message appears.
Whereas a typical hard drive takes around 24 seconds, most SSDs only get this time down to around 20 seconds, such as the new Intel SSD 320 Series 300GB drive. The OCZ Vertex 2 Pro 100GB and Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB managed to pull the trick in 18 seconds each, while the Samsung 470 Series 256GB took 16 seconds.
We were stunned to see that after three test runs the Vertex 3 240GB took an average of just 9.5 seconds to load the same StarCraft II level. That's unbelievably fast as the drive was able to load the level in half the time it took the RealSSD C300 256GB.
Benchmarks: CrystalDiskMark 3.0
The CrystalDiskMark sequential read and write results go a long way in uncovering why the OCZ Vertex 3 240GB was so blindingly fast in some of our transfer and application tests. The sequential read throughput topped 493.6MB/s making it 43% faster than the Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB and 77% faster than the Intel SSD 320 Series 300GB.
With a write throughput of 301.3MB/s the Vertex 3 was 17% faster than the Samsung 470 256GB, which is always fast in its own right. When compared to the Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB it was 35% faster -- a significant performance jump.
When running the CrystalDiskMark random 512K test we still found the Vertex 3 to be extremely fast, particularly when measuring read performance. Here it was 44% faster than the Crucial RealSSD C300 and more than twice as fast as the old Vertex 2 Pro.
Although not as impressive as when reading data, the Vertex 3 still provided strong write results. This time it was 16% faster than the Samsung 470 and roughly 28% faster than the Intel SSD 320 Series and the Crucial RealSSD C300.
Finally, we have the CrystalDiskMark random 4K-QD32 test and again the Vertex 3 240GB is at the top of its class. The read throughput reached 292.7MB/s making it 25% faster than the Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB and more than twice as fast as the new Intel SSD 320 Series 300GB drive.
The write performance was also very strong reaching 250.7MB/s making it 24% faster than the RealSSD C300 256GB and well over twice as fast as any other SSD tested.
Benchmarks: AS SSD Benchmark
The AS SSD Benchmark gave us similar sequential read/write results. The Vertex 3 broke the 500MB barrier with a read throughput of 510.6MB/s, making it 46% faster than the Crucial RealSSD C300 and 90% faster than the Intel SSD 320 Series. The write performance was also impressive despite only reaching 277.7MB/s -- it was 19% faster than the RealSSD C300.
The AS SSD Benchmark 4K-64 Thread test saw the Vertex 3 once again outperform the RealSSD C300 when measuring both read and write performance, but both were considerably faster than anything else tested.
Access time is one aspect where SSDs have always crushed standard disk drives. Read access times of the Vertex 3 were slightly quicker than the Samsung 470 Series and slightly slower than the Intel SSD 320 300GB.
Interestingly, the write access time was quite slow next to competing SSDs. Whereas the Intel SSD 320 Series 300GB and Samsung 470 Series 256GB were both under the 0.100ms mark the Vertex 3 240GB took 0.246ms.
Benchmarks: Atto Disk Benchmark
The Atto Disk Benchmark was used to measure 1K, 2K, 8K, 32K and 128K data performance. The 1K performance of the Vertex 3 240GB was surprisingly low with a throughput of just 35MB/s whereas the Intel SSD 320 Series 300GB reached 46MB/s and the Crucial RealSSD C300 256GB 98MB/s.
The 2K performance was much the same as the Vertex 3 reached 69MB/s while the 320 Series was faster with a throughput of 84MB/s and the RealSSD C300 managed 183MB/s. The Vertex 3 was still trailing behind the Intel and Crucial drives for the 8K test while it finally caught up in a big way once the data size reached 32K.
Finally at 128K the OCZ Vertex 3 240GB almost hit full stride with a throughput of 471MB/s which was unmatched by RealSSD C300's 344MB/s. Although we generally don't test 512K and don't include these results in the graph above, we thought it would be worth noting that the Vertex 3 reached its full speed of 520MB/s at this size.
