So I managed to score a 120gb Vertex 3 for $70 so I couldn't resist.

I got it up and running nicely. I *hate* how OCZ's firmware update software won't allow you to update the firmware if the drive is your OS drive (which will almost always be the case for an SSD). I had to re-install Windows on the Vertex 2 so I could update to version 1.22 which just came out a few days ago.

So far the Vertex 3 is about twice as fast as the Vertex 2 was in benchmarks, but in terms of real-world usage I don't notice a lot of difference. I would say Windows 7 boots up in 1-2 less seconds, and a few of my bigger apps like iTunes load up maybe 2-3 seconds quicker.

I was initially regretting not going RAID-0 with another Vertex 3, but after playing with it for a bit I doubt I would have noticed much difference.

My Windows Experience Index went from 7.4 with the Vertex 2 to 7.8 with the Vertex 3. My entire system is 7.7 or higher on the WEI now.

Sickbeast do you recommend I do a clean install of windows when I get my ssd, or could I shrink my c drive and clone it to the ssd? I'm leaning toward the clean install.

Cloning it is fine and probably quicker and easier.

I used a Linux Mint CD and gddrescue. It was very simple. From SSD to SSD it took about 5 minutes and everything worked perfectly.

http://www.ehow.com/how_4924091_clone-hard-drive-linux.html