- Brand Name: Corsair
- Model: CSSD-F120GB3-BK
- Hard Disk Size: 120.00 GB
- Form Factor: 2.5-Inch
- Width: 6.50 inches
Technical Details
Product Details
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Product Description
Amazon.com
Force Series 3 solid-state drives offer impressive SATA 3 6.0 Gb/second performance at an attractive price.
Step Up To Solid-State Speed with Force Series 3
Corsair SSDs are 2.5" wide, the same size as notebook hard drives. An adapter is included for mounting in standard desktop PC 3.5" drive bays.
One of the best PC performance investments you can make.
You'll be amazed at the improvement over traditional hard drive access times the first time you turn on your computer, and for virtually everything you do with your PC. System startup, application load times, data transfers, and even shutdown times are all faster.
Your system will be more responsive, and you'll be more productive.
Add up all the time you spend all day waiting for your computer — starting up, loading game levels, saving large files and documents — and it can be significant. Using a PC can be a lot more enjoyable when it's not always making you wait.
The power of SATA 3 6Gb/second performance
Great for the latest high-performance PCs.
There's fast, and then there's fast. Force Series 3 SSDs have even quicker read and write times when they're installed in PCs that use the latest SATA 3 interface.
Compatible with SATA 2 3Gb/s.
Haven't yet moved to SATA 3? Like all Corsair components, Force Series 3 SSDs are designed to last through several system upgrades. Adding a Force Series 3 today means that you'll still get incredible storage performance now, and your SSD will be ready for your next upgrade.
Get more for less
The cost-effective SATA 3 SSD solution.
Choosing a Force Series 3 SSD helps your computing budget go farther. They deliver outstanding SATA 3 6Gb/s performance, with prices that are comparable to lower-performance SATA 2 3Gb/s solid-state drives.
Force Series 3 SSDs are available in unformatted capacities of up to 240GB.
Corsair SSDs: Designed for Performance and Durability
TRIM Support
Force Series 3 SSDs feature support for the Windows® 7 TRIM command. This allows them to store only the data they need and perform memory optimization to ensure the fastest possible write speeds.
Reliability
Because SSDs have no moving parts, they can handle shock, vibration and temperature changes far in excess of mechanical hard drives. That's important for desktop PCs, and essential for notebooks.
Cool and Quiet, with Low Power Consumption
Traditional mechanical hard drives spin at thousands of revolutions per minute. This takes power, and generates noise and heat. Since SSDs have no moving parts, there's no noise or vibration, and the lower power consumption helps keep things cool inside your PC.
3.5" adapter
The 2.5" form factor allows for installation in most notebook PCs with no adapter required. If you're adding a Force Series 3 SSD to your desktop PC, use the included 3.5" adapter to mount it in any standard hard drive bay.
Force Series 3 Specifications
| Specifications | Force 3 120GB | Force 3 240GB |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 120 GB | 240 GB |
| Sequential Read Speed | 550 MB/s | 550 MB/s |
| Sequential Write Speed | 510 MB/s | 520 MB/s |
| Maximum IOPs (4K Aligned) | 85K | 85K |
| Form Factor | 2.5 inch | 2.5 inch |
| Interface | SATA III (6 Gb/s) | SATA III (6 Gb/s) |
| Warranty | 3 Years | 3 Years |
| Drive Image |  |  |
| More Information |
Contents and Specifications
Package contents
- Force Series 3 solid-state drive
- 3.5" adapter for desktop PCs
Technical Specifications
- Interface: SATA 3 6Gb/second
- Storage technology: Asynchronous NAND
- Operating temperature: 0° C to +70° C
- Storage temperature: -20° C to +85° C
- Operating Humidity: 10% to 90% RH (0° to +40° C)
- Maximum Operating Altitude: 3,048 m (up to 10,000 ft.)
- Maximum Non-Operative Altitude: 12,192 m (up to 40,000 ft.)