The Vertex 3 was more competitive when measuring write performance with smaller data samples. The 1K test saw it deliver a throughput of 31MB/s which made it a fraction faster than the Intel SSD 320 Series yet slower than the 47MB/s produced by the Crucial RealSSD C300. The 2K test saw the Vertex 3 match the RealSSD C300 with 62MB/s while it raced ahead in the 8K test with a transfer speed of 318MB/s versus Crucial's 183MB/s.
By the time we reached 128K sample data the OCZ Vertex 3 was racing along at 518MB/s -- more than twice the speed of Intel and Crucial's offerings.
Benchmarks: HD Tune Pro
In the HD Tune Pro random read 512 bytes test, OCZ's latest SSD delivered mediocre performance with a throughput of 7.1MB/s, making it slower than the Samsung 470 Series and Intel SSD 320 Series.
OCZ reclaimed its lead with a transfer speed of 455.5MB/s in the random 1MB test, which was considerably faster than the Crucial RealSSD C300's 328.5MB/s.
Again, the Vertex 3 provided the best performance with a throughput of 404.9MB/s followed by the Crucial RealSSD C300 drive with 313.4MB/s in the HD Tune random read, random file size test.
We found that the Vertex 3 delivered about average random 512 bytes performance with a throughput of 8MB/s, which was slower than the Intel SSD 320 Series and Samsung 470 Series.
When it came to random 1MB write performance, OCZ's Vertex 3 blitzed the competition with a throughput of 472.1MB/s followed by 244.8MB/s from the Samsung 470 Series.
The last write test looks at random file size performance and again the Vertex 3 is well in front of the competition with a throughput of 391.8MB/s, making it considerably faster than any other 2.5" SSD we have tested.
Final Thoughts
Although it's still early in the year and we anticipated it was going to get busy with new generation solid state drives, the OCZ Vertex 3 is going to be the one to beat. The Intel SSD 320 series is limited to SATA 3Gb/s and therefore stands no chance in the performance department, while the highly regarded Crucial RealSSD C300 simply looked outdated. We'll have to check out Crucial's new m4 before we can pass final judgment on where the company stands, and we plan to do so in the coming weeks.
Intel's 510 Series (Elm Crest) is also on our to-do list. This will be the next SSD we review, it's coming very soon, we promise. At least on paper it appears the Intel 510 is in direct competition with the Vertex 3 as 120GB versions of both products are currently retailing for ~$300, while the 240GB Vertex 3 is about $50 cheaper.
OCZ is reportedly shipping the final Vertex 3 drives to retailers as we publish this, though most stores appear to be out of stock. If we could get the Vertex 3 120GB down to the suggested $249 list price any time soon, that drive would be a steal when you consider that Intel's SSD 320 120GB is currently selling for $239. Based on reviews we've seen elsewhere, Crucial's m4 doesn't offer much of a performance gain over the existing RealSSD C300 and its 128GB model is also meant to sell for $250.
There's one thing we know for certain: you shouldn't even consider the Vertex 3 unless you have a quality SATA 6Gb/s controller, otherwise its performance will be severely hampered. Folks with new Intel Sandy Bridge-based machines will be able to fully utilize the drive, as will those who have recently purchased a motherboard that features the updated Marvell 88SE9182 controller.
After suffering the pains of hard drive upgrades that offered modest performance bumps, say when going from 7,200 RPM to 10,000 RPM HDDs (and still paying a ton for the luxury), it seems incredible to think that in just one year SandForce has updated its controller to roughly double the performance of its predecessor.
Outstanding product: OCZ Vertex 3 240GB SSD
Solid state drive technology is still far from becoming mainstream, but the introduction of faster SATA 6Gb/s drives will surely help to push down the price of slower products like the Vertex 2. Previous generation 3Gb/s drives still provide considerable performance gains over hard disk drives and as we've been saying for years, they're the single best upgrade you can make for improving all-around performance.
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