Advise on SSD

[Chicken Patty]

Not a problem with me.

 

[Duffman]

How big is too big for an OS drive? I have three Samsung 500gb drives in RAID 10 for storage.

 

[n-ster]

I got a special deal on these drives. I'm running one right now, and it's really fast for the price. Indilix firmware too. Just snagged one for CP.

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name...db8c2c0b879df9126dde9aa9c6052453f2377eeca737e

these are better than OCZ vertex in almost every angle... and nicely priced

is there a chance I can get one for 175$? xD

Doesn't Fits have a pair of these ?

 

[n-ster]

Seeming how CP's question is seemingly solved, and I didn't think the sub-forum needed two threads titled 'Advice on SSD' both at the top of the list, I'll post a thread ninja in here. If its wholly unacceptable, please hit me with a hammer and I'll correct it.


Can anyone tell me about this drive? I've been searching reviews, but I can't seem to find much on it. It'd be used as an OS drive.



It might be something for CP to look at as well. It's currently $82 at NCIXUS.com.

The ocz Solid 1 series had bad stuttering problems etc, the Solid 2 should have fixed that but from what I've seen, it isn't that great, though it can be an ok SSD...

 

[Carl2]

Use these numbers and do a search OCZSSD2-2SLD30G, OCZ has been having sales all over, just missed one for a 120 GB version of that drive, it's the value series.
Carl2

 

[INFRNL]

these are better than OCZ vertex in almost every angle... and nicely priced

is there a chance I can get one for 175$? xD

Doesn't Fits have a pair of these ?

Do you have proof that these are better than the Vertex, link?

The ocz Solid 1 series had bad stuttering problems etc, the Solid 2 should have fixed that but from what I've seen, it isn't that great, though it can be an ok SSD...

I was reading somewhere that the Solid 2 series is better than the Vertex and uses intel nand I believe. i will have to remember where I saw it. I think its got a new controller as well

Today there is a good deal on the 60GB Agility, but not sure if its worth it to get one now or wait a litle longer for the newer drives? I also hear the new Corsair C300 is a smoking SSD

 

[n-ster]

Do you have proof that these are better than the Vertex, link?



I was reading somewhere that the Solid 2 series is better than the Vertex and uses intel nand I believe. i will have to remember where I saw it. I think its got a new controller as well

Today there is a good deal on the 60GB Agility, but not sure if its worth it to get one now or wait a litle longer for the newer drives? I also hear the new Corsair C300 is a smoking SSD

I don't remember where sorry, where would be that 60gb Agility deal? I've never heard Solid 2 being better than Vertex though

 

[INFRNL]

OCZ Agility 60GB@ ZZF 200-$50 rebate-$20 using ebillme; $130 after rebate. Theres a code for ebillme posted on slickdeals.

I may be mistaken, but I thought the solid 2 drives were the newest to the family. I will post if i can find it again

 

[n-ster]

agility is newer than vertex but not better, same goes for solid 2

 

[INFRNL]

here are some quotes from various members from OCZ forum and Anandtech about Solid 2 performing as well or better than Agility or Vertex...:

Can't comment on the 30GB version but on the head to head benchmarks with Solid 2 vs Vertex or Solid 2 vs Agility (120GB and 60GB versions), the sequential write/read speed has actually been faster than the Vertex or Agility. The random speeds have been slower but not by a huge factor. The overall AS score has been better on the Solid 2 than either the Vertex or Agility, even where both drives are used in the same system to test (one at a time with fresh install). According to AnandTech, the read/write specs were thrown out there just to get the drive to market and that actual read/write speeds would most likely be higher. That seems to be the case here.

Beautiful benches from a 120GB Solid 2

All the benches that I've seen from 60GB and 120GB versions have either tied or have been higher than the Vertex/Agility benches. I understand that system components might be the difference but a pattern is emerging, IMO.

Damn, that kicks my Vertex to the curb and cost over $40 less!!!

I can come up with more info if needed

 

[Chris_Ramseyer]

I have some nice SSDs for sale in the forums. For the most part Indilinx drives are Indilinx drives. Even after they go in and use faster flash and DRAM they perform about the same in real world conditions.

 

[techjunkie]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167025

Best bang for buck i can find out there. If you have the green you could always go raid for cheap

 

[t_ski]

Here's another deal. OCZ Agility Series 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227461&Tpk=N82E16820227461

 

[INFRNL]

As tempting as the agility deals are, I think I am going to see what the new SSD's bring to the table in the next few weeks.

at this point I cannot miss what I cannot experience. I get by just fine with what I currently have so another month or whatever will not kill me

 

[Canzara]

The solid 2 series doesn't support trim I don't think. Thats the biggest difference between it and the vertex/agility. Its an older model based on the original solid but using an indilinx controller rather then the flawed jmicron controller used in most of the gen 1 SSD's

I did alot of homework before buying mine.
Generally if you stay away from anything with the jmicron controller you shouldn't have stuttering problems as that was the flawed controller. Although, anything without trim will lose performance over time unless you find a third party app to "emulate" trim for you.
If you raid ANY SSD you will lose trim support as it is not supported under raid, therefore if you want to raid you need a 3rd party app to take care of trim for you.

