SandForce controller SSD Garbage Collection for systems without TRIM support
Solution 1:
Doing what AndrejaKo suggested above, since this question is essentially answered.
Anandtech reviewed the OCZ Vertex 2 and explicitly mentioned performance after writing without TRIMming, and while not as good as the review for the OWC SSD it's still quite impressive. The site also describes the differences between Agility 2 and Vertex 2. I'm confident the Vertex 2 is a good drive and consider this question answered.