Compatibility
- SATA 3 6Gb/s
- Backward compatible with SATA II and SATA I
- Microsoft® Windows® 7, Vista®, and XP; Macintosh OS X; Linux
- 2.5" or 3.5" hard drive bay
Product Description
Step up to SATA 6Gb/s performance with a Corsair Force Series 3 SSD. Your system responds better, boots quicker, and loads applications faster. Ideal for notebooks, Corsair SSDs run cooler and quieter than traditional hard drives, using less power.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Effortless Install, Effortless Performance and Corsair Redeems Themselves
November 5, 2011
We have all read the reviews. If you want an SSD you have these choices:
1. If you want reliability at a premium price get either Intel or Crucial.
2. If you want to take more of a risk for a lower price and maybe higher speeds go with Corsair or OCZ.
3. Sandforce controllers should make the drive perform faster, but have issues and should be avoided until the bugs can be fixed, right?
Because of a very good price on the 120GB Corsair Force 3, I finally bought an SSD to install in my Dell laptop. I knew I wanted to eventually get an SSD for the sole reason of seeing the greatest performance increase you can do, basically, if you had to upgrade one thing. I knew nothing of what to optimize, what to tweak, or how to specially install an SSD other than putting it in, and loading Windows like I normally do to a new drive. Fortunately, this was all the information I needed to see the improvements that everyone else has seen when going with an SSD.
**I used this SSD on a Sata III port in my laptop**
Note that I am using firmware 1.3.2, and did not upgrade to 1.3.3. Corsair stated that, unless you had problems with the 1.3.2, there was no reason to upgrade to 1.3.3.
**When you are buying this SSD, make sure you note the -model- number** In this case my model # was CSSD-F120GB3A-BK. The *A* is important, because that means the SSD is preloaded with 1.3.2 firmware and is likely the newly 'revisioned' drive. Look for this on the box when you receive it. If you do not have an A at the end, upgrade to 1.3.2, or 1.3.3, as soon as you can to minimize anything going wrong.
I wanted to use this drive as a primary boot drive (the drive that loads and boots into Windows). After installing the drive in my laptop, I switched the SATA controller (as your computer is starting up you have to press an F key--which usually shows on the screen--to get into the BIOS) to AHCI, and booted to a USB Flash Drive (I had a Windows 7 .iso, or CD, on a 4gb flash drive though you could alternatively use a Windows install DVD/CD). **The reason for having Windows on a thumb drive is because of the quickness of using Flash to install on Flash (your SSD)** The complete Windows installation took about 15 minutes whereas it usually took around 45 minutes on a normal harddrive. This is your first taste of how your computer has increased its performance. During the installation I had 0 problems.
Doing a fresh install of Windows on your new SSD is the same process as if you formatted a harddrive and started from scratch to restore from system discs. Make sure, though, if you have the option, to enable AHCI mode under SATA Controllers in your BIOS before using the SSD.
After Windows had been opened for the first time, I installed the drivers for my system and was finally able to restart after each program 'install' and not worry about losing a lot of time. You know everytime you install a driver it asks to 'reboot now'? Well, with an SSD you will not have to say to yourself, "But do I really want to waste a minute or two letting Windows shut it self down and restart all over again"?
[---Bootup Times---]
Complete shutdown to bootup time was 30 seconds.
Startup time after immediately pressing power button is around 23 seconds.
Shutdown time is 4-5 seconds.
After installing drivers I ran Windows Experience Index. This drive scored a 7.9--the maximum score available--under 'Primary Hard Disk'. I have heard that you should run the WEI with an SSD as soon as you can because it is at this time Windows recognizes your SSD as an SSD. Why is this important? Because Windows 7 will then disable Defrag, Readyboot and other non-constituent performance tweaks. It will also enable the much needed TRIM. Also I would search online for further tweaks that you can use to improve your SSD performance even more.
Now because I wanted hard data on what speeds I was getting from the Force 3, I installed ATTO and PerformanceMark. Here are the numbers:
[---Actual Performance Numbers--]
*PerformanceMark takes a composite score that rates a drive based on its Sequential Read/Write/Random Seek speeds.*
Performance Mark Disk Mark was around 3550.
To put this number into perspective: the highest average Disk Mark number on PerformanceMark's website is 3512. Going by their website, my Corsair Force 3 Disk Mark score is as good as it gets right now.
[---PerformanceMark numbers for competitors---]:
Intel 510 Series 120 GB SATA Version 3 2.5-Inch Solid-State Drive is 2,263
Crucial 128 GB m4 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SATA 6Gb/s CT128M4SSD2 is 2,063
ATTO Scores were close to what is advertised under the specifications listings. Read was close to 550mbps max and Write was close to 500mbps.
I will add too that I usually put my laptop into sleep mode about 20-25 times a day. Having this drive for a little bit now, I can safely say that there have also been 0 problems when coming out of sleep. This review will be updated if anything changes.
One thing I have noticed too after upgrading to the SSD is that my laptop fan never comes on when I am just using the web checking e-mails, or streaming videos. If I close my eyes, I cannot hear anything that would let me know my laptop is on. Did I mention too, that this also transfers to the heat at the bottom, most likely on your lap. It does not even feel warm to the touch anymore. Probably just lukewarm.
Want another reason to take a risk with Corsair? Their excellent customer service and warranty program. If you did happen to get a bad one, you would be covered--for 3 years as per their warranty. The latter is one of the reasons I took a risk with Corsair even with unfavorable reviews. Because my drive is reliable, and it produces outstanding performance numbers, the little risk that may have been involved has since turned into a huge reward.
[---My Recommendation---]
Because I found the Force 3 at such a low price, I did not consider the Force 3 GT however; the price of the Force GT, as of right now, is close enough to the Force 3 that the extra dollars (in this case around 30$ more) is worth it to buy the Corsair Force Series GT 120 GB SATA 2.5-Inch SATA III Solid State Drive (CSSD-F120GBGT-BK). The latter will come close to doubling the performance gains of the Force 3 in *real world* usage. The stated specifications will seem to be the same, but the performances you see will be better with the Force GT. If you have never had an SSD and the price gap between the Force 3 and Force GT is greater than 50$, go with the Force 3. If the gap is less and/or you want the absolute best performance an SSD can give you right now, buy the Force GT.
1. If you want reliability at a premium price get either Intel or Crucial.
2. If you want to take more of a risk for a lower price and maybe higher speeds go with Corsair or OCZ.
3. Sandforce controllers should make the drive perform faster, but have issues and should be avoided until the bugs can be fixed, right?
Because of a very good price on the 120GB Corsair Force 3, I finally bought an SSD to install in my Dell laptop. I knew I wanted to eventually get an SSD for the sole reason of seeing the greatest performance increase you can do, basically, if you had to upgrade one thing. I knew nothing of what to optimize, what to tweak, or how to specially install an SSD other than putting it in, and loading Windows like I normally do to a new drive. Fortunately, this was all the information I needed to see the improvements that everyone else has seen when going with an SSD.
**I used this SSD on a Sata III port in my laptop**
Note that I am using firmware 1.3.2, and did not upgrade to 1.3.3. Corsair stated that, unless you had problems with the 1.3.2, there was no reason to upgrade to 1.3.3.
**When you are buying this SSD, make sure you note the -model- number** In this case my model # was CSSD-F120GB3A-BK. The *A* is important, because that means the SSD is preloaded with 1.3.2 firmware and is likely the newly 'revisioned' drive. Look for this on the box when you receive it. If you do not have an A at the end, upgrade to 1.3.2, or 1.3.3, as soon as you can to minimize anything going wrong.
I wanted to use this drive as a primary boot drive (the drive that loads and boots into Windows). After installing the drive in my laptop, I switched the SATA controller (as your computer is starting up you have to press an F key--which usually shows on the screen--to get into the BIOS) to AHCI, and booted to a USB Flash Drive (I had a Windows 7 .iso, or CD, on a 4gb flash drive though you could alternatively use a Windows install DVD/CD). **The reason for having Windows on a thumb drive is because of the quickness of using Flash to install on Flash (your SSD)** The complete Windows installation took about 15 minutes whereas it usually took around 45 minutes on a normal harddrive. This is your first taste of how your computer has increased its performance. During the installation I had 0 problems.
Doing a fresh install of Windows on your new SSD is the same process as if you formatted a harddrive and started from scratch to restore from system discs. Make sure, though, if you have the option, to enable AHCI mode under SATA Controllers in your BIOS before using the SSD.
After Windows had been opened for the first time, I installed the drivers for my system and was finally able to restart after each program 'install' and not worry about losing a lot of time. You know everytime you install a driver it asks to 'reboot now'? Well, with an SSD you will not have to say to yourself, "But do I really want to waste a minute or two letting Windows shut it self down and restart all over again"?
[---Bootup Times---]
Complete shutdown to bootup time was 30 seconds.
Startup time after immediately pressing power button is around 23 seconds.
Shutdown time is 4-5 seconds.
After installing drivers I ran Windows Experience Index. This drive scored a 7.9--the maximum score available--under 'Primary Hard Disk'. I have heard that you should run the WEI with an SSD as soon as you can because it is at this time Windows recognizes your SSD as an SSD. Why is this important? Because Windows 7 will then disable Defrag, Readyboot and other non-constituent performance tweaks. It will also enable the much needed TRIM. Also I would search online for further tweaks that you can use to improve your SSD performance even more.
Now because I wanted hard data on what speeds I was getting from the Force 3, I installed ATTO and PerformanceMark. Here are the numbers:
[---Actual Performance Numbers--]
*PerformanceMark takes a composite score that rates a drive based on its Sequential Read/Write/Random Seek speeds.*
Performance Mark Disk Mark was around 3550.
To put this number into perspective: the highest average Disk Mark number on PerformanceMark's website is 3512. Going by their website, my Corsair Force 3 Disk Mark score is as good as it gets right now.
[---PerformanceMark numbers for competitors---]:
Intel 510 Series 120 GB SATA Version 3 2.5-Inch Solid-State Drive is 2,263
Crucial 128 GB m4 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SATA 6Gb/s CT128M4SSD2 is 2,063
ATTO Scores were close to what is advertised under the specifications listings. Read was close to 550mbps max and Write was close to 500mbps.
I will add too that I usually put my laptop into sleep mode about 20-25 times a day. Having this drive for a little bit now, I can safely say that there have also been 0 problems when coming out of sleep. This review will be updated if anything changes.
One thing I have noticed too after upgrading to the SSD is that my laptop fan never comes on when I am just using the web checking e-mails, or streaming videos. If I close my eyes, I cannot hear anything that would let me know my laptop is on. Did I mention too, that this also transfers to the heat at the bottom, most likely on your lap. It does not even feel warm to the touch anymore. Probably just lukewarm.
Want another reason to take a risk with Corsair? Their excellent customer service and warranty program. If you did happen to get a bad one, you would be covered--for 3 years as per their warranty. The latter is one of the reasons I took a risk with Corsair even with unfavorable reviews. Because my drive is reliable, and it produces outstanding performance numbers, the little risk that may have been involved has since turned into a huge reward.
[---My Recommendation---]
Because I found the Force 3 at such a low price, I did not consider the Force 3 GT however; the price of the Force GT, as of right now, is close enough to the Force 3 that the extra dollars (in this case around 30$ more) is worth it to buy the Corsair Force Series GT 120 GB SATA 2.5-Inch SATA III Solid State Drive (CSSD-F120GBGT-BK). The latter will come close to doubling the performance gains of the Force 3 in *real world* usage. The stated specifications will seem to be the same, but the performances you see will be better with the Force GT. If you have never had an SSD and the price gap between the Force 3 and Force GT is greater than 50$, go with the Force 3. If the gap is less and/or you want the absolute best performance an SSD can give you right now, buy the Force GT.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By E
Amazon Verified Purchase
I received one of the new and updates drives from Corsair. The updated drives will begin with a part number 1123 or greater.
I must say the drive operates just like many of the benchmarks you'll find dotted around the web. As typical with an SSD, apps load extremely fast and reboots (at least for me) are less than 30 seconds. I previously was using an Intel X25-M and was expecting a huge increase in write performance since the Intel is limited to 80MB/sec on SATAII. But, in reality the Corsair SSD with its 510MB/sec write didn't make much of a difference in my world. I based this on using an Intel H67 motherboard, Intel QuickSync, and Arcsoft MediaConverter 7 to transcode a DVD to h.264 on the same drive. The result was 8:59 seconds compared to 10:15 seconds using the X25-M. Now, many will see this as an increase by shaving 1:16 seconds off the transcode time but I was looking for something greater considering the CSSD-F120GB3-BK has greater than six times the write speed and twice the read speed as the Intel.
This drive has not been flawless for me. I also play Age of Empires: The Conquorers (which the game is completely cached to the SSD) and I have had a couple of BSODs so far. I can not 100% say it is the SSD because I also had one under the X25-M while playing the game. But, I have only had the Corsair SSD for a couple of days (as of this writing) and have had two already. I've done MediaConverter 7 transcoding, ran heavy flash-based applications, and had large file transfers going in the background and the CSSD-F120GB3-BK never hiccuped once. So, maybe the BSODs are a specificly related to the playing the game.
Overall, I am pleased with the drive. Considering the first batch of drives were recalled and I have only experienced BSODs while gaming, I sort of have a bad aftertaste for these drives. I probably would not buy again, but then again from now on I will only buy Intel-based SSD drives as I never had the least bit of a problem (other than the single BSOD) with them and the Corsair drive's performance is only marginally better than the X25-M. And I had my X25-M for nearly two years.
Updated: 8/10/2011 from 4 star to 5 stars
The first CSSD-F120GB3-BK received worked for the most part except for the random crashing. But, I ended up returning it. I have since purchased another one (with a different part number beginning with 1130). It was not crashing but randomly freezing. Corsair has a new firmware, v1.3, available that now solves all previous problems with the drives. My drive performs flawlessly and I get 86-90% of the SATAIII speeds for writes and reads. I am completely happy now.
Updated: 11/6/2011
Corsair released another update v1.3.3. From the previous update to the current I was not experiencing too many problem. The updates have definitely fixed the very early BSOD/Stalling issues. I still have a very specific inference when the drive will crash but its easier to deal with since I know what will trigger the BSOD. I have about 90-95% confidence in relying on this drive for critical work. As said before, I like the speed and performance but probably would not buy again because reliability is something I can't trust right after purchasing.
I must say the drive operates just like many of the benchmarks you'll find dotted around the web. As typical with an SSD, apps load extremely fast and reboots (at least for me) are less than 30 seconds. I previously was using an Intel X25-M and was expecting a huge increase in write performance since the Intel is limited to 80MB/sec on SATAII. But, in reality the Corsair SSD with its 510MB/sec write didn't make much of a difference in my world. I based this on using an Intel H67 motherboard, Intel QuickSync, and Arcsoft MediaConverter 7 to transcode a DVD to h.264 on the same drive. The result was 8:59 seconds compared to 10:15 seconds using the X25-M. Now, many will see this as an increase by shaving 1:16 seconds off the transcode time but I was looking for something greater considering the CSSD-F120GB3-BK has greater than six times the write speed and twice the read speed as the Intel.
This drive has not been flawless for me. I also play Age of Empires: The Conquorers (which the game is completely cached to the SSD) and I have had a couple of BSODs so far. I can not 100% say it is the SSD because I also had one under the X25-M while playing the game. But, I have only had the Corsair SSD for a couple of days (as of this writing) and have had two already. I've done MediaConverter 7 transcoding, ran heavy flash-based applications, and had large file transfers going in the background and the CSSD-F120GB3-BK never hiccuped once. So, maybe the BSODs are a specificly related to the playing the game.
Overall, I am pleased with the drive. Considering the first batch of drives were recalled and I have only experienced BSODs while gaming, I sort of have a bad aftertaste for these drives. I probably would not buy again, but then again from now on I will only buy Intel-based SSD drives as I never had the least bit of a problem (other than the single BSOD) with them and the Corsair drive's performance is only marginally better than the X25-M. And I had my X25-M for nearly two years.
Updated: 8/10/2011 from 4 star to 5 stars
The first CSSD-F120GB3-BK received worked for the most part except for the random crashing. But, I ended up returning it. I have since purchased another one (with a different part number beginning with 1130). It was not crashing but randomly freezing. Corsair has a new firmware, v1.3, available that now solves all previous problems with the drives. My drive performs flawlessly and I get 86-90% of the SATAIII speeds for writes and reads. I am completely happy now.
Updated: 11/6/2011
Corsair released another update v1.3.3. From the previous update to the current I was not experiencing too many problem. The updates have definitely fixed the very early BSOD/Stalling issues. I still have a very specific inference when the drive will crash but its easier to deal with since I know what will trigger the BSOD. I have about 90-95% confidence in relying on this drive for critical work. As said before, I like the speed and performance but probably would not buy again because reliability is something I can't trust right after purchasing.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Holco
Bought this drive 3 weeks ago from another retailer. Found out about the problems the first batch of these drives was having. Found out about the recall 2 days later (naturally!). To Corsair's credit, they admitted it was thier fault for not discovering the issue in QC. I received the replacement drive 2 days after the new ones were in stock. Yeah, rma's stink, but Corsair handled it very well. As for the drive itself, I've had no problems at all since I recieved the new drive. It's only been 5 days, but I've thrown every program I have at it & it's very fast and solid so far.
Now for the the "but" - No dig against Amazon, but this drive is selling for a LOT less money elsewhere. Look for a rebate & you can get one for $179 right now. Or wait to see if the price here comes down. I would highly recommend it now that the problems have been fixed.
Now for the the "but" - No dig against Amazon, but this drive is selling for a LOT less money elsewhere. Look for a rebate & you can get one for $179 right now. Or wait to see if the price here comes down. I would highly recommend it now that the problems have been fixed.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Fast, but everything went wrong.
I have always been against a spinning drive in a laptop, when I went out to purchase a new drive for my MacBook Pro, I needed a solid state drive and I needed at lease 120gb of... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Erik
1.0 out of 5 stars
Drive disappeared from BIOS unrecoverable
This item was purchased by my husband for me to create an awesome gaming rig. It was purchased in November of 2011 and my PC was assembled end of December. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Christine E. Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars
Life-changing!
I can't think of a better way to spend the money to upgrade my pc than this. Not only works above and beyond expectations, but it changed the way I see and use my pc, and raised... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Marcelo Rybertt Nass
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing !!! super fast
is just great !!! my pc boots so so fast, i was really worried because of the negative opinions but i went ahead and purchased and i just love it, havent got problems so far 5 days... Read more
Published 12 months ago by NudGe
1.0 out of 5 stars
Died after a few months.
Worked fine for a few months but then the speed slowed to less than 1 MB/s. After that it became completely unreadable in any computer. Read more
Published 13 months ago by B. Russ
5.0 out of 5 stars
Corsair force 3 SSD
I have been using it now for 3 months everyday on a dell laptop as the primary drive for running windows 7 ultimate. Works perfectly. No issues as yet. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Raj.B
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great for Playstation 3
I bought this Solid State Drive for my Playstation 3, mainly to fix the lag issue I was having with Skyrim. It is much quicker than the old PS3 hard drive. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Clint88
4.0 out of 5 stars
FAST !!!! PRICE.......
I bought this less $160. But, it is still very expensive.
Speed test showed > 400MB/sec for read and write (this is SATA III), and sometimes faster than 500MB/sec. Read more
Speed test showed > 400MB/sec for read and write (this is SATA III), and sometimes faster than 500MB/sec. Read more
Published 16 months ago by JaeWoo Ryu
1.0 out of 5 stars
BSOD issues... Sorry guys it's not going to work!
http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=95688
I had multiple BSOD issues till I found this response from Corsair. Read more
I had multiple BSOD issues till I found this response from Corsair. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Dan
4.0 out of 5 stars
No problems so far
I have been using this hard drive for about a month and I have not had any problems. I haven't had the problems other users were describing like hard drive failure, freezing, an... Read more
Published 16 months ago by M. Jun