I'm not sure if people understand the differences in how these drives work in comparison to platter type drives, but they are a little different to maintain. Not more difficult, just different. They also require different system settings to get peak performance, so be prepared to do some reading and experimenting.

You can still get a jmicron based SSD (gen1) and get good, even great performance using raid. These drives don't have the same issues under raid as they do using a single drive, however I don't think any of the gen1 drives have trim built in so thats something to consider.
Personally, I'd be all over the OCZ Vertex if it was me and had the cash. They might not be the absolute fastest, it just seemed when I was looking into these OCZ support was incredible for helping people. Even people that didn't have OCZ drives were on the OCZ forums getting help...I'm REAL big on support. I think most companies in the computer industry are pathetic for support, so I see something good I tend to steer that direction.
Hope this info helps someone.

 

[INFRNL]

Solid 2 does support TRIM and I believe as stated before that it is newer than Vertex and Agility drives. http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/solid_state_drives/ocz_solid_2_series_sata_ii_2_5-ssd

I have seen many people and benchmarks showing better results than the agility & vertex drives.

 

[fullinfusion]

can some one tell me wth trim is on a SSD?

I'm soon ready to order one but i need to know what it's for and what its for.

thanks

 

[INFRNL]

its like garbage collection. Helps keep SSD running at top performance by basically keeping the drive cleaned up , etc

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIM_(SSD_command)

 

[Canzara]

Solid 2 does support TRIM and I believe as stated before that it is newer than Vertex and Agility drives. http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/solid_state_drives/ocz_solid_2_series_sata_ii_2_5-ssd

I have seen many people and benchmarks showing better results than the agility & vertex drives.

My humble apologies, I didn't think what was stated was correct. But I looked it up and it is.

 

[fullinfusion]

its like garbage collection. Helps keep SSD running at top performance by basically keeping the drive cleaned up , etc

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIM_(SSD_command)

nice and thank you.... but for my 2nd question.... im running Vista home 64 Premium and i have a WD 320g and or WD black 640 for storage after a SSD plantation, How big of a SSD should i get to be safe to have windows and a few other mis programs on it?

 

[Chris_Ramseyer]

Indilinx drives with FW 1916 or above will have both GC and TRIM. This pretty much means you can run run RAID and not have to worry about it. Also, just about everyone is keeping on top of releasing FW updates so you are all set. Go find a low cost Barefoot drive, flash it and go to town.

 

[Canzara]

quoted from OCZ technicians:
solid2 is slower than vertex, but still way faster than any spinner...in the end its what you can afford

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?68834-Vertex-or-Solid2

newer or not, its not as fast.

 

[PaulieG]

Indilinx drives with FW 1916 or above will have both GC and TRIM. This pretty much means you can run run RAID and not have to worry about it. Also, just about everyone is keeping on top of releasing FW updates so you are all set. Go find a low cost Barefoot drive, flash it and go to town.

What about the build quality? Just like any other product, some are just made better. With SSD's would it be the quality of the nand etc?

 

[Chris_Ramseyer]

To be honest who really cares how fast your data transfers are. I mean will you really notice a lot of difference between one and the other in day to day, real world use. I mean let's be real, would you really care if your computer boots 2 seconds faster. Let's break it down to price vs. performance, how much are you, as an average user /gamer / enthusiast going to pay to cut those two seconds?

If you can live with only 80GB then the Intel SSDs are the way to go for what like 240 now. I personally can't even have an ejoyable notebook experience with 80GB, that puts me in the Indilinx 128 to 256 range. This is the same place where most people are. Intel's 10 channel controller is faster than Indilinx's 8 channel in every real world test. SandForce's 1200 should be faster than Intel's but to be honest no one has tested one yet. I have tested two 16 channel SF 1500 drives with MLC flash and it was the fastest thing I had ever seen until Marvell hooked Crucial up with the RealSSD C300. As of right now the C300 is the faster MFer on the planet in both SATA 3G and 6G. There aren't any SATA 3G numbers published yet but there will be soon

SSDs are all about access times and that is what is important to remember is you are looking for the best bang for the buck. Every Indilinx, Intel, Marvell / Crucial, Toshiba and Samsung controlled SSD will blow your mind if you have never used an SSD before. You will see and feel it at first and then just get use to it. After a month you really feel anxiety using a platter drive. I swear, you are sitting there like WTF, why is this bitch taking so GD long to do everything, is there something wrong?

Access times, that is why hard core storage guys like myself were using 15K SCSI drives 8-10 years ago. With those drives we were measuring access time in milliseconds but with SSDs we are measuring access time by the tenth of a millisecond. They all do it and it is the access time that makes them FEEL so fast. Most of the time you are not pushing 200 MB/s read or write.

What I am really saying is there is really no reason to split hairs about one specific drive over another, they are all faster than what you have now and they are all really impressive. Just run PC Mark Vantage, HDD Test and compare your numbers to these and see what I mean.

 

[Chris_Ramseyer]

What about the build quality? Just like any other product, some are just made better. With SSD's would it be the quality of the nand etc?

The Crucial C300 uses some of the funkiest flash on the market. It is built to last but it is considered "slow" compared to others. Hell I think it was first make for thumb drives. The controller is where the performance is at.