I think my SSD is on the way out. in the last couple of months I have been getting frequent app crashes and BSOD. Then when I boot the bios does not detect my SSD until a restart again. I have a OCZ vertex 3 which I bought in 2011. Is there anyway I could test to confirm the issue is with the SSD? Also If I have to buy a new SSD what is a good budget 240-256GB model that is on par with my current SSD? Thanks for the help.

You could try the AS SSD benchmarker to see if the speed or anything is suffering. That might be a sign that it needs to be replaced. Not sure about other methods of troubleshooting for SSDs though, sorry. If it's a reproducible issue maybe try switching it out for another HD or SSD if you have one kicking around and see if you still have the issues with a different storage device. If so, it's another component that is the problem.

You could also try combing though this forum thread to see if there's anything helpful there.