My first experiences with the OCZ Vertex 3 and the ASUS Rampage Formula.

Getting the drive to work on the ASUS Rampage Formula isn't a problem. A big minus is trying to update the firmware. It isn't possible to update the OCZ Vertex 3 firmware when it's your primary drive. That's a big problem because for most users if not all users it's the primary drive.

I've tried a few Windows boot cd's but it didn't make much difference. Then I've found on the OCZ forum a set of Linux tools to make an USB boot drive with everything necessary to update the firmware. With these tools it was possible to update the firmware but it wasn't easy. When I tried to update the firmware it wasn't possible because the drive is locked. Unlocking the drive isn't difficult you would think because there's also a tool available to let the computer go in to sleep mode. Than you wait a few seconds to make the computer wake up again by pressing the power button. A big problem on the ASUS Rampage Formula because when the board tries to wake up from sleep mode it fails to do that and reposts.

If that doesn't work than there's always the hard way. Disconnecting the power from the drive and wait a few seconds before reconnecting it again to unlock the drive. This sucks when it's hard to reach the power cable.

Finally. It's now possible to update the firmware. Great but not so great. To update the drive with the latest firmware you've got to edit a file so you don't end up with an older firmware like me. Great now you can do the whole hassle again.

After a few hours, I'm using the latest firmware which results in a performance decrease and a broken side panel fan that can't be fixed from all the hassle trying to update the firmware